Rab Fulton's Blog, page 2
August 9, 2014
The folly & danger of the currency debate in Scotland
The future of the pound in an independent Scotland has produced a great deal of sound and fury. With reasons for voting No collapsing one by one, the status of the pound has become the rallying cry of No campaigners. And yet it is an argument that, whilst producing great noise and great fear, is utterly meaningless. What is forgotten, or deliberately overlooked in the current debate is that the UK has been through the experience of a shared currency before - with the newly independent Irish state.
Though the Irish Free State introduced an ‘Irish� monetary system in 1928, Ireland in fact maintained a with the pound up to the 1970s. When Britain decimalised its currency in 1971, Ireland did so. Moreover, the British pound was freely used in Ireland. Insurrection, civil war, the civil rights movement and the brutal early years of the troubles had no effect on this relationship. The link between punt and pound was only broken when Ireland joined the European Monetary System in 1978.
Sharing a common currency with had little impact on the choices made by the political leaders of the respective states. Ironically enough, now that the two nations have separate monetary systems they have moved closer together in terms of politics and economy. There are of course superficial differences. Ireland’s elite remains wedded to clientism and the Church; the UK’s elite to dreams of empire. Yet in both states the political class actively pursue a policy of redistributing wealth from the poor to the powerful, a parasitical form of economics also known as ‘austerity� or ‘socialism in reverse�.
If the Irish experience shows the utter pointless of the currency debate in Scotland, there is another aspect of Ireland’s relationship with the United Kingdom that has great and terrible relevance. Partition of Ireland allowed for the creation of elites in both jurisdictions of Ireland that used, and continue to use, religion as a prop and a weapon to curtail social justice and dissent. Yet partition was never an inevitable outcome. Unionism in Ireland succeeded in creating partition because it was supported by and supportive of a powerful section of Westminster’s political elite. In the struggles between Liberals and Conservatives, Ireland became a weapon that each could use against the other. The needs of the people in Ireland � unionist and nationalist � became secondary to the realpolitik of the British Empire.
While an Irish type partition is unlikely in Scotland, there does remain a very real danger that the needs of Scotland and the people of Scotland will become subsumed by bigger power struggles in Westminster. In the bigger Imperial game, London’s political elite � whether Labour, Tory, UKIP or Lib Dem - are adamant that the UKs nuclear weapon will remain in Scotland and that Scotland’s natural resources will be controlled by London. In order to keep this ugly status quo Westminster will do whatever it can to retain a presence and influence in Scotland that will, like partition in Ireland, bolster the forces of reaction and undermine the cause of social justice.
Understanding this, Scots have to ask two questions that really do matter, two questions that go to the very heart of democracy and social justice in Scotland and the other nations of these islands. The questions are:
If Scotland votes Yes to Independence will Labour support Scotland’s right to use its natural resources to fund schools, health, education and equality?
If Scotland votes Yes to Independence will Labour support Scotland’s right to remove nuclear weapons from its soil and use the money saved to fund schools, health, education and equality?
In the little time remaining before the referendum, these are questions that must be constantly and without pause put to Alistair Darling, Johann Lamont and Anas Sarwar. Allowing the debate to remain focused on the currency debate chimera is not only idiotic but dangerously obscures the very real threats to Scotland’s future democratic development.
For more on Scotland's Independence debate, read my articles.
Follow me on
For on my published books and articles see:
* * *
There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these to start with
Though the Irish Free State introduced an ‘Irish� monetary system in 1928, Ireland in fact maintained a with the pound up to the 1970s. When Britain decimalised its currency in 1971, Ireland did so. Moreover, the British pound was freely used in Ireland. Insurrection, civil war, the civil rights movement and the brutal early years of the troubles had no effect on this relationship. The link between punt and pound was only broken when Ireland joined the European Monetary System in 1978.
Sharing a common currency with had little impact on the choices made by the political leaders of the respective states. Ironically enough, now that the two nations have separate monetary systems they have moved closer together in terms of politics and economy. There are of course superficial differences. Ireland’s elite remains wedded to clientism and the Church; the UK’s elite to dreams of empire. Yet in both states the political class actively pursue a policy of redistributing wealth from the poor to the powerful, a parasitical form of economics also known as ‘austerity� or ‘socialism in reverse�.
If the Irish experience shows the utter pointless of the currency debate in Scotland, there is another aspect of Ireland’s relationship with the United Kingdom that has great and terrible relevance. Partition of Ireland allowed for the creation of elites in both jurisdictions of Ireland that used, and continue to use, religion as a prop and a weapon to curtail social justice and dissent. Yet partition was never an inevitable outcome. Unionism in Ireland succeeded in creating partition because it was supported by and supportive of a powerful section of Westminster’s political elite. In the struggles between Liberals and Conservatives, Ireland became a weapon that each could use against the other. The needs of the people in Ireland � unionist and nationalist � became secondary to the realpolitik of the British Empire.
