Allan Armstrong (February 6th 1949-April 19th 2024) It is with great sadness that the RCN/RCF acknowledges the death of our great comrade and friend Allan Armstrong. Allan was a founding member of our organisation and played a pivotal role in working class politics across Scotland and beyond over many decades. In the coming weeks we…
From Pre-Brit to Ex-Brit – The forging and the break-up of the UK and Britishness
FROM PRE-BRIT TO EX BRIT: THE FORGING AND THE BREAK- UP OF THE UK AND BRITISHNESS An index with page numbering has been added to make sections of this six part book easier to read on the screen. https://allanarmstrong831930095.files.wordpress.com/2024/02/from-pre-brit-to-ex-brit-2024.pdf _______ also see: E-Books
Challenging the constitution – a review of Pete Cannell’s ‘Scotland after Sturgeon’
Allan Armstrong writes a review of Pete Cannell’s Scotland after Sturgeon CHALLENGING THE CONSTITUTION Anyone reading Pete Cannell’s Scotland after Sturgeon will acknowledge his fair-minded approach to Nicola Sturgeon. In terms of mainstream politics, Sturgeon, whilst leader of the SNP and Scotland’s First Minister, was “easily the most popular politician in the UK”. Pete…
Papering over the cracks, covering up the tracks : a review of Scotland after Britain
Allan Armstrong has written an extended review of ‘Scotland After Britain’, written by James Foley and Ben Wray, with Neil Davidson, entitled Papering over the Cracks, Covering up the Tracks. The Contents, the last chapter and Conclusion can be read here. PAPERING OVER THE CRACKS COVERING UP THE TRACKS A review of Scotland after Britain by…
Announcing the 2023 Declaration of Calton Hill
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…
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…
The reign of Elizabrit – 70 years of imperialist and unionist violence
THE REIGN OF ELZABRIT – 70 YEARS OF IMPERIALIST AND UNIONIST VIOLENCE One stark feature of the reign of queen Elizabeth, commander in chief of the British Armed Forces, 1952-2022, has been continuous UK involvement in military interventions and wars. This has led to many tens of thousands of deaths amongst those fighting for their…
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…