Allan Armstrong (RCN) updates his socialist republican analyses of constitutional developments in the UK and Ireland, in the lead up to the May 2015 Westminster election. ___________ ROLLING BACK SCOTLAND’S ‘DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION’ 1. British unionists and Scottish nationalists attempt to derail Scotland’s ‘democratic revolution’ There are several important features to the political landscape we can currently…
THE RCN AND THE CAMPAIGN FOR SCOTTISH SELF-DETERMINATION
THE REPUBLICAN COMMUNIST NETWORK, THE RADICAL INDEPENDENCE CAMPAIGN, AND THE CAMPAIGN FOR SCOTTISH SELF-DETERMINATION Contents A) The emergence and clash of Left British unionism and Left Scottish nationalism B) The politics of the Scottish independence referendum campaign C) How the Left responded to the demand for greater national self-determination in Scotland D) Carrying over lessons…
BOB PURDIE, 1940-2014
D.R.O’Connor Lysaght of Socialist Democracy (Ireland) has written the following obituary to Bob Purdie. Bob was onetime member of the International Marxist Group and influential in establishing their position in the Irish struggle for Irish self-determination in the 1970’s. Later a member of the SNP, he recently wrote Hugh MacDairmid: Black, Green, Red and Tartan. Obituary: Bob…
A review of ‘Scottish Independence – A Feminist Response’
Mary McGregor (RCN) reviews Scottish Independence: A Feminist Response by Cat Boyd and Jenny Morrison. Even when we lost we felt like we had won something. It was an exciting time to be involved in Scottish politics. There was an optimism and vibe in workplaces and on the streets that I can never remember…
THE CURSE OF NATIONALISM
Eric Chester (RCN) outlines his view of the political dangers represented by the SNP The independence referendum has substantially changed the political landscape of Scotland. With 45% of the voters supporting independence, and many others deterred from joining them by a last minute fear campaign, there is a widespread belief that the election was stolen and that…
A Report of the Radical Independence Campaign conference held in Glasgow on November 22nd
Penny Cole of ‘A World to Win’ reports on the Radical Independence Campaign conference held in Glasgow on November 22nd. This is followed by the talk given by Angharad Tomos of Cymdeithas yr Iaith/Welsh Language Society to the session on Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland. The appetite for political change demonstrated by the Scotland independence…
EMANCIPATION & LIBERATION RIC 2014 conference special magazine
We are posting the two lead articles from Emancipation & Liberation, issue no. 23, produced for the 3000 strong Radical Independence Campaign conference held in Glasgow, in the Clydeside Auditorium on Saturday, November 22nd. The first is by Murdo Ritchie (RCN), the second by Allan Armstrong (RCN). WHEN DECADES HAPPEN – AFTER THE…
ENGLAND SAYS “YES!”
Murdo Ritchie (RCN) reviews the pamphlet produced by Republican Socialist Alliance, The Crown versus the People. England’s Case for Voting ‘Yes’. The Scottish referendum opened space for republican ideas to be discussed not just in Scotland but throughout the rest of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Republican Yes Tendency in the Left Unity party was…
Emancipation & Liberation, Issue 22, 2013
We are posting a new link to an electronic version of the special issue of Emancipation & Liberation, issue no 22, the RCN produced for the second Radical Independence Campaign conference, held in the Marriott Hotel in Glasgow on November 23rd, 2013. http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2013/11/24/emancipation-liberation-issue-22-winter-2013/ This will provide some basis for assessing the changes, which have occurred…
EMANCIPATION & LIBERATION – RIC Special Bulletin, October, 2014
The following two articles are from the Emancipation & Liberation bulletin distributed at the RIC National Forum in Dundee on November 1st. LORD SMITH – A PILLAR OF THE BRITISH ESTABLISHMENT If there had been a ‘Yes’ vote on September 18th, the current SNP government was going to use its electoral mandate, under the UK state’s devolved…