While an Irish type partition is unlikely in Scotland, there does remain a very real danger that the needs of Scotland and the people of Scotland will become subsumed by bigger power struggles in Westminster. In the bigger Imperial game, London’s political elite � whether Labour, Tory, UKIP or Lib Dem - are adamant that the UKs nuclear weapon will remain in Scotland and that Scotland’s natural resources will be controlled by London. In order to keep this ugly status quo Westminster will do whatever it can to retain a presence and influence in Scotland that will, like partition in Ireland, bolster the forces of reaction and undermine the cause of social justice.
Understanding this, Scots have to ask two questions that really do matter, two questions that go to the very heart of democracy and social justice in Scotland and the other nations of these islands. The questions are:
If Scotland votes Yes to Independence will Labour support Scotland’s right to use its natural resources to fund schools, health, education and equality?
If Scotland votes Yes to Independence will Labour support Scotland’s right to remove nuclear weapons from its soil and use the money saved to fund schools, health, education and equality?
In the little time remaining before the referendum, these are questions that must be constantly and without pause put to Alistair Darling, Johann Lamont and Anas Sarwar. Allowing the debate to remain focused on the currency debate chimera is not only idiotic but dangerously obscures the very real threats to Scotland’s future democratic development.
For more on Scotland's Independence debate, read my articles.
Follow me on
For on my published books and articles see:
* * *
There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these to start with
August 4, 2014
Social Justice & Scottish Independence. Part ten
10.ÌýÌýÌý The Scottish Constitutional Convention
The Scottish media produced scarce, if any, analysis of what motivated the grass roots campaigns in the 1990’s. The omnipotence of Labour in Scotland meant access to stories covering a range of subjects - business, cultural, social and political � had to be mediated through Labour controlled bodies. More importantly, the Tory government posed a real threat to the independence of journalists. In 1987, BBC Scotland had been raided by police and journalist Duncan Campbell’s door kicked in by special branch after Campbell had produced a documentary on the . As a result the Labour party in Scotland, like the monarchy in the UK, was treated as an institution that, occasional eccentricities and bad moment’s aside, was in the main a benign, unifying and positive force.
However, the culture of the Labour local political machines could not remain ignored forever. It had long been common knowledge that Labour not only used sectarianism to control working class areas, but that sectarian groups vied for power within the Labour party. In 1994 allegations of sectarianism and nepotism almost lost Labour the by-election that was being held after the death of John Smith. Labour was quick to treat the as a one off aberration, with Jack O’Connell the then general secretary of Scottish Labour promising ‘we must never allow this situation to develop in the Scottish Labour Party ever again.�
However, , corruption and nepotism continued unabated, and continue to this day. The Labour party though is a robust organisation. Despite the growing allegations of corruption and the storm of Social Justice Campaigns battering against the door of Keir Hardie House, Labour ended the 1990s seemingly stronger than it had ever been. Following the Govan be-election defeat of 1988, Labour helped set up the Scottish Constitutional Convention to examine how Scotland should be governed. The Convention also included the Liberal Democrats, trade unions and other civic and religious bodies. It was a tangible and respected example of Labour being seen to listen to the concerns of the people of Scotland. Its credibility was boosted by the Conservative Party’s refusal to participate. The discussions within the Convention would later form the basis of the . Yet even the Convention was not free of Labour machinations.
There were two fundamental problems with the Convention, Firstly, the Constitutional Convention was portrayed as a progressive movement, yet not one member ever took the time to talk to the communities and activists that were then struggling to defend and promote social justice in Scotland. This is not surprising as those struggles were mostly taking place in the Labour heartlands.
Secondly, the Convention was said to be an open and neutral body that sought to examine future possibilities for governing Scotland. However, it refused to include Independence amongst options to be examined, even though the drive for Independence had played such a huge role in Scotland’s civic development since the late 1960s. Indeed a 1991 opinion poll found independence to have more support than devolution, .The SNP walked away from the Convention. The Green party would eventually walk away too.Ìý
The Labour party turned the nationalists� non participation into another powerful propaganda tool. Not only had the nationalists brought in a Tory government but now they were refusing to work with other progressive groups in Scotland. Rather than an unaligned civic forum the Convention began to emit the whiff of good old fashioned political carve ups and wheeling and dealing between the Lib Dems and the Labour Party. In 1995 the Scottish Constitutional Convention published its proposals. These would form the basis of the future Scottish Assembly.
