Allan Armstrong (RCN) has written an account of the Scottish independence campaign since the SNP launched its official ‘Yes Scotland’ campaign in 2012 up until the last two weeks before the September 18th referendum. This is based on several contributions Allan has already made on this blog. It is also a contemporary update of his…
Public Transport In Ukraine: Drivers Are Forgotten
A major dispute is underway in the western Ukrainian city of Khmelnitsky where the transport workers have organised in the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU). Pavlo Vezdenetsky is an organiser of the KVPU who has been campaigning in the city. In response the management are now victimising the union representative Anastasia Podpruzhnikova,…
This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land
Ray Burnett, who lives in Benbecula, wrote the following article for Bella Caledonia on the continuing significance of the ‘Land Question’ in Scotland. ‘Divide and rule’. It’s the oldest game in town, so why on earth do we fall for it? Set up the polarities: Highlander/Lowlander, Gaidheal/Gall, local/incomer, crofter/environmentalist and let rancour commence. Scotland fractures,…
Proposed Amendments To The RCN’s ‘What We Stand For’
The Republican Communist Network (Scotland) can be considered a ‘work on progress’. The principles upon which we stand can be summed up in our ‘What We Stand For’. However, these are not fixed but are changed through new knowledge gained in the struggles we are engaged in. The last change was made in May 2012…
The Telling Of Two Press Releases. One A Balls Up, The Other From The Hamster On The Wheel
Jerry Hicks of there rank and file Grassroots UNITE campaign, who opposed Len McCluskey for General Secretary, writes of the significance of two press reloads, one from Ed Balls, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, the other from McCluskey. On a day of press releases, two stand out. One from Unite’s Len McCluskey, the other from Labour’s Ed…
The Demise Of Labourism And The Passing Of Tony Benn
Eric Chester (RCN) goes beyond the glowing tributes made to Tony Benn after he died earlier this year and takes a critical look his politics. Tony Benn was one of the most popular and respected figures on the Left in Scotland and throughout the UK. His recent death has been followed by many notices that…
Making Plans For Nigel
Allan Armstrong (RCN) examines the situation Socialists face across these islands in the light of the recent European election and the ongoing Scottish independence referendum campaign. A SOCIALIST REPUBLICAN ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE UK AND ‘NEW UNIONISM’ IN THE LIGHT OF THE RISE OF UKIP AND THE FORTHCOMING SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM CONTENTS Introduction…
Labour And Socialist Left Unionism In The Scottish Independence Debate
Allan Armstrong (RCN) prepared a talk for the Conference of Socialist Economists Day School held in the Out of the Blue Centre in Edinburgh on June 21st. The article below incorporates some of the discussion points that were raised. It provides a socialist republican analysis of the British Left and the case for an ‘internationalism…
2 New Pieces On Ukraine
The RCN co-sponsored a tour by Zakhar Popyvych of the Left Opposition in Kyiv to Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow from May 16th-18th (see Ukraine – Caught between East and West). Patricia Kirk (RCN) videoed Zakhar’s talk in Glasgow, whilst John Lanigan (RCN) took a number of photographs. Two of these photographs and the video link…
Just Say Yes? – A Review Of ‘Yes – The radical case for Independence’ by James Foley & Pete Ramand
Murdo Ritche (RCN) reviews Yes- The Radical Case for Scottish Independence by James Foley & Pete Ramand (Pluto Press, 2014). This was first posted on Murdo’s blog (http://murdoritchie.blog.co.uk) and has been slightly changed. JUST SAY YES? The cover and the title of this book summarize the contradictory tensions that flow all through the text. The word…