Emancipation & Liberation

Jan 31 2019

CORBYN, LABOUR AND THE TORIES’ IMMIGRATION BILL – A dialogue

Category: Against Unionism,Capitalism and Communism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,Elections,England,How they are organised,Ireland,Scotland,The EU,UK state/British imperialism,Wales — RCN @ 6:21 pm

This is a new dialogue over the consequences of Brexit following the Corbyn-led Labour Party helping Theresa May get the second reading of the Tories’ Immigration Bill through on Wednesday 29th January

see an earlier dialogue at:-

FROM FARAGE’S BREXIT TO TRUMP’S “BREXIT PLUS, PLUS, PLUS”, AND ON TO ‘MADAME FREXIT’?

This dialogue came about in response to a posting Allan Armstrong made on the Republican Socialist Alliance list. It was also taken up by Phil Vellender (Editorial Board of The Chartist) on his Facebook page.

Continue reading “CORBYN, LABOUR AND THE TORIES’ IMMIGRATION BILL – A dialogue”

Tags: 'Resist', Alliance for Workers Liberty, Another Europe Is Possible, Author: Allan Armstrong, Author: Phil Vellender, British road to socialism, Cornyn and Project Truth, Dianne Abbott, DUP, English nationalism, Henry Hyndman, Jeffrey Lever, Jeremy Corbyn, Joe Healey, Karie Murphie, Labour Party, left unity, Len McCluskey, Lexit, Love Corbyn/Hate Brexit, Michael Chessum, National Government, New Statesman, Robert Blatchford, Robert Peston, Seamus Milne, Skwawkbox, soclal unionism, SP, SPS, Sue Sparks, SWP, The Chartist, The Clarion, The Immigration Bill Fiasco shows that Labour's Left-wing principles are on the slide, The Spectator, Theresa May, Tory Immigration Bill 2019, UKIP, Weekly Worker, Windrush

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Oct 04 2018

ALL UNDER ONE BANNER DEMO – EDINBURGH, OCTOBER 6th

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,How we organise,Radical Independence Campaign,Scotland,UK state/British imperialism — RCN @ 11:57 am

ALL UNDER ONE BANNER

Saturday 6 October Assemble 12.30pm,
Johnstone Terrace
Edinburgh

RIC Edinburgh has agreed to organise a contingent on the march to
emphasise RIC’s Scottish republicanism, internationalism and diversity.

We have new banners for the event including –

Another Scotland Is Possible, Another Europe Is Possible, Another World Is Possible
For an Independent Scotland – Freedom Come All Ye – For Scottish Internationalism
For a Democratic, Secular, Inclusive, Sustainable, Social Scottish Republic

We will have Catalan flags and Palestine flags and welcome others too.

Trade Unionists for Independence are marching with us

Other socialist, green and radical groups are invited to join us.

________

also see:-

http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2018/09/11/edinburgh-october-6th-a-rallying-call-for-the-left/

Tags: All Under One Banner, Radical Independence Campaign, Trade Unionists for Independence

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Sep 11 2018

EDINBURGH OCTOBER 6th – A RALLYING CALL FOR THE LEFT

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,England,How they are organised,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Ireland,Radical Independence Campaign,Scotland,The EU,The global economy,UK state/British imperialism,Wales — RCN @ 10:58 am

Allan Armstrong puts the case for building a Scottish-wide Left contingent on the ‘All Under One Banner’ march in Edinburgh on October 6th

EDINBURGH OCTOBER 6th – A RALLYING CALL FOR THE LEFT

35,000 in Glasgow, 10,000 in Inverness, 13,000 in Dumfries and 16,000 in Dundee – ‘All Under One Banner ‘ clearly represents something significant in Scottish politics. However it requires an examination of a wider politics going back to 2014 to appreciate the nature of this phenomenon.

