{"id":18123,"date":"2021-03-04T19:07:05","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T19:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/?p=18123"},"modified":"2021-05-24T15:28:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T15:28:48","slug":"alex-salmond-the-holyrood-enquiry-and-the-scottish-left-a-republican-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2021\/03\/04\/alex-salmond-the-holyrood-enquiry-and-the-scottish-left-a-republican-response\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Salmond, the Holyrood enquiry and the Scottish Left &#8211; a republican response"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Allan Armstrong has written this article in response to the Holyrood enquiry.\u00a0It examines the underlying role of the Crown \u00a0and why this should be of concern to any genuine democrat.<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18128\" src=\"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/images.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"278\" height=\"215\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Alex Salmond\u2019s statement and evidence to the Holyrood enquiry on February 26<sup>th<\/sup> has led to much fevered comment from a salivating London-based unionist media (including its Scottish unionist members) and from Scottish nationalist supporters of either \u2018St. Nicola\u2019 or \u2018Oor Eck\u2019. But the majority of <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> voters probably hope that Lesley Riddoch is right and that a new rapprochement can be reached before the May Holyrood election.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldscotland.com\/news\/19124683.salmond-inquiry-choice-nicola-sturgeon\/\">Salmond inquiry: The choice is with Nicola Sturgeon<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, the response of sections of the Scottish Left has underplayed the wider political significance of these events and divisions. Thus, Kevin McKenna, a former Scottish Labour supporter, but now someone committed to Scottish independence as the best way to bring about social democratic reform, has dismissed the \u201cAlex Salmond affair\u201d. It is \u201ca Tartan Noir production for the titillation of the political and media elite\u201d.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldscotland.com\/news\/19122066.kevin-mckenna-salmond-sturgeon-sideshow-betrays-poorest-children-long-shadow-pandemic\/\">Kevin McKenna: Salmond\/Sturgeon sideshow betrays our poorest children in the long shadow of pandemic<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script>\u00a0He has attacked both Salmond for pursuing \u201cthe purest approximation of a vendetta that we\u2019ll ever see\u201d and \u201cMrs Sturgeon\u2019s chief lickspittles\u201d for simultaneously exploiting and undermining \u201cthe female complainants at the centre of this\u201d.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_3');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_3');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_3\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_3\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">ditto<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script> McKenna is concerned that the media focus takes us away from \u201cthe real world\u2026 where real people are suffering the economic effects of crippling inequality made worse by the pandemic\u201d.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_4');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_4');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_4\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[4]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_4\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">ditto<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>In the so-called \u2018culture wars\u2019 in Scotland, Mike Small of <em>bella caledonia<\/em> has recently been on the other side to McKenna.\u00a0The real issue underlying this divide is whether the inclusive rainbow alliance of would be Scottish citizens, including those from <acronym title=\"Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender\">LGBT<\/acronym>+ and <acronym title=\"Black Asian Minority Ethnic\">BAME<\/acronym> backgrounds, mobilised during the IndyRef1 campaign, will be sustained; or whether a future Scotland will be based on a narrower, more exclusive notion of Scottishness. This is one that adapts to and is sometimes funded by Right populists particularly from the <acronym title=\"United States of America\">USA<\/acronym>.<\/p>\n<p>Mike has clearly identified with the first approach.\u00a0McKenna, however, has made regular attacks on those he characterised as \u201cwoke\u201d &#8211; a favourite Right populist term. But to his credit, McKenna has recently begun to back pedal on some of this.\u00a0Perhaps he can see where it would take us.\u00a0A Scotland based on the politics of the Rev. Stuart Campbell\u2019s \u2018Wings Over Scotland\u2019<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_5');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_5');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_5\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[5]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_5\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bellacaledonia.org.uk\/2021\/02\/18\/stuart-campbell-is-a-disgrace-that-has-soiled-our-movement\/\">Stuart Campbell is a Disgrace that has Soiled Our Movement<br \/>\n<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script> would be little better than a tartan version of an England based on the politics of Katie Hopkins.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Mike agrees with McKenna that \u201cmost people outwith the media cliques and Twittersphere seem remarkably bored by the whole affair\u201d and \u201dthat the mass of people are focused on our own lockdown hell {rather} than the shenanigans and manoeuvring of desperate political groupings and players.