In the 1997 general election the Tories were routed in Scotland, being left with no seats at all. The SNP and Lib Dems increased their representation but the greatest victory went to the Labour Party who gained 56 of Scotland’s 72 MPs. Making good on its election promise the new UK government held a referendum in September asking Scots if they wanted an assembly with limited tax raising powers. Following a massive yes vote the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999. In the Scottish elections of 1999 and 2003 Labour was the biggest winner and formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
Under the Labour and Lib Dem goverment Tution Fees were abolished, as were Poindings and Warrant Sales; child poverty was tackled and free meals introduced into Scottish schools.Ìý In the heady early days of the new Scottish parliament it seemed as if the cause of Social Justice, the legacy of the ILP, had been reignited in Scottish Labour.Ìý However, Scottish Labour soon found itself confronting its most implacable enemy and the momentum for change ground to a bitter halt
To find out what happened next tune in next week for more blogs on Social Justice & Scottish Independence.
Follow me on
For on my published books see:
* * *
There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these three to start with
The Scottish media produced scarce, if any, analysis of what motivated the grass roots campaigns in the 1990’s. The omnipotence of Labour in Scotland meant access to stories covering a range of subjects - business, cultural, social and political � had to be mediated through Labour controlled bodies. More importantly, the Tory government posed a real threat to the independence of journalists. In 1987, BBC Scotland had been raided by police and journalist Duncan Campbell’s door kicked in by special branch after Campbell had produced a documentary on the . As a result the Labour party in Scotland, like the monarchy in the UK, was treated as an institution that, occasional eccentricities and bad moment’s aside, was in the main a benign, unifying and positive force.
However, the culture of the Labour local political machines could not remain ignored forever. It had long been common knowledge that Labour not only used sectarianism to control working class areas, but that sectarian groups vied for power within the Labour party. In 1994 allegations of sectarianism and nepotism almost lost Labour the by-election that was being held after the death of John Smith. Labour was quick to treat the as a one off aberration, with Jack O’Connell the then general secretary of Scottish Labour promising ‘we must never allow this situation to develop in the Scottish Labour Party ever again.�
However, , corruption and nepotism continued unabated, and continue to this day. The Labour party though is a robust organisation. Despite the growing allegations of corruption and the storm of Social Justice Campaigns battering against the door of Keir Hardie House, Labour ended the 1990s seemingly stronger than it had ever been. Following the Govan be-election defeat of 1988, Labour helped set up the Scottish Constitutional Convention to examine how Scotland should be governed. The Convention also included the Liberal Democrats, trade unions and other civic and religious bodies. It was a tangible and respected example of Labour being seen to listen to the concerns of the people of Scotland. Its credibility was boosted by the Conservative Party’s refusal to participate. The discussions within the Convention would later form the basis of the . Yet even the Convention was not free of Labour machinations.
There were two fundamental problems with the Convention, Firstly, the Constitutional Convention was portrayed as a progressive movement, yet not one member ever took the time to talk to the communities and activists that were then struggling to defend and promote social justice in Scotland. This is not surprising as those struggles were mostly taking place in the Labour heartlands.
Secondly, the Convention was said to be an open and neutral body that sought to examine future possibilities for governing Scotland. However, it refused to include Independence amongst options to be examined, even though the drive for Independence had played such a huge role in Scotland’s civic development since the late 1960s. Indeed a 1991 opinion poll found independence to have more support than devolution, .The SNP walked away from the Convention. The Green party would eventually walk away too.Ìý
The Labour party turned the nationalists� non participation into another powerful propaganda tool. Not only had the nationalists brought in a Tory government but now they were refusing to work with other progressive groups in Scotland. Rather than an unaligned civic forum the Convention began to emit the whiff of good old fashioned political carve ups and wheeling and dealing between the Lib Dems and the Labour Party. In 1995 the Scottish Constitutional Convention published its proposals. These would form the basis of the future Scottish Assembly.
In the 1997 general election the Tories were routed in Scotland, being left with no seats at all. The SNP and Lib Dems increased their representation but the greatest victory went to the Labour Party who gained 56 of Scotland’s 72 MPs. Making good on its election promise the new UK government held a referendum in September asking Scots if they wanted an assembly with limited tax raising powers. Following a massive yes vote the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999. In the Scottish elections of 1999 and 2003 Labour was the biggest winner and formed a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
Under the Labour and Lib Dem goverment Tution Fees were abolished, as were Poindings and Warrant Sales; child poverty was tackled and free meals introduced into Scottish schools.Ìý In the heady early days of the new Scottish parliament it seemed as if the cause of Social Justice, the legacy of the ILP, had been reignited in Scottish Labour.Ìý However, Scottish Labour soon found itself confronting its most implacable enemy and the momentum for change ground to a bitter halt
To find out what happened next tune in next week for more blogs on Social Justice & Scottish Independence.
Follow me on
For on my published books see:
* * *
There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these three to start with
Social Justice & Scottish Independence. Part nine.
