The following article, written by Allan Armstrong for the Radical Independence Campaign, was first posted by bella caledonia ANNOUNCING THE 2023 DECLARATION OF CALTON HILL On September 18th, November 2014, something truly remarkable in politics happened. By the time of the Scottish independence referendum, held on that day, 97% of Scotland’s potential electorate had registered…
RIC reconstituted and the 2023 Declaration of Calton Hill
This is the conclusion of Completing Scotland’s Democratic Revolution, in which Allan Armstrong examines the legacy of of Scotland’s 2014 Democratic Revolution and the 2023 Declaration of of Calton Hill, designed to complete that unfinished democratic revolution. RIC RECONSTITUTED AND THE 2003 DECLARATION OF CALTON HILL After the attempted shutdown on 17.1.21[1] the Radical Independence Campaign (RIC)…
For a republican all-islands coalition (update)
In March 2022, Allan Armstrong announced the intention to write three reviews of books written in Ireland addressing the current political situation Socialists face there. The purpose in doing this has been to build the case for an all-islands, republican internationalist coalition to challenge the UK state and its imperial allies. These have now been…
Declarations of Love: review by Mary McGregor
Mary McGregor reviews Declarations of Love, poems of Jim Aitken, with drawings by Martin Gollan. Thos book is published by Culture Matters. DECLARATIONS OF LOVE Jim Aitken is truly a people’s poet. No allusions so obscure that you need volumes of classical texts to decipher. No pretensions of language so convoluted that you need a…
The language struggle and the challenge to the UK state
The following article by Allan Armstrong looks at the significance of the struggles around the issue of language in Ireland, Wales and England and how they provide a challenge to the UK state. An edited version of this was given as a talk to the Critical Labour Studies Colloqium, held in Aonach Mhacha, Armagh on…
Mary Brooksbank -125th anniversary of her birth
Hi all, Please join us in Dundee next Saturday 10th December at 1pm for our annual Mary Brooksbank commemoration, this year marking the 125th anniversary of her birth. Mary Brooksbank is Dundee’s best-known communist and trade unionist. Growing up working in the jute mills like many working class women and girls of her day, she wrote…
Review of Paul Mason’s – ‘How to Stop Fascism: History, Ideology, Resistance’
Over the Ukraine war, there have been two campist positions which have emerged on the Left – support or apologetics for Putin, and support or apologetics for NATO, tied to backing for Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership. Paul Mason is an example of the latter. Alfie Hancox’s review of Mason’s How to Stop Fascism: History,…
EL&SD coverage of republicanism
The Republican Communist Network and the Republican Communist Forum have been at the centre of the campaign to build support for republicanism in Scotland. This has involved upholding republicanism as the sovereignty of the people against the UK’s sovereignty of the Crown-in-Westminster. We have criticised those who limit republicanism to anti-monarchism, which can provide cover…
Scottish nationalism and class politics: a long term view
The following article by James Foley was first posted on the Conter newsletter. It displays elements of a greater understanding of the nature of the UK state than was shown in Foley’s Left social democratic Britain must break, written for IndyRef1. This new thinking reflects the views expressed in Foley’s forthcoming book, Scotland after Britain, written…
Why has Putin invaded Ukraine?
Allan Armstrong has written a two-part article, Why has Putin has invaded Ukraine? The first part was posted on bella caledonia and the Irish Left Archive. This has now been amended following the helpful comments from Connor Beaton, Nick Steff and Sairah Tariq. Part 2 has been posted on Allan’s Intfrobel blog. The contents of…