Dec 02 2016
The Irish Workers’ Republican Starry Plough does not have an equivalent accepted by the working class in Scotland
Today is St. Andrews Day. It is not yet a full-blown public holiday, although there is some partial observance. The following article was written by Allan Armstrong for the Lothian SSP bulletin in November 2007. It is even more relevant today, when Scottish nationalists try to subsume all of us under the saltire.
Continue reading “ST. ANDREWS DAY OR JOHN MACLEAN DAY?”
Apr 09 2016
Eric Chester (RCN) takes David Cameron to task over his promotion of a Christian UK.
Forgive us our debts and hallowed be thy tax havens
During his recent Easter weekend address, Prime Minister David Cameron made a point of declaring that the United Kingdom was a “Christian country.” This is not the first time Cameron has used religion to advance his conservative agenda. In his speech, he argued that Christians had certain values, including compassion, that were those held by the UK as a whole. This is ironic coming from the proponent of the bedroom tax and a budget that cuts funds for the disabled, but hypocrisy has always been a trademark of mainstream politicians.
Continue reading “TOWARD A SECULAR SOCIETY”
Sep 13 2015
CLASS AND NATION IN CONTEMPORARY SCOTLAND CONFERENCE
September 17th-18th
The Renfield Centre, 260, Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4HZ
Last September the Sociology Department at Glasgow University held a successful conference on ‘Racism: from the Labour Movement to the Far Right’. We are pleased to announce that we are holding a second conference next month, with a slightly broader remit this time. The aim of our event is to provide a platform for academics, different kinds of activists (political, community, trade union), and for people simply in their capacity as citizens to debate and discuss the meaning of ‘Class and Nation in Contemporary Scotland’ following last year’s independence referendum. We are hosting a key note lecture on Thursday 17 September, followed by a one-day conference on Friday 18 September. We have attached a programme for the conference which details the panels and speakers confirmed.
Continue reading “CLASS AND NATION IN CONTEMPORARY SCOTLAND”
Aug 05 2015
Gavin Bowd’s book Fascist Scotland, Caledonia and the Far Right has given succour to unionist opponents of Scottish self-determination. Allan Armstrong (RCN) provides a republican and international socialist critique.
WHAT THE FUK?
Fascist UK, Britannia and the Far Right
1) What is a fascist organisation?
Gavin Bowd’s book, Fascist Scotland, Caledonia and the Far Right, contains a lot of useful material about far right writings, culture and organisation in Scotland since the 1920s. However, Bowd does not define what he means by fascism, nor distinguish it from other forms of reactionary or right populist politics. These often invoke similar chauvinist, ethnic or racist themes. The purpose behind Bowd’s lack of clarity over the political basis of fascism only emerges gradually.
Continue reading “WHAT THE FUK? – Fascist UK, Britannia and the Far Right”
Jan 21 2015
THE REPUBLICAN COMMUNIST NETWORK, THE RADICAL INDEPENDENCE CAMPAIGN,
AND THE CAMPAIGN FOR SCOTTISH SELF-DETERMINATION
Photo of RCN banner – Patricia Kirk & John Lannigan
Contents
A) The emergence and clash of Left British unionism and Left Scottish nationalism
B) The politics of the Scottish independence referendum campaign
C) How the Left responded to the demand for greater national self-determination in Scotland
D) Carrying over lessons learned from the SSP experience
i) the need for political platforms
ii) the need for a revolutionary pole of attraction
iii) the need for political balance sheets to avoid repeating earlier mistakes
E) Promoting socialist republicanism and ‘internationalism from below’
i) The political legacy of the Republican Socialist Conventions and the Global Commune events
ii) Debating with other socialists during the Scottish independence referendum campaign
iii) promoting socialist republicanism and ‘internationalism from below’ in RIC
iv) the debate over secularism
v) the debate over Ireland
F) Debates and differences within the RCN
i) in the lead up and during the referendum campaign
ii) since the September 18th referendum
iii) the future for RIC, the all-islands Republican Socialist Alliance and the Scottish Left Project
Appendix
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Continue reading “THE RCN AND THE CAMPAIGN FOR SCOTTISH SELF-DETERMINATION”
Jan 11 2015
Over the RCN weekend away from November 7th-9thm 2014 held near Dunfermline and our aggregates held on January 11th in Edinburgh and February 21st, 2015 in Glasgow, we updated our What We Stand For in the light of our recent engagement with the struggle for Scottish self-determination and our ongoing discussions on communism, secularism and patriarchy. Here are the results of our discussions and debates.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
1) Another world is possible – a joyful, creative, new world communism which emancipates us all from oppression and frees us all from exploitation, and which forms a new sustainable relationship between humanity and the environment.
Continue reading “THE RCN’S UPDATED ‘WHAT WE STAND FOR’”
Jun 26 2014
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.
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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
1. How the British ruling class sees their strategy for retaining control over these islands
Jun 25 2014
Below E&L has posted a leaflet distributed by Socialist Democracy (Ireland) at an anti-racist rally in Belfast on 7th June.This was produced in response to Northern Ireland First Minster, Peter Robinson of the DUP and the initial support heave to a rabid rant directed against Muslims by a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, James McConnell.
Anti-racist rally in Belfast to protest against Peter Robinson’s initial backing for James McConnell
Racism: Break the bounds of liberal outrage!
The sectarian state sponsors racism
Peter Robinson’s public “apology” to local Muslims for any offence that was caused by his comments on Islam and Muslims may have taken the heat of the racist controversy that has been raging over the last couple of weeks. However, it has not changed the nature of the society or of the political system that generated it.
Continue reading “RACISM IN NORTHERN IRELAND BREAKING THE BOUNDS OF LIBERAL OUTRAGE”
Apr 20 2014
Eric Chester makes a contribution to the ongoing discussion and debate in the RCN about secularism
The demand for a secular republic has always been central to the struggle for socialism. All too frequently state power is used to bolster a specific religious orthodoxy, with those who adhere to other religions, or to no religion at all, finding themselves the target of discrimination and repression. Nineteenth century bourgeois revolutions, such as the American Revolution and the French Revolution, raised the demand for a separation of church and state, and significant steps were taken toward that goal. Nevertheless, an established church remains entrenched in most countries, receiving special privileges and state subsidies to reinforce its hold on the populace.