A thwarted democratic revolution

If we look at the Indy Ref1 campaign we can see that it represented a democratic revolution, with 85% actually voting, following a registration drive which drew in 97% of the potential electorate. This was something unprecedented in UK politics. Continue reading “EDINBURGH OCTOBER 6th – A RALLYING CALL FOR THE LEFT”

Tags: 'Devolution-Max', 'Fred the Shred', 'hostile environment', 'Independence-Lite', 'Irish Tiger', 'Project Fear', 'Project Hate', 'Project Hope', 'Scottish Lion', 'Take Back Control', 'Yes Scotland', 1992 Maastricht Treaty, 2008 Crash, 2014 IndyRef1, 2015 Glasgow Orangefest, 2016 EU referendum, Alex Salmond, All Under One Banner, Americal First, Anas Sarwar, Andrew Wilson, Bella Caledonia, Better Together, Boris Johnson, Brexit ratification referendum, Britain First, British High Command, British Left, British road to socialism, Building Bridges, Cat Boyd, Catalan Republic, City of London, Common Weal, conservatives, constitutional nationalism, Crown Powers, Crown-in-Westminster, Democratic Revolution, Devolution-all-round, Donald Trump, Ed Miliband, Enoch Powell, EU, George Galloway, George Kerevan, Gerry Carroll MLA, Green Party, Herman von Rumpoy, Hope over Fear, indyref2, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour, Leanne Wood, Lesley Riddoch, Lib-Dems, liberal unionism, Maggie Chapman, Margaret Thatcher, Momentum, NATO, neo-Blairites, neo-fascists, Nicola Sturgeon, Nigel Farage, Nigel Lawson, Orange Order, Paul Kavangh, Plaid Cymru, populist nationalism, Radical Independence Campaign, reactionary unionism, Red Paper Collective, Republicanism, Richard Leonard, Rory Scothorne, Rupert Murdoch, Scotland First, Scottish Greens, Scottish Independence Convention, Scottish internationalism, Scottish Resistance, Sinn Fein, Siol nan Gaidheal, Sir George Mathewson, Sir George Matthewson, SNP, SNP Growth Commission, Social Democracy, Socialism, SSP, The Bank of Scotland, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Theresa May, Tommy Sheppard, Tommy Sheridan, Tony Blair, Tory/DUP coalition, Trade Unionists for Independence, UKIP, Windrush Scandal, Wings Over Scotland

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Jul 20 2018

THE ‘CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY’ – A RATIFICATION REFERENDUM

Category: Against Unionism,How they are organised,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Scotland,The crisis on the Left,The EU,UK state/British imperialism — RCN @ 8:39 pm

The Campaign for a European Republican Socialist Party distributed the following leaflet the Radical Independence Campaign AGM in Glasgow on June 30th.

100,000 ANGLO-EUROPEANS ON THE MARCH ON 23rd JUNE IN LONDON-

For a Ratification Referendum

20,000 ANGLO-BRITISH ON THE MARCH ON 5th May IN LONDON

For Brexit and Tommy Robinson

For a Peoples Vote on Tory Brexit Deal

On 23rd June 100,000 people marched through London demanding the right to vote on the anti-working class Tory All-British or Unionist Exit deal. There were Scottish saltires and Welsh dragon flags but it was mainly an Anglo-European demonstration. Continue reading “THE ‘CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY’ – A RATIFICATION REFERENDUM”

Tags: 'Disaster Socialism', 'The Tory Deal', 2116 EU Referendum, Anglo-British, Anglo-European, Crown-in-Parliament, Northern Ireland, Ratification Referendum, Scotland, Tommy Robinson, UKIP, Unionist Exit, Westminster

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Jul 19 2018

WHAT NOW FOR THE INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT?

Category: Against Unionism,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Radical Independence Campaign,Scotland,UK state/British imperialism,US imperialism — RCN @ 10:24 pm

Murdo Ritchie raises questions for the Scottish Independence Movement.

WHAT NOW FOR THE INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT?

