A contribution from Allan Armstrong of the Republican Communist Network. This is immediately followed by a supplement analysing the European election results, which assesses the current balance of political forces in the EU. In Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales the main lesson of the 2009 European elections is clear – we need Socialist unity. In…
Edinburgh People’s Festival: Inspirational and Educational
Colin Fox speaks to Allan Armstrong about the vision and mission of the Edinburgh People’s Festival What made you revive the Edinburgh Peoples Festival after almost 50 years? We didn’t start off with the intention of reviving the Edinburgh Peoples Festival (EPF). At Hamish Henderson’s funeral in 2002, a group of us, including Bill Scott,…
Well, the Crisis of Capitalism has arrived – So, what do we do now?!
Not just a ‘Credit Crunch’ – but a ‘Crisis of Capitalism’ This year’s SSP Conference takes place against the background of an unprecedented crisis for capitalism. Every day it becomes clearer that the problems in the economy are not just confined to the over-inflated world of finance, but are having a major impact on the…
From Davitt to Connolly – Internationalism From Below
The challenge to the UK state and British Empire from 1879-95 Contents of forthcoming book Introduction The growing conflict between liberal and conservative unionism in the period of New Imperialism Michael Davitt and the launching of the Irish Revolution in 1879 Davitt adopts an ‘internationalism from below’ strategy to spread the revolution The struggle against…
Republican Socialist Convention Report, 29.11.08
As well as an overview of events there are some comments and feedback from attendees. These are reproduced below, see the SSP report below for more details. Brian Garvey, Fourthwrite, Independent Workers Union: The space given to democratic discussion, the planning and facilitation of the event was impressive and I’m fairly confident that it was because…
The SSP Gives Its Support To The ‘No One Is Illegal’ Campaign
Taken from SSP website If anybody had any illusions that Gordon Brown was going to be a better and more principled Labour leader than Tony Blair, they were soon rudely shattered. When Brown declared his support for British jobs for British workers, at the Labour Party Conference, he lifted a slogan straight from the BNP…
Socialists And The Republic
Taken from SSP website Soon to be included in a forthcoming RCN pamphlet. When people are asked what is meant by the word ‘republic’ they usually answer, A country without a monarch. In today’s world this covers a great variety of states, including the USA, France, Germany, Russia, Israel, China, South Africa and Cuba. At…
‘Celtic Tigers’ And ‘Celtic Lions’ Both Pussycats For Big Business
I have come to Dublin to set our aspirations for Scotland’s future. Alex Salmond, speaking at Trinity College, Dublin, 13.2.2008 There two official economic visions currently being offered to the electorates of these islands. The first has been promoted by Blair, Brown and New Labour. Their British imperial vision involves bowing and scraping before the…
Prospects For Socialists In Scotland
Allan Armstrong interviews Alan McCombes, a key influence on the theoretical direction of the SSP and a member of the SSP national executive. He gives us his views on Salmond’s SNP government, the future prospects for socialist unity, and the SSP’s constitutional conference. How do you assess the current situation with the new SNP government?…
A Critique and Exposure of Tommy Sheridan’s Daily Record and The SSP has reached the crossroad “manifestoes”.
Tommy’s battle against the News of the World Tommy Sheridan has won a famous victory over the News of the World. This has been proclaimed by Tommy’s immediate supporters, the SWP and CWI, and by that section of the press and media, which likes to pretend it is morally superior to the News of the…