\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_6');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_6');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_6\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[6]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_6\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Mission Creep<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script>\u00a0McKenna has put it more pithily. \u201cI simply cannot envision the following conversation unfolding in Scottish households in the run-up to the Scottish election. \u2018I\u2019d normally vote <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym>, but I\u2019m absolutely appalled at how Scotland\u2019s chief prosecutor gets to sit in the Cabinet.\u2019\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_7');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_7');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_7\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[7]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_7\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_7').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_7', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script><\/p>\n<h3>The Salmond case raises issues which should concern the Left<\/h3>\n<p>But Salmond has raised some fundamental issues.\u00a0Whether he has done this for entirely selfish reasons or in an attempt to uphold \u201cthe principles of openness, accountability and transparency &#8211; which are the core principles on which the Scottish Parliament was founded\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_7');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_7');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_7\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[7]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_7\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldscotland.com\/news\/19121476.alex-salmonds-opening-statement-holyrood-inquiry-full\/\">Alex Salmond&#8217;s opening statement to the Holyrood inquiry in full<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_7').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_7', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script> &#8211; is secondary. Salmond has argued that,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe competence and professionalism of the civil service matters. The independence of the crown office &#8211; as acting in the public interest &#8211; matters. Acting in accordance with legal advice matters; concealing evidence from the courts matters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe duty of candour of public authorities matters.\u00a0Democratic accountability through Parliament matters.\u00a0Suppressing evidence from parliamentary committees matters. And yes, ministers telling the truth to Parliament matters.\u201d<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_8');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_8');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_8\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[8]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_8\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">ditto<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_8').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_8', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The reason why this should be important for the Left, is that under the current or any alternative <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> government, the inherited Scottish institutional set-up is seen by many as the means to address the \u201csuffering {and} the economic effects of crippling inequality made worse by the pandemic\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Dismissing the Holyrood enquiry as a mere \u201cTartan Noir\u201d psychodrama diverts attention away from the necessary connection between economic and social issues on one hand and political or constitutional issues on the other. In the run-up to the Westminster general election on December 12<sup>th<\/sup> 2019, Jeremy Corbyn believed he could make such a separation and avoid any challenge to the <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym>\u2019s constitutional order. He highlighted the socio-economic need for a \u2018Green New Deal\u2019 and the defence of the NHS. But Corbyn and his very British Left unionist supporters left it to Johnson\u2019s Tories to dictate the political and constitutional framework for Labour\u2019s <em>Its Time for Real Change<\/em> \u2013 a new Brexitland. The result was Labour\u2019s \u201dhistoric defeat\u201d.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_9');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_9');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_9\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[9]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_9\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2020\/01\/24\/the-impact-of-the-december-12th-general-election-across-the-constituent-parts-of-the-uk\/\">THE IMPACT OF THE DECEMBER 12TH GENERAL ELECTION ACROSS THE CONSTITUENT PARTS OF THE <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym><\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_9').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_9', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script>\u00a0In a crisis-ridden system any attempts at economic and social reform very soon come up against the limits of the <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym>\u2019s constitutional order.<\/p>\n<h3>Both wings of the current\u00a0the <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> divide are upholders of the sovereignty of the Crown-in-Westminster devolved to Holyrood<\/h3>\n<p>Today the <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> is better placed electorally than Labour, and has fewer illusions in Westminster as such.