Bernadette McAliskey gave the following talk at the ‘London Says Yes’ rally held on September 6th 2014 Going back in history there was the Great Debate in English democracy between Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine, which too may people forget. This debate preceded the more radical discussion on the rights of the working class. The…
England – nationalism versus republicanism
In England during the referendum, members of both the Left Unity Party (LUP) and the Republican Socialist Alliance organised meetings in London, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. In the aftermath of the September 18th, Steve Freeman (RSA and LUP/Scottish Republic Yes Tendency) provides his analysis of the campaign and its political consequences. On Thursday 18…
RIC – a Scottish republican movement in the making?
In the aftermath of the referendum, Allan Armstrong examines the potential for the Radical Independence Campaign 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% and voter turnout was…
Weeks when decades happen
Murdo Ritchie analyses the result of the independence referendum and what it means for Scotland the rest of the UK state. “There are decades in which nothing happens and there are weeks in which decades happen.” Lenin When 1,517,989 voters (44.7%) declared they were prepared to abandon their primary, legal national identity to build a…
Scottish Independence – A Feminist Response
Book Review: Scottish Independence – A Feminist Response, Authors: Cat Boyd & Jenny Morrison Publisher: Word Power Books 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…
An Open Gate
Dreaming, I saw a thistle field, in half light; It teemed with folk. Some, their loyalties elsewhere, took shelter from a threatened gale. They planned new batteries of defensive acts, to keep their rule. At their flank, a cringe of crawling servants let the surplus value of our better lands get stripped. There were some,…
Emancipation & Liberation, Issue 23, Winter 2014
Issue 23 of Emancipation & Liberation is out now. If you would like to buy this issue or subscribe, contact us. Comments are open, so until articles are online, feel free to discuss the articles below. When they are online you can discuss the article in it’s comment section. Front cover image, John Lanigan Weeks…
MESSAGE FROM EDINBURGH RIC TO THE ‘GO FOR IT SCOTLAND’ RALLY IN CARDIFF ON SEPTEMBER 13th
The Radical Independence Campaign was asked to send a message to the ‘Go For It Scotland’ Rally in Cardiff on September 13th. Edinburgh RIC took on the responsibility for this, and the following statement was agreed at the Edinburgh RIC branch on September 8th. Thanks and greetings to the organisers and those attending this Welsh rally for Scottish…
SCOTTISH REFERENDUM: The Crown versus the People – England’s case for supporting ‘Yes’
This pamphlet, written by Steve Freeman of the Republican Socialist Alliance, provides the reasons why the people of England should support a ‘Yes’ vote in the Scottish referendum of September 18th. The pamphlet is a summary of arguments used over the summer of 2014 in the run up to the Scottish referendum. The context…
THE CONTINUED US MILITARY USE OF SHANNON AIRPORT
John Lannon, for IMI-Standpunkt, has written this article on the continued use of Shannon Airport by US military forces Shannon Airport, situated on the west coast of Ireland, used to be a busy civilian airport. The Irish government gave tax breaks for companies to set up manufacturing facilities in the nearby Shannon Free Zone;…