Nicola Sturgeon and corporate lobbyist, Andrew Wilson present the SNP’s Growth Commission report

The issue should never be in what direction the Scottish national independence movement should go but what is the best way a new Scotland can be created. It is from this approach that the future political movements can be built. Organisations and movements can limp from political crisis to another if they fail to critically examine their initial purposes. Self-censorship in order to obtain a Yes vote may produce an outcome that could be very undesirable. Continue reading “WHAT NOW FOR THE INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT?”

Tags: 'Yes' campaign, Commonwealth, Crown-in-Parliament, European Union, Green Party, Holyrood, Independence Referendum, National independence, NATO, Radical Independence Campaign, Republicanism, Scottish National Party, Scottish Socialist Party, Westminster

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Mar 07 2018

SCOTLAND’S RATIFICATION REFERENDUM

Category: Against Unionism,England,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Ireland,Radical Independence Campaign,Scotland,UK state/British imperialism,Wales — RCN @ 12:42 pm

Below is a leaflet from the ad-hoc Committee of Campaign for a European Republican Socialist Party being distributed at the Radical Independence Campaign’s Spring Conference in Edinburgh on March 10th.

Location of Dalmeny Declaration – Out of the Blue Centre, Dalmeny Street, Leith

SCOTLAND’S RATIFICATION REFERENDUM

The Scottish Ratification Referendum Act 2018 empowers the Scottish Government to hold a referendum on Thursday 6 February 2019 for all Scottish and EU citizens living in Scotland over sixteen years old. The people of Scotland will be asked:

Do you support the agreement between Her Majesty’s Government and the European Union?

Do you reject the agreement between Her Majesty’s Government and the European Union?

Why should Scotland have the right to vote on Tory Brexit? Continue reading “SCOTLAND’S RATIFICATION REFERENDUM”

Tags: Campaign for a European Republican Socialist Party, Scotland's Ratifcation Referendum, Tory Brexit, Tory/DUP coalition

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Mar 05 2018

RADICAL INDEPENDENCE CAMPAIGN SPRING CONFERENCE

Category: Against Imperialism,Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,For Emancipation: Struggles against Exploitation,For Liberation: Struggles against Oppression,How we organise,Ireland,Radical Independence Campaign,Scotland,UK state/British imperialism — RCN @ 10:55 pm

RADICAL INDEPENDENCE CAMPAIGN

National Spring Conference

City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square

Edinburgh, EH8 9BX

Saturday, March 10th

Doors are open at 11.00am and the event starts promptly at 11.30pm.

Session 1: 11.30 – 12.30

The effect of Brexit on Scottish independence –

Maggie Chapman (Scottish Greens) and Neil Davidson (RS21)

Lunch: 12.30 – 13.15

There is a cafe in the venue and several excellent places for lunch close by.

Session 2: 13.15 – 14.15

What now after the Scottish Independence Convention Conference

Lesley Riddoch and Jonathon Shafi

Session 3: 14.15 – 15.30

The effect of Corbynism and the election of Richard Leonard as Scottish Labour leader on Scottish politics

Cat Boyd (RIC), Rory Scorthorne (Labour Party), Tommy Sheppard (SNP)

Session 4: 15.30 – 16.30

International connections Catalunya and Ireland

George Kerevan (SNP, Gerry Carroll (People before Profit MLA for West Belfast)

Winding Up: 16.30 – 17.00

(All the speakers are speaking in a personal capacity)

Everyone is welcome. There is no upfront ticket charge but we ask for £10/£5 on the door.

Sign up to secure a place:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/radical-independence-campaign-conference-tickets-43271637633

Tags: Cat Boyd, George Kerevan, Gerry Carroll, Jonathon Shafi, Lesley Riddoch, Maggie Chapman, Neil Davidson, RIC conference 10.3.18, Rory Scorthorne, Tommy Sheppard

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Feb 25 2018

THE RED AND THE GREEN: A PORTRAIT OF JOHN MACLEAN

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,For Emancipation: Struggles against Exploitation,For Liberation: Struggles against Oppression,For Self-Determination: Struggles against Alienation,How they are organised,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Ireland,Political Campaigns,Scotland,The Socialist Republican Break-up of the UK,UK state/British imperialism — RCN @ 10:16 pm

Gerry Cairns has published a new book, The Red and the Green: A Portrait of John Maclean. This makes use of new material relating to Maclean’s relationship with the struggle in Ireland. Stevie Coyle posted the following review on Facebook, and there is an edited version in February’s Irish Voice. Hopefully this informative review will be just the first review to address the issues that Gerry has raised.