\u00a0Yet the leadership still draws its claim to a mandate from its domination of Westminster\u2019s devolved offspring \u2013 Holyrood and having the majority of Scottish MPs in the House of Commons. The importance of the control of Holyrood is that this provides the <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> leadership with the patronage needed to build up a future Scottish ruling class. This is one which knows its place in a corporate dominated world. The <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> leadership are waiting for the opportunity to exercise their saltire-flagged, junior managerial buy-out of the <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym> state machinery in Scotland.\u00a0They are ready to take their place alongside the <acronym title=\"rump United Kingdom\">rUK<\/acronym>.\u00a0Under this reformed constitutional set-up, the City of London would still direct the Scottish economy, Scottish armed forces would still be at the beck and call of the British High Command, and many of the <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym> state\u2019s Crown Powers and clandestine activities would become hard wired into a new \u2018Scottish Free State.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Both of the two current contending <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> factions share this \u2018Indylite\u2019 vision for Scotland, even if they differ over how to put pressure on the <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym> state to get there.\u00a0Sturgeon wants to force Johnson\u2019s hand through an increase in the number of <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> <acronym title=\"Members of the Scottish Parliament\">MSPs<\/acronym> after May.\u00a0Joanna Cherry, Salmond backer and hopeful heir apparent, wants to\u00a0challenge the British government in the <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym> Supreme Court.\u00a0Not being the current <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> leadership incumbents, Salmond and Cherry have managed to position themselves as the keenest advocates of IndyRef2. In order to build support, Cherry has tried to woo a section of <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> supporting Independistas by flirting with social prejudice. This means dividing\u00a0the 2012-14 IndyRef1 rainbow alliance.<\/p>\n<p>But how does Salmond see the <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym> state in the light of his recent experiences?\u00a0There is no doubt that the initial enquiry into Salmond\u2019s behaviour was conducted in an incompetent and illegal manner. This cost the public purse a minimum of \u00a3633,773.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_10');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_10');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_10\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[10]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_10\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2019\/aug\/13\/alex-salmond-awarded-512000-payout-after-botched-investigation\">Alex Salmond receives \u00a3512,000 costs after \u2018botched investigation\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_10').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_10', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script> Following this, Salmond has recommended that the government\u2019s top civil servant, Leslie Evans, and the head of the Crown Office, Lord Advocate, James Wolffe <acronym title=\"Queen's Counsel\">QC<\/acronym>, should lose their jobs.<\/p>\n<h3>The <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym> state\u2019s Crown Powers underpin the current inegalitarian British order today and Salmond\u2019s planned new Scottish order tomorrow<\/h3>\n<p>But Salmond\u2019s conclusions are revealing.\u00a0\u201cThe Scottish civil service hasn&#8217;t failed; its leadership has failed. The crown office hasn&#8217;t failed; its leadership has failed.\u201d\u00a0Thus, Salmond wants to retain the current civil service structure and believes in the neutrality of the Crown Office. Yet no senior civil servant or judge believe they have to follow the same rules of conduct as we lesser mortals. They all belong to an establishment that lives by a completely different set of rules.\u00a0Salmond\u2019s lawyer, Gordon Jackson <acronym title=\"Queen's Counsel\">QC<\/acronym> is a case in point. Elected to Holyrood in 1999 and collecting his pay as <acronym title=\"Member of the Scottish Parliament\">MSP<\/acronym> for Govan, he continued to work and get even more highly paid as a <acronym title=\"Queen's Counsel\">QC<\/acronym> during Holyrood working hours. No worker would ever be allowed to do this and the penalty for such moonlighting would be severe.\u00a0Yet similar behaviour is commonplace in the state\u2019s elevated circles.<\/p>\n<p>Those on the Left might not show much sympathy for Alex Salmond.\u00a0During the feverish days of neo-liberal hegemony, before the Great Crash in 2008, he competed with Gordon Brown in trying to remove the major Scottish headquartered banks from any public scrutiny. He tried to win support from Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump. In May 2008, Salmond took a special flight to Westminster to try and limit women\u2019s timing for an abortion from 24 to 20 weeks.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_11');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_11');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_11\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[11]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_11\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edinburgheye.wordpress.com\/2014\/09\/19\/goodbye-alex-salmond%ef%bb%bf\/\">Goodbye Alex Salmond<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_11').