Chris Jones (RDG) Former FBU Brigade Chair, Merseyside The FBU dispute has moved decisively into a new phase in the first month of 2003. The offensive led by the FBU executive against the erosion of firefighters’ and control staff’s pay has now become a defensive battle. Quietly the 40% claim has been allowed to fall…
Red on Green, Green on Red
Alan Boylan argues why campaigning on environmental issues must be a priority for the Scottish Socialist Party. For millions of people across the globe the relationship between humankind, the animal world and our environment is a question, which has brought much heated debate. Humanity’s increasing separateness from nature, and the corporations’ promotion of the technological…
The Great Land Grab
In the light of the Scottish Parliament’s inadequate Land Reform legislation, Iain Robertson looks at who owns Scotland and what is needed to ensure access to all. The day began like many others. It was too early, too cold, and too dark to be getting up and we were still tired from the previous evening’s…
Goodbye to the Good Friday Agreement
Now for the real drive to preserve partition and sectarianism in the North of Ireland John McAnulty (Socialist Democracy, Belfast) details the reasons for the latest crisis of the Good Friday Agreement The history books will undoubtedly list the collapse of the current version of the Good Friday Agreement as stemming from the British raid…
If You’re Happy And You Know It – Bomb Iraq
If you cannot find Osama, bomb Iraq. If the markets are a drama, bomb Iraq. If the terrorists are frisky, Pakistan is looking shifty, North Korea is too risky, Bomb Iraq. If we have no allies with us, bomb Iraq. If we think that someone’s dissed us, bomb Iraq. So to hell with the inspections,…
Scottish Socialist Party – Socialist Unity
The Republican Communist Network has submitted the resolution, reproduced here, to be debated at the SSP’s annual conference being held in February. It attempts to get the SSP to take the lead in building and concretising some practical steps to unity with socialist organisations across England, Wales and Ireland. Unfortunately, the Conference Arrangements Committee has…
David the detainee
by Jim Aitken Each night last week I have caught his eyes pleading for support and understanding Daily detainees for being himself saying the wrong things that he thought were right Speaking out of turn his essential self expressing himself amid hostile glares As they shout him down detain him further for interfering with assessments…
Official Anti Racism – sanitised and useless
As the Scottish Executive launches its official anti-racism poster campaign, Mary Ward provides an alternative, but more effective, way to beat racism. Scotland one nation many cultures! the official message is emblazoned on billboards across Scotland in the attempt to convince the chattering classes that the Scottish Executive is tackling racism. We can hide behind…
The oil and military Industries behind Bush
Matt Siegfried, a socialist and trade unionist activist from Detroit, examines the motivation behind the US government’s obsession with war against Iraq. This article originally appeared in Fourthwrite. The United States is on the verge of war with Iraq. A section of the Bush administration, reflecting a section of the US ruling class, has long…
Fight the imperialist drive for permanent war
The Republican Communist Network is proud to be part of the SSP, which has consistently upheld the line of opposition to the threatened war on Iraq. It has led the anti-war movement in Scotland on a principled basis. The SSP and the RCN are completely opposed to any war against Iraq regardless of any subsequent…