THE RED AND THE GREEN: A PORTRAIT OF JOHN MACLEAN

Members of the Irish community were among those present at the launch of Gerard Cairn’s biography of John Maclean titled The Red and the Green: A Portrait of John Maclean.

The event – organised by Glasgow’s radical bookshop Calton Books and held in McChuills Bar – saw the author demonstrate a passion for his subject and gave an intriguing insight into Maclean the man and the revolutionary, which he interspersed with humour. Continue reading “THE RED AND THE GREEN: A PORTRAIT OF JOHN MACLEAN”

Tags: 'Speech from the Dock', Agnes Maclean, Author: Gerry Cairns, Author: Stevie Coyle, Barney Friel, Calton Books, Calvinism, Captain Robert De Coueur, Defence of the Realm Act, First World War, Hands off Ireland, Irish Citizen Army, Irish Post, Irish Republican Army, James Connolly, Joe Robinson, John MacLean, John Maclean Society, Marxism, Peterhead Prison, Pollokshaws, Ruaraidh Erskine of Mar, Scots National League, Scottish workers Republican Party, Soviet Consul in Glasgow, The Irish Tragedy: Scotland's Disgrace, The Red and the Green: A Portrait of John Maclean

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Oct 17 2017

THE CATALAN REPUBLIC

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,For Liberation: Struggles against Oppression,How they are organised,Radical Independence Campaign,Scotland,The EU — RCN @ 10:21 am

In the aftermath of the Catalan referendum, Steve Freeman emphasis the republican aspect of the struggle.

THE CATALAN REPUBLIC

The demonstration organised by the Radical Independence Campaign at the Spanish Consulate in Edinburgh on October 1st.

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, took a cautious line on Catalan independence. She hoped that “dialogue will replace confrontation”. She called for a way forward that “respects the rule of law” and also “respects democracy”. She refused to say if the Scottish government would recognise the result of the disputed referendum. She told Andrew Marr: “I consider myself a friend of Spain”.

Spain is nothing in this context but its ruling class exercising political power through its crowned, unionist, ‘Francoist’ state. Sturgeon is giving comfort to the enemies of the Catalan people in the hope they will be more favourable to the Scottish government’s quest for independence under the crown. The leaders of the Scottish National Party want to keep friends with the queen of England and the king of Spain. Continue reading “THE CATALAN REPUBLIC”

Tags: Andre Marr, Author: Steve Freeman, British unionism, Catalan independence referendum, Catalonia/Catalunya, David Cameron, EU, Francoist-monarchist state, Lluis Companys, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland, scottish independence referendum, SNP, Spain

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Aug 17 2017

A CRITIQUE OF JEREMY CORBYN AND BRITISH LEFT SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, Part 3

Category: Capitalism and Communism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,How they are organised,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Radical Independence Campaign,Russia and ex-USSR,Scotland,The crisis on the Left,The EU,The global economy,UK state/British imperialism,US imperialism,What is communism? — RCN @ 7:30 pm

This is the third part of A Critique of Jeremy Corbyn and British Left Social Democracy, written by Allan Armstrong. The first part can be read at:- http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2017/08/09/a-critique-of-jeremy-corbyn-and-british-left-social-democracy/and the second part can be read at:- http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2017/08/11/a-critique-of-jeremy-corbyn-and-british-left-social-democracy-part-2/

3. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, OFFICIAL AND DISSIDENT COMMUNISM