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_11', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>And in another case, Lord Advocate Wolffe has only provided \u201can apology\u201d, following the Crown Office\u2019s malicious prosecution of David Whitehouse and Paul Clark of Rangers <acronym title=\"Football Club\">FC<\/acronym>.\u00a0This time the minimum cost to the public purse is \u00a321M!<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_12');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_12');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_12\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[12]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_12\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-scotland-56002066\">Lord Advocate says sorry to former Rangers administrators<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_12').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_12', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script> And neither is Rangers <acronym title=\"Football Club\">FC<\/acronym>, with its longstanding Scottish establishment support and sectarian record, likely to gain much sympathy from the Left.<\/p>\n<p>But Alex Salmond, is the one-time Scottish First Minister, uber-royalist friend of the queen, and of Sir George Matthewson former boss of the Royal Bank of Scotland. The owners of the once specially favoured Rangers <acronym title=\"Football Club\">FC<\/acronym> now face the political consequences of \u2018parity of esteem\u2019 with the major corporate owners of Celtic <acronym title=\"Football Club\">FC<\/acronym>. They can no longer expect preferential treatment.\u00a0They have been targeted by the Crown Office.<\/p>\n<h3>Recognising the nature of the state we are up against and the need for a republican challenge today<\/h3>\n<p>Therefore, imagine what a Scottish government, backed by the Crown Office would be capable of doing to any campaign or party trying to end \u201csuffering {and} the economic effects of crippling inequality made worse by the pandemic.\u201d.\u00a0In such cases, the <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym> state\u2019s devolved Scottish police and security agencies would soon act to suppress any challenges. In another enquiry over which he presided, Lord Advocate James Wolffe provided the Kirkcaldy police with his protection from any criminal action following the death of Sheku Bayoh at their hands.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_13');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_13');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_13\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[13]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_13\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Death_of_Sheku_Bayoh#Police_investigation\">Death of Sheku Bayoh<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_13').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_13', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p>But long before any resort to the police and Crown Office, senior civil servants and managers of health, education (including universities) land and housing would be able to draw on a wide range of privileges.\u00a0These include the right to keep the terms of public contracts secret and to withhold or selectively release information.\u00a0Many senior civil servants and managers enjoy incomes and lifestyles closer to those of corporate managers and lobbyists they often mix with. They show no\u00a0real commitment to the users of the services they run, e.g. sending their own children to private schools.<\/p>\n<p>Their actions are based on trying to emulate the profit based criteria of corporate business, with very little regard for social costs which they displace on to others. \u2018Best value\u2019 contracts can ignore workers\u2019 needs for decent wages and conditions. The costs of welfare top-ups, physical sickness, deteriorating mental health and environmental\u00a0degradation can just be passed on to the public to ensure maximum private profits.<\/p>\n<p>A right wing neo-liberal minister, such as John Swinney accepts such a set-up unconditionally. He hasn\u2019t challenged those senior civil servants and managers responsible for education. They have continued with the old managerial regime in Scotland inherited from New Labour. Swinney did not take any action against these officials\u2019 mishandling of the 2020 secondary school exams. But education officials have a much longer record of ignoring educational practitioners. i.e. teachers and lecturers. Their warnings go back to the SQA\u2019s role in the Higher Still exam debacle of 2000. College principals attempted to undermine a Scottish government backed national agreement with FE lecturers in 2015.\u00a0They were assisted by the Charlotte Street Partners lobbyist Andrew Wilson, later chair of the <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym>\u2019s Sustainable Growth Commission.<\/p>\n<p>But the problem becomes accentuated when a would-be mild reformer, such as Jeane Freeman <acronym title=\"Order of the British Empire\">OBE<\/acronym> (ex-<acronym title=\"Communist Party of Great Britain\">CPGB<\/acronym>, ex-Scottish Labour), takes ministerial office. As <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> health minister, she got into hot water in 2019 over the late delivery of the Sick Children\u2019s Hospital in Edinburgh. This has been another product of New Labour initiated <acronym title=\"Private Finance Initiative\">PFI<\/acronym> and <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> rebranded <acronym title=\"Public Private Partnership\">PPP<\/acronym> contracts for new hospitals and schools. These contracts have allowed scandalous private corporate profiteering at public expense, perhaps most notoriously the aptly named Royal Edinburgh Infirmary.