Issue 83
Oct – Nov 2014
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Although issue 83 has been available to download since 2014, it was only recently realised that the individual articles, including one by the new First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, were not available to view. They have now been added and we hope that they will be circulated widely as we run up to the 25 anniversary […]
Where does Scotland go now and what does the left do? How has it reacted to the result and what does it think needs to be done now? Can there be common ground to fight for a common agenda despite differing over means to achieve it?
The aftermath of the independence has confounded conventional political wisdom. Take the nostrum that ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’. The historic popular engagement (judged not just by the voter turnout but also by the tens of thousands campaigning and attending public meetings on politics) has been the tide. But the occupants of all the […]
Nicola Sturgeon locates the reasons to be cheerful for those in favour of independence despite the referendum result In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macduff asks: ‘Stands Scotland where it did?’ And Ross answers: ‘Alas, poor country! Almost afraid to know itself.’ Despite the referendum delivering a ‘No’, Scotland does not stand in the same place as it […]
Stephen Smellie argues unions are predisposed to progressive ends and this presents opportunities The referendum presented trade unions with challenges and opportunities. Those unions who, with varying degrees of consultation with their Scottish members, responded to the challenge and opted to support the ‘No’ campaign, and some the Better Together campaign itself, failed to take […]
Colin Fox argues independence has been merely deferred and delayed but cannot be evaded Scotland is a country like no other today and has been for months. The level of political engagement in the independence referendum has been absolutely extraordinary and with 50,000 people applying to join the three independence parties in its immediate aftermath […]
Allan Grogan looks for new beginnings to return to old values History may speak of the 2014 referendum as the turning point for Scotland. With a huge turnout to vote, record numbers attending public meetings, discussions on economy, oil and poverty everywhere you went. It is clear that Scotland has once again discovered its political […]
Cat Boyd argues the pro-independence left needs to create a new party For over 700 days, the people of Scotland were hammered by a fear campaign orchestrated by the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and, of course, the Labour Party. If the working class were the only ones to vote in the independence referendum, there would have […]
Neil Findlay and Tommy Kane argue for a ‘real’ Labour response to the referendum result Nearly a week on from the referendum, a picture based on fact, not myth, wishful thinking or conjecture, is emerging. Of course, the most salient fact we knew only a few hours after the polls closed, when in the early […]
Katy Clark suggests the appetite for social change can be satisfied The result is now known but the referendum fallout looks as if it will be with us for a long time to come. The last few months have divided communities, the labour movement and fundamentally shifted the political landscape. Although many of those who […]
John Foster sees hope for the left if it adopts the correct strategy to connect with citizens The referendum result poses big challenges for socialists and all on the left. The SNP’s formula for independence was, indeed, rejected and the scale of that rejection was bigger than many, including myself, expected. Yet Labour’s working class […]
Richard Leonard argues for deep-seated change across the whole of Britain after 18 September People are right to be angry and right to be crying out for change. The crisis in the global financial markets caused by the richest in society has been used to attack the poorest in society through an austerity programme which […]
Stephen Low argues powers are for a purpose and not an end in themselves The starting point for any consideration of the referendum campaign and what the left does now has to be an acknowledgement and recognition of a level of political commitment in Scotland that is unprecedented in our history. Two million people went […]
John Wight writes that ‘no’ won in spite of itself but that makes it no easier for the pro-independence left to influence the SNP The telling aspect of the most historic election in UK political history was not the unprecedented 85 percent turnout. Nor was it the achievement of the Yes campaign in mobilising and […]
Grahame Smith outlines the most likely post-referendum scenario, showing there are opportunities and dangers After two years, during which the independence referendum has been the all-consuming context for political and economic decision making in Scotland, the people have spoken. While the result was a decisive vote for Scotland to remain in the UK, with 45% […]
Leanne Wood argues that the September spring of the referendum will lead a new democratic blossoming Despite the obvious disappointment at the outcome of the referendum result, there is so much to be proud of. That the people of Scotland had the opportunity to decide their country’s future is remarkable. One day I hope we […]
Dave Watson sees the prospect of a positive outcome for social justice in Scotland While Scotland divided on the route to change, there was a clear consensus that a fairer Scotland is possible. The big question is, are the politicians up for the challenge and able to turn their rhetoric into action? The posters are […]
Michael Keating delves into both the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns to reveal their contradictions When the Yes campaign was launched in 2012, I did not give it much chance of success. Support for independence had been steady for around twenty years at around 30%, depending on the precise question. The big change had happened under […]
John McDonnell argues now we have the potential to work together on a unified left agenda Prior to the referendum I avoided making any public comment because I judged that the sound of English accents advising the Scots about their future came across not only as unseemly arrogance but more importantly it was totally counterproductive […]
Anna Arqué takes inspiration from the process and the outcome Because I’m Catalan and consequently have read and heard many opinions from ‘know it all’ foreign contributors about my country’s independence movement, I write these words about the Scottish independence referendum with the utmost respect. ‘The person who really wants to do something finds a […]
Peter Kelly and Carla McCormack call for action in the new post-referendum period towards banishing poverty The referendum and associated campaigns have re-invigorated Scottish democracy and engaged voters in a way never seen before. Voter registration hit 97% and turnout was a record 84.5%. We saw all sections of society engaged in serious discussion about […]
By James Meek, Verso Books, 2014, pp229, £12.99 Book Review by Andrew Noble Within living memory we British thought it possible that our seemingly mature democracy entailed of its nature open mindedness. That is ideas, especially our crucial economic ones, were inherently pragmatic in that they were open to constant scrutiny as to what they […]
Election analysis by YouGov and New York Times THE elderly did not rob the young of an independent Scotland, according to YouGov’s final poll of how Scotland voted in the independence referendum. Their study of 3,188 voters showed that 51 per cent of those aged between 16 and 24 voted ‘No’. It also revealed that […]
by VLADIMIR McTAVISH So the dream is over for the time being, at least. I sincerely believed that I would wake up on the morning of 19 September to find out I no longer lived in the same country as Jeremy Clarkson, Piers Morgan, Boris Johnston and Eddie Izzard. But I still do, and it’s […]