AND A POLITICS BASED ON EMANCIPATION, LIBERATION AND SELF DETERMINATION

Contents of part 3

a. The limits placed on social democracy during a crisis of global capitalism

b. From revolutionary democratic social democracy to existing state-accommodating reformist social democracy

c. A further shift in the meaning of social democracy; the brief emergence of an alternative revolutionary democratic communism; and the descent to state-backed official communism and dissident communism

d. Social democracy and official communism morph into social neo-liberalism

e. From social liberalism to populism

_______________

a. The limits placed on social democracy during a crisis of global capitalism

i. We are living through a period of unprecedented global crisis – political, economic, social, and cultural. This means that ideas will be tested continuously. A democratic party based on the exploited and oppressed will have people from a whole number of tendencies – communist (as outlined in 2.f.iii), republican socialist, social democratic, movementist, green socialist, socialist feminist, environmental, etc. Continue reading “A CRITIQUE OF JEREMY CORBYN AND BRITISH LEFT SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, Part 3”

Tags: 'America First', 'British road to progress', 'Spirit of 45', 1789-95 International Revolutionary Wave, 1847-9 International Revolutionary Wave, 1871 Paris Commune, 1916-23 International Revolutionary Wave, 1989 Tienamen Square, 2011 Arab Spring, 2011 Hetherington Occupation, Alan Greenspan, Alex Tspiras, Alt-Right, Alternative Economic Strategy, Alvaro Garcia Linera, ANTARSYA, Arron Banks, Attak Bulgaria, Author: Allan Armstrong, BlackRock, Bolivarian Revolution, Boris Yeltsin, Breibart, British road to socialism, British social democracy, Broad Left, capitalism, CGIL, CGT, Chicago Boys, China, Christian socialism, CIA, Citizens Revolution, COMECON, communes, Coors, CPI, CPSU, Crimea, Critique of the Erfurt Programme, Critique of the Gotha Programme, Crown Powers, Czechoslovakia 1968, Democrats, Direct Democracy Now, dissident communism, Donald Trump, ECB, Ecuador, established religion, EU, Eurocommunism, Evo Morales, Fabian Society, Felipe Quispe, freethinking, Freidrich Engels, Front National France, General German Workers Association, Glasnost, Golden Dawn, Golden Dawn Greece, Gordon Brown, Hillary Clinton, Hitler-Stalin Pact 1939-41, House of Lords, Hugo Chavez, Hungary 1956, Independent Labour Party, Indignados, ISRP, Istvan Mezsaros, Jacobins, James Connolly, Jeremy Corbyn, Jobbik Hungary, John Smith, Juan Negrin, Karl Marx, Keynesianism, KKE, KKK, KPD, Kronstadt Rising 1921, Labour & Socialist International, Left populism, Leon Blum, Lib-Labs, Liberal Party, Lloyd George, Make Poverty History, Margaret Thatcher, Max Schachtman, Michael Foot, Mikhail Gorbachev, Model Trade Unions, Monarchy, Naomi Klein, National Rifle Association, Neil Kinnock, neo-liberalism, New Labour, Nigel Farage, Northern League Italy, Occupy, official Communism, Old Labour, Pablo Iglesias, Pamyat, Party-state, Perestroika, Peter Mandelson, Podemos, populism, Profintern, PSOE, Radical Liberals, Rafael Correa, Ray Dalio, Red Brown alliances, Republican Spain 1936-9, Republicanism, Republicans, revolutionary democracy, revolutionary societies, Right populism, Robert Mercer, Roger Douglas, Romania, Rosa Luxemburg, Russian Federation, Second International, Secularism, Social Democracy, social imperialism, social liberalism, social monarchism, social patriotism, SPD, SYRIZA, Theresa May, Third International, Tibet, Tony Benn, Tony Blair, Troika, Trotskyism, Uber, UK state, UKIP, Ukraine, USA, USSR, Venezuela, Vietnam, Vladimir Putin, Warsaw Pact, Xinxiang, Yanis Varoufakis, Yugoslavia

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