Emancipation & Liberation » Scottish self-determination

Jun 08 2017

LEFT UNITY AND THE GENERAL ELECTION

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,For Self-Determination: Struggles against Alienation,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Scotland,UK state/British imperialism — RCN @ 10:04 am

We are posting this position paper from Steve Freeman (Republican Socialist Alliance and Campaign for a European Socialist Republican Party) first posted on the Left Unity blog.

SCOTLAND AND THE TORY BREXIT ELECTION

The general election is an opportunity for the working class in Scotland to build a stronger and more militant opposition to Tory Brexit and all anti-working class austerity policies whether from Tory or SNP governments. It is an opportunity to organise a stronger democratic movement against the Union, including preparing for a referendum on self determination, seeking closer unity with the anti-Unionist workers in England and more broadly with the European working class.

Left Unity will not stand candidates in the 2017 general election in Scotland. We will support any RISE or Scottish Socialist Party candidates whose policies are close to our own. Left Unity is clear in its commitment to socialism and will use the election to advance the following policies aimed to strengthen the working class internationally – opposition to austerity, imperialist wars, Trident, NATO, TTIP; anti-Unionism and support for the right to self determination, republican democracy, migrant rights and Pan European socialist organisation. Continue reading “LEFT UNITY AND THE GENERAL ELECTION “

Tags: Author: Steve Freeman, Brexit, England, EU, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour, Left Unity Party, Liberal Democrat, RISE, Scotland, Scottish self-determination, Scottish Socialist Party, Tories, UKIP, Unionism, Wales

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Jun 24 2014

LABOUR AND SOCIALIST LEFT UNIONISM IN THE SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE DEBATE

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,England,For Emancipation: Struggles against Exploitation,For Liberation: Struggles against Oppression,For Self-Determination: Struggles against Alienation,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Ireland,Radical Independence Campaign,Scotland,The crisis on the Left,The Socialist Republican Break-up of the UK,UK state/British imperialism,US imperialism,Wales — RCN @ 3:42 am

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 from below’ alternative in the Scottish independence referendum campaign. This talk is also a chapter in the extended article, Making Plans For Nigel, which can be viewed at:- http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2014/06/26/making-plans-for-nigel/ A shortened version of this talk was also given as a contribution to the debate in the Left Unity Party – Glasgow South branch, on December 13th.

On the British Left, continued support for maintaining the UK state and for upholding the internationalist nature of all-British party and trade union organisation stems from their understanding of the British ruling class and the United Kingdom. They view these as having played a key historical role in replacing the older feudal order in these islands, and other pre-capitalist societies in many parts of the world.

Continue reading “LABOUR AND SOCIALIST LEFT UNIONISM IN THE SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE DEBATE”

Tags: 'Bedroom Tax', 'Independence-Lite', 'No' campaign, 'Project Fear', 'Yes' campaign, 1951 Festival of Britain, 2015 Westminster General Election, Alex Salmond, alienation, Arms Length External Organisations, Author: Allan Armstrong, Baron Mandelson, British High Command, British road to socialism, British unionist Left, city academies, City of London, Civil Rights Movement, Clement Attlee, Conference of Socialist Economists, Crown Powers, David Cameron, Devonport dockyard, economism, Ed Balls, Ed Miliband, Edinburgh Agreement, England, Faslane, foundation hospitals, Gaelic language, George Brown, George Galloway, George Osborne, German Nazism, Glasgow, Ian Duncan Smith, Ireland, James Connolly, Johann Lamont, John MacLean, Karl Kautsky, Ken Loach, Ken Macintosh, King George VI, Labour Party, Land and Labour Leagues, Lenin, Levellers, London Correeponding Society, Lord Adonis, oppression, orthodox Marxism, Rachel Reeves, Radical Independence Campaign, repression, Republican Movement, Rosyth dockyard, Royal mail privatisation, Scottish self-determination, Second International, Self-determination, September 18th Scottish independence referendum, SNP, social imperialism, social monarchism, Socialist League, SWP, The Spirit of '45, Third International, Tom Harris, Tony Blair, trust schools, TUC, UK state, United Irishmen, United Scotsmen, Wales, welfare state, Welsh language

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Apr 01 2014

LET’S ALL END OUR ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UK STATE

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,England,For Self-Determination: Struggles against Alienation,Ireland,Radical Independence Campaign,Scotland,The Socialist Republican Break-up of the UK,Wales — RCN @ 12:20 pm

Below is the lead article from the Republican Communist Network RIC Special Bulletin, first distributed at the RIC National Forum in Perth, on March 29th. This was handed out along with the Republican Socialist Alliance bulletin, Hands off the people of Scotland (http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2014/03/25/hands-off-the-people-of-scotland-solidarity-from-england/) made for the Left Unity conference held on the same day in Manchester.

