This article written by Robina Qreshi, Director of Positive Housing , celebrates the victory of the residents of Govanhill in Glasgow over the UK Border Agency. She refers to past battles in Glasgow over housing led by Mary Barbour; whilst only two days following the action on 13th May, more protestors condemning the lethal actions…
The power grab of the queen’s speech
This article by Mike Small was first posted on bella caledonia. It outlines the Tory government’s plans to bring the politics of Brexit Britain closer to the authoritarian Right in Eastern Europe, coupled to their attempts to bury its own murderous past in Ireland. At the State Opening of Parliament today the full-farce of Britain’s…
The Alba Party and the Left in Scotland
The following article by Allan Armstrong (RCF) is the first part of his analysis of the Alba Party and the response of the Left in Scotland. THE ALBA PARTY AND THE LEFT IN SCOTLAND – Part 1 Introduction The public emergence of the Alba Party on 26th March has led to considerable political confusion on the…
Archie, Oprah and the Battle for George Square
We are posting this article by Mike Small of bella caledonia. It highlights the wider political significance of the the latest events in Glasgow’s George Square on 7.3.21 following the police facilitated march of Rangers supporters. We shouldn’t pretend that the display of violence in George Square, the police complicity, the ‘exposure’ of racism within…
Alex Salmond, the Holyrood enquiry and the Scottish Left – a republican response
Allan Armstrong has written this article in response to the Holyrood enquiry. It examines the underlying role of the Crown and why this should be of concern to any genuine democrat. Alex Salmond’s statement and evidence to the Holyrood enquiry on February 26th has led to much fevered comment from a salivating London-based unionist media (including…
There isn’t going to be a Border Poll
We are posting this article from Republic Media (Ireland) outlining why it is very unlikely there will be a Border Poll anytime soon. This article also breaks out of the Irish nationalist exceptionalist tradition and draws evidence from recent events in Scotland. This is followed by a comment by Allan Armstrong, RCF, RSP about the…
Freedom Come All Ye – Resisting The RIC Terminators
On 3rd February 2021, bella caledonia published an article by Allan Armstrong, Freedom Come All Ye. This included an analysis of the politics behind the attempt by the Terminators to shut down RIC nationally. Since then, a provisional ‘Yes Alba’ has also morphed into ‘Now Scotland’. Allan’s original article has been updated to take in…
Workers Unity: Lessons From Scotland
Paul Inglis, who is a member of Socialist Resistance and Anti-Capitalist Resistance, is the co-ordinator of the Republican Socialist Platform’s working group on Relationships with Mass Organisations. In this article posted on the RSP website, Paul considers the history of the ‘united front’. This is an important article. Separated from us as it is by…
Popular Culture, Brexit And One Nation Toryism
The following article by Jim Aitken, first appeared on the Culture Matters blog. There was a palpable sense of euphoria on the BBC during the morning after the night before of the General Election of December 12, 2019. It had a feeling of glee about it; a childish excitement that the un-English dragon of socialism –…
Mary McGregor Reviews ‘A Kist Of Thistles’
Mary McGregor (RCN) reviews a new collection of radical poetry from Scotland ‘A KIST OF THISTLES ‘- AN ANTHOLOGY OF RADICAL POETRY FROM CONTEMPORARY SCOTLAND, EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY JIM AITKEN Too many people on the left still regard art and culture as peripheral to the class struggle. They fail to recognise that for millennia…