<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_14');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_18123_1('footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_14');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_14\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[14]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_14\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/news\/scottish-news\/struggling-nhs-faces-crippling-bills-10234545\"><acronym title=\"Private Finance Initiative\">PFI<\/acronym> scandal as Scottish NHS faces \u00a310billion bill for hospitals that cost \u00a32billion<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_14').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_18123_1_14', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });<\/script> To divert attention away from the role of Lothian NHS, Chief Executive Tim Davidson\u00a0used his powers to hide some and to selectively release other information in an attempt to undermine Freeman.<\/p>\n<p>Senior civil servants\u2019 and managers\u2019 power, and that of government ministers who go along with it, are underpinned by the Crown Powers whether exercised in London or its devolved outlier in Edinburgh.\u00a0These powers, both public and secret, are central to the <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym>\u2019s constitutional order. This is based on the sovereignty of the Crown-in-Westminster. If we want to bring about an end to \u201csuffering {and} the economic effects of crippling inequality made worse by the pandemic\u201d and indeed far more, we will need to lay-off not only individual office holders.<\/p>\n<p>We need to abolish those highly privileged, protected state institutions and their hierarchies, which act as a permanent barrier to meaningful\u00a0reform. This means struggling for a new Scotland based on the republican principle of the sovereignty of the people. But this republicanism is not just something for an ideal Scottish constitutional future.\u00a0To arrive at a Scottish Republic, we have to take a leaf from the other side. The British and would-be Scottish ruling class just ignore or get round any limitations they come up against in the political order which they have constructed to meet their own narrow needs.\u00a0Therefore, there is little reason for us to be beholden to their constitutional set-up.\u00a0We must act now, not as passive British (or Scottish-British) subjects, but as active Scottish citizens.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>5.3.21<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">__________<br \/>\nalso see<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2021\/02\/06\/freedom-come-all-ye-resisting-the-ric-terminators\/\">1. Freedom Come All Ye \u2013 Resisting The <acronym title=\"Radical Independence Campaign\">RIC<\/acronym> Terminators- Allan Armstrong- <acronym title=\"Republican Communist Forum\">RCF<\/acronym>\/<acronym title=\"Republican Socialist Platform\">RSP<\/acronym><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2021\/01\/24\/starmer-the-snp-and-brexit-a-dialogue\/\">2. Discussions on the Republican Socialist Alliance list, in the aftermath of Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s \u2018Damascus road\u2019 conversion to Brexit and the <acronym title=\"Scottish National Party\">SNP<\/acronym> leadership\u2019s continued commitment to the <acronym title=\"European Union\">EU<\/acronym>.- Allan Armstrong (<acronym title=\"Republican Communist Network\">RCN<\/acronym>), Miguil Martinez (<acronym title=\"Republican Socialist Alliance\">RSA<\/acronym>), Murdo Ritchie (<acronym title=\"Republican Communist Network\">RCN<\/acronym>)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2020\/12\/28\/what-is-the-crown-and-what-is-republicanism\/\">3. What is the Crown and what is Republicanism &#8211; Jonnie Gallacher<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2020\/11\/18\/ruling-class-corruption-and-capitalist-crisis\/\">4. Ruling class corruption and capitalist crisis &#8211; John Tummon, <acronym title=\"Republican Socialist Alliance\">RSA<\/acronym><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2020\/11\/07\/the-british-left-and-the-uk-state\/\">5. The British Left and the UJ state &#8211; Allan Armstrong, <acronym title=\"Republican Communist Network\">RCN<\/acronym><\/a><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">References<\/h3>\n<div class=\"speaker-mute footnotes_reference_container\"> <div class=\"footnote_container_prepare\"><h3><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_label pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_18123_1();\">References<\/span><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button\" style=\"display: none;\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_18123_1();\">[<a id=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_18123_1\">+<\/a>]<\/span><\/h3><\/div> <div id=\"footnote_references_container_18123_1\" style=\"\"><table class=\"footnotes_table footnote-reference-container\"><caption class=\"accessibility\">References<\/caption> <tbody> \r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_1');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_1\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldscotland.com\/news\/19124683.salmond-inquiry-choice-nicola-sturgeon\/\">Salmond inquiry: The choice is with Nicola Sturgeon<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_2');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_2\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldscotland.com\/news\/19122066.kevin-mckenna-salmond-sturgeon-sideshow-betrays-poorest-children-long-shadow-pandemic\/\">Kevin McKenna: Salmond\/Sturgeon sideshow betrays our poorest children in the long shadow of