Edinburgh RIC banner on demonstration. Photo by John Lanigan

Continue reading “LET’S ALL END OUR ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UK STATE”

Tags: City of London, Crown Powers, Dambuster Strategy, Danny Alexander, David Cameron, Ed Balls, England, George Osborne, Ireland, Johann Lamont, Labour in Scotland, Left Unity Party, Radical Independence Campaign, Republican Communist Network, Scottish self-determination, SNP government, Wales, Westminster

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Oct 29 2013

SOCIALIST UNITY – THE RCN ASKS 12 QUESTIONS

Category: For Emancipation: Struggles against Exploitation,For Liberation: Struggles against Oppression,For Self-Determination: Struggles against Alienation,How we organise,Independent class organisations,SSP and SWP,The crisis on the Left,What is communism? — RCN @ 3:47 pm

The RCN has been involved in preliminary discussions with Frontline, the International Socialist Group (Scotland), individual members of the International Socialist Network and Defense of Our Party faction in the SWP, as well as other individuals mainly from an SSP background. Frontline published the views a number of socialist organisations, which we reposted at http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2013/06/10/socialist-unity/. Stemming from these initial discussions, the RCN has framed 12 questions, which it has sent out to those organisations participating in socialist unity discussions. We will post each response as receive it. We would like to thank Alister Black of Frontline (http://www.redflag.org.uk) and James Foley of the International Socialist Group for the first responses to our questions.

1. ALISTER BLACK OF FRONTLINE REPLIES TO THE RCN’S 12 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROSPECTS FOR SOCIALIST UNITY

1. After the demise or major setbacks for Left unity and Socialist unity projects in these islands (SSP, Socialist Alliance, Respect, Forward Wales, United Left Alliance-Ireland), there have been a number of new initiatives recently – the Peoples Assemblies, the proposed Left Unity Party (LUP) and the Socialist Unity Platform (SUP) and International Socialist Network/Socialist Resistance/Anti-Capitalist Initiative (ISN/SR/ACI) unity proposals. However, these have mainly been confined to England and Wales. Why do you think things are less advanced in Scotland at the moment?

The Scottish political environment is now very different to that in the rest of the UK state. The left has faced the problems of its own fractures but also of the ascendance of the Scottish National Party. The left lacks credibility but also has been slow to recover from the self-inflicted wounds of the last few years. At the same time the SNP has presented themselves as social-democrats through reforms such as free prescription charges and abolition of tuition fees (whilst being very friendly to union-busting big business outfits like Amazon).

Continue reading “SOCIALIST UNITY – THE RCN ASKS 12 QUESTIONS”

Tags: 'Spirit of 45', 'Yes' campaign, Anti-Capitalist Initiative, Author: Alister Black, Author: James Foley, Broad Left, Caroline Lucas, Chris Bambery, Chris Harman, CLASS, Colin Fox, Common Weal, Ed Miliband, Forward Wales, Frontline, George Galloway, Gerry Hassan, Govan, Grangemouth, Green New Deal, International Socialist Group (Scotland), International Socialist Network, Ireland, J.K. Galbraith, Jerry Hicks, Ken Loach, Labour, Left Unity Party, Len McCluskey, Levellers, Marxist-Leninist parties, Militant, National Collective, national self-determination, neo-Keynesianism, New Economics Foundation, Owen Jones, Peoples Assemblies, Poll Tax, Rank and File, Respect, Scottish self-determination, Scottish Socialist Party, SNP, Social Democracy, Socialist Alliance (England and Wales), Socialist Party, Socialist Resistance, Socialist Unity, Socialist Workers Party, STUC, The Case for an Independent Scotland, United Left Alliance

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Dec 20 2012

RADISSON BLU OR POST-RADISSON RED?

This blog has already commented on the earlier organising behind the Radical Independence Conference. It has also provided a fraternal critique of Britain Must Break, written by James Foley for the International Socialist Group (ISG), the organisation which initiated the RIC. Many others have commented on the conference itself (see end of articles below for links to these).

Below are posted two related articles. The first examines the politics of the ISG and how these could influence the future of the RIC. The second makes a comparison between the ISG (which has come out of the SWP tradition) and seeks to reunite the Left in Scotland, and the International Socialist Movement (which came from the CWI/Militant tradition) and sought to unite the Left through setting up the Scottish Socialist Party. Continue reading “RADISSON BLU OR POST-RADISSON RED?”

