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…

THE RCN’S UPDATED ‘WHAT WE STAND FOR’

Over the RCN weekend away from November 7th-9th 2014 held near Dunfermline and our aggregates held on January 11th in Edinburgh and February 21st, 2015 in Glasgow, we updated our What We Stand For in the light of our recent engagement with the struggle for Scottish self-determination and our ongoing discussions on communism, secularism and…

DEFYING WATER CHARGES IN IRELAND

Will the campaign against the Water Charges be the Irish equivalent of Anti-Poll Tax campaign? Anne McShane examines the political situation after massive demo against  in Dublin, on December 10th. This article was first published in Weekly Worker. We are also posting earlier articles by Eddie McLaughlin (Socialist Democracy – Ireland) on the  political fall-out after the demonstration…

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…

THE WOBBLIES IN THEIR HEYDAY

Murdo Ritchie reviews a new book by Eric Chester, The Wobblies in their Heyday. The Rise and Destruction of the Industrial Workers of the World During the World War One Era.   AN OPEN UNION IN A POLITICAL WORLD Using documents that have been concealed or hidden in plain sight, Eric Chester reveals the repression used…

STUC AND ITUC (NORTHERN COMMITTEE) DEMONSTRATIONS ON OCTOBER 18th.

On October 18th  the TUC, STUC and ITUC (Northern Committee) held demonstrations to protest against austerity. Trade Unionists For Independence (East Coast) distributed the  leaflet below at the STUC rally, It’s Time to Create A Just Scotland, held in Glasgow on Saturday, October 18th. It was attended by 3500 trade unionists. Socialist Democracy (Ireland) wrote the second…

MORE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE RCN’S ‘WHAT WE STAND FOR’

The RCN will be debating new amendments to our ‘What We Stand For’ on our annual weekend away being  held on November 8th. The first set of amendments proposed by Allan Armstrong were posted at:- http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2014/08/09/proposed-amendments-to-the-rcns-what-we-stand-for/. Eric Chester has proposed another set of amendments, which are posted below.   Add to point 5: We call for…

AFTER THE SEPTEMBER 18th REFERENDUM VOTE – A socialist republican response

In the aftermath of the September 18th Scottish independence referendum, Allan Armstrong (RCN) updates his  earlier piece (http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2014/09/03/up-to-and-beyond-the-september-18th-independence-referendum-a-socialist-republican-perspective/).   A Movement-in-the-making The campaign for Scottish independence has been the largest movement for popular democracy seen in these islands since the Irish War of Independence. In terms of electoral participation it was unprecedented. Voter registration was 97%…

EMANCIPATION & LIBERATION RIC SPECIAL BULLETIN – September, 2014

Allan Armstrong (RCN) has written the following article for the RCN Radical Independence Campaign Special Bulletin, which will be distributed at the RIC National Forum in Glasgow on September 27th.     Nobody could have anticipated the rise of the Radical Independence Campaign, nor the form it would take. It has been moulded by the…

Rana Plaza – When art meets reality

Pauline Bradley reports on art that brings to life the struggle of sweatshop workers in Bangladesh No caring person can have failed to be shocked at the news of the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory on 24 April 2013. This eight-story commercial building collapsed in Savar, a sub-district in the Greater Dhaka Area,…