pandemic<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi\" ><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_3\" class=\"footnote_backlink\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_3');\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>3,<\/a> <a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_4\" class=\"footnote_backlink\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_4');\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>4,<\/a> <a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_8\" class=\"footnote_backlink\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_8');\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>8<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">ditto<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_5');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_5\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>5<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bellacaledonia.org.uk\/2021\/02\/18\/stuart-campbell-is-a-disgrace-that-has-soiled-our-movement\/\">Stuart Campbell is a Disgrace that has Soiled Our Movement<br \/>\n<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_6');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_6\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>6<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Mission Creep<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_7');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_7\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>7<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.heraldscotland.com\/news\/19121476.alex-salmonds-opening-statement-holyrood-inquiry-full\/\">Alex Salmond&#8217;s opening statement to the Holyrood inquiry in full<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_9');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_9\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>9<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2020\/01\/24\/the-impact-of-the-december-12th-general-election-across-the-constituent-parts-of-the-uk\/\">THE IMPACT OF THE DECEMBER 12TH GENERAL ELECTION ACROSS THE CONSTITUENT PARTS OF THE <acronym title=\"United Kingdom\">UK<\/acronym><\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_10');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_10\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>10<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2019\/aug\/13\/alex-salmond-awarded-512000-payout-after-botched-investigation\">Alex Salmond receives \u00a3512,000 costs after \u2018botched investigation\u2019<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_11');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_11\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>11<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edinburgheye.wordpress.com\/2014\/09\/19\/goodbye-alex-salmond%ef%bb%bf\/\">Goodbye Alex Salmond<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_12');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_12\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>12<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-scotland-56002066\">Lord Advocate says sorry to former Rangers administrators<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_13');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_13\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>13<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Death_of_Sheku_Bayoh#Police_investigation\">Death of Sheku Bayoh<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_18123_1_14');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_18123_1_14\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>14<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/news\/scottish-news\/struggling-nhs-faces-crippling-bills-10234545\"><acronym title=\"Private Finance Initiative\">PFI<\/acronym> scandal as Scottish NHS faces \u00a310billion bill for hospitals that cost \u00a32billion<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function footnote_expand_reference_container_18123_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_18123_1').show(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_18123_1').text('\u2212'); } function footnote_collapse_reference_container_18123_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_18123_1').hide(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_18123_1').text('+'); } function footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_18123_1() { if (jQuery('#footnote_references_container_18123_1').is(':hidden')) { footnote_expand_reference_container_18123_1(); } else { footnote_collapse_reference_container_18123_1(); } } function footnote_moveToReference_18123_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_18123_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } } function footnote_moveToAnchor_18123_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_18123_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } }<\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Allan Armstrong has written this article in response to the Holyrood enquiry.\u00a0It examines the underlying role of the Crown \u00a0and why this should be of concern to any genuine democrat. Alex Salmond\u2019s statement and evidence to the Holyrood enquiry on February 26th has led to much fevered comment from a salivating London-based unionist media (including&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1873,1846,1874,18,1875],"tags":[230],"class_list":["post-18123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-against-unionism","category-british-imperialism","category-republicanism","category-political-campaigns","category-scotland-against-unionism","tag-author-allan-armstrong"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"views":1577,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18123"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19130,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18123\/revisions\/19130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}