Tags: 'New Realism', 'No' campaign, 'Yes' campaign, Alan McCombes, Alex Salmond, Alternative Economic Strategy, Anarchists, anarcho-bureaucratic, Angus Robertson, Anti-capitalist, Anti-Nazi League, Anti-Poll Tax campaign, Arab Spring, Author: Allan Armstrong, Billy Hutchinson, Blue Labour, BNP, Broad Left, Chris Bambery, Coalition of Resistance, Committee for a Worker International, Con-Dem Coalition, Counterfire, CPB, CPB(ML), CPGB, Declaration of Calton Hill, Derek Hatton, Die Linke, dissident Communists, dissident Trotskyists, European Anti-Capitalist Alliance, George Galloway, Glasgow, Hetherington Occupation, International Socialist Group, Irish Republicanism, Islamo-communalist, James Foley, Jerry Hicks, Jim Bollan, Jonathan Rees, Left nationalist, Left unionist, Len McCluskey, Libertarian, Lindsey German, loyalists, Miliband, Mitterand, Muslim Brotherhood, National Shop Stewards Committee, Neil Davidson, neo-fascists, neo-Keynesian, New Labour, New Movements, Occupy, official Communists, official Trotskyists, orthodox Trotskyists, Parti de Gauche, President Obama, Radical, Radical Independence Conference, Rank & File, Republican Communist Network, Respect, Scottish self-determination, Scottish Socialist Party, SDL, Self-determination, SNP, social democrats, Socialist Alliance, Socialist Party, Socialist Workers Party, Solidarity, Stop the War Coalition, SYRIZA, The Downturn, Tom Nairn, Tommy Sheridan, Trade Union & Socialist Coalition, Transitional Programme, Unite Against Fascism, Unite the Resistance, United Left Alliance, USFI, wage slavery

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Oct 08 2012

SCOTTISH SELF-DETERMINATION AND THE ‘ACTUALLY EXISTING’ LABOUR MOVEMENT

Category: Against Unionism,Combined struggles for Emancipation, Liberation and National Self-Determination,England,For Emancipation: Struggles against Exploitation,For Liberation: Struggles against Oppression,For Self-Determination: Struggles against Alienation,How they are organised,How we organise,Independent class organisations,Ireland,Radical Independence Campaign,Reviews,Scotland,The crisis on the Left,The Socialist Republican Break-up of the UK,UK state/British imperialism,Wales — RCN @ 10:47 am

A response to the Red Paper Collective’s

Power for Scotland’s People – A labour movement view

The ‘Independent Scotland Debate’ was organised by the Edinburgh Peoples Festival on September 9^th. 86 people attended this well-conducted event in the Out of the Blue Centre in Leith. The speaker supporting independence was Kevin Williamson of bella caledonia, who argued from a Left nationalist perspective. The speaker opposing independence was West Lothian Labour MSP, Neil Findlay. Neil is also a member of the Red Paper Collective [1] (RPC), which includes British Left unionists in the Scottish Labour Party and the Communist Party of Britain [2]. Supporters of the RPC handed out their pamphlet, Power for Scotland’s People – A labour movement view [3], to elaborate on the points Neil made in the debate.

This website has already posted critiques of Left nationalist approaches to the SNP government’s 2014 referendum [4]. This posting is a critique of the British Left unionist approach outlined in the RPC’s pamphlet [5].

Continue reading “SCOTTISH SELF-DETERMINATION AND THE ‘ACTUALLY EXISTING’ LABOUR MOVEMENT”

Tags: 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Alex Salmond, Alistair Darling, Anti-Poll Tax campaign, Author: Allan Armstrong, Bella Caledonia, Broad Left, Campaign for a New Workers Party, City of London, Communist Party of Britain, Communist Party of Scotland, Constituent Assembly, CPGB, Crown Powers, Danny Boyle, David Cameron, Ed Balls, Ed Miliband, George Osborne, Grass Roots Left, Holyrood, Internationalism From Below, Isles of Wonder, Johann Lamont, John Foster, John MacLean, Kevin Williamson, Margaret Thatcher, NATO, Neil Findlay MSP, New Unionism, Occupy Movement, Peter Mandelson, Power for Scotland's People - A labour movement view, Radical Independence Conference, Rank and File, Red Paper Collective, Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish Labour Party, Scottish self-determination, Scottish Teachers Rank & File Group, Sir George Mathewson, SNP, SSP, Tony Blair, Westminster

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