Ìý9.Ìý Not a Nationalist Revolt
In the Decade of Dissent, Scotland was shaken by grass root campaigns in the north, south, east and west of the nation; in cities, towns, and countryside. There were campaigns against school closures, housing stock corruption, poll tax enforcement, new motorways, nuclear weapons and much more. Inevitably, given Labour’s dominance in Scotland much of this campaigning took place in Labour heartlands. With every arrest, strip search or court appearance of social justice activists, Labour was increasingly seen as part of Scotland’s democratic problem.
Dissenters in Scotland were loud, colourful and utterly disrespectful as much as too each other as to Scotland’s elite. A lot of this glitter and noise came from environmentalists and anarchists who played a large, if still unsung part, in Scotland’s raucous journey to home rule. Environmentalists introduced to Scotland new tactics in non-violent direct action, notably the lock on which was to be used to great effect in many grass roots campaigns and in anti-nuclear protests.
Anarchists brought their years of experience in protecting the rights of the most vulnerable in Scotland, through social welfare advice clinics, naming and shaming abusive social welfare officers, anti-racism actions and creating autonomous centres in occupied buildings. Anarchist and environmentalist forms of resistance and organisation had a huge impact on those of us who came from a traditional socialist (whether Labour or SNP) way of thinking and campaigning.
Feminists and gay activists had long campaigned against the exclusively and abusively hetro male dominated culture and politics in Scotland. As well as bringing in their own activists and networks, feminists and gay activists also provided a well needed critique of other campaigners, including socialists, anarchists and environmentalists.
Whether in protest camps, community halls or Autonomy Centres in occupied buildings there was plenty of music from the likes of , , and countless other Scottish and UK bands. Other art forms included dance, art, sculpture, stand-up comedy, poetry and prose in English, Scots and Gaelic. Some of the most beautiful and powerful poetry, prose and plays came from the Edinburgh writer Sandie Craigie, who as well as being an activist and mother was Assistant Editor of set up in 1992 by Kevin Williamson. Publications like Justice/Cothrom which I helped edit for the Glasgow Anarchist Federation mixed comedy, scurrilous character assassinations and politics to create linksÌý and support for campaigns across Scotland.
There were other more mainstream groups whose members also played a part in those years. provided vital support and logistics for the activists at Faslane Peace Camp; whilst members of Strathclyde Elderly Forum brought years of experience they had in quietly lobbying the political elites on behalf of Scotland’s elder community, they also had considerable knowledge, ideas and history to share. Many also involved themselves in campaigns and protests against the road building schemes in Glasgow, to the confusion of police who found themselves having to arrest granny.
It would be an injustice to all these people to use hindsight to impose a unitary political philosophy on the campaigns of the 1990s. The campaigns were blessed with fulsome discussion and debate, some of which evolved into the creation of different political groupings whilst the others transformed into community groups which fostered local pride and skills. But a common understanding did evolve that was eventually shared by nearly all Scottish activists: Whilst much of the economic and social troubles besetting Scotland had their origin in a right wing London government, they had been exacerbated by the actions of the political elite in Scotland.
But the Decade of Dissent was not a nationalist revolt. For one thing, Scotland’s grass roots activists and supporters were inspired and emboldened by the environmentalist campaigns in England and eagerly invited them into their communities. English dissidents (as well as French, American, German, etc.) taught Scots dissidents the skills needed to defy Labour power. But skills were not enough. Local knowledge was provided by women and men who had been supporters or members of the Labour Party all their lives. They knew the weaknesses and strengths of the machine confronting activists. As the campaigning went on, most but not all of these people would leave the labour party, some joining the SNP, while many more became the backbone of the emerging Scottish Socialist Party.
While the SNP leadership remained divided and confused about what was happening in Scotland, many nationalist activists and supporters had no such qualms. They campaigned, they protested and they took part in actions. If the Labour party activists were carrying the flame of the ILP into the Scottish Socialist Party, SNP activists were reintroducing Social Justice into the nationalist movement.
As the decade rolled on it became ever more obvious that blaming English Tories was not only pointless and racist but entirely missed the point. Scotland’s problems were a product of a corrupt and arrogant Scottish political culture. Responsibility for our problems lay in Scotland not in Westminster. Equally the solution to our problems lay in Scotland regardless of who was in power in London. In effect dissidents in Scotland lived and acted as if they were already in an independent country.
However, acting and living in such away raised its own questions. These questions remain as relevant today as in the nineties and arguably are the most important legacy of the Decade of Dissent. In summary the questions are: What form of governance should Scotland have? Would any Scottish parliament be better at protecting basic rights than a UK one? Does the very nature of parliaments (regardless of whether they be left wing, right wing, democratically elected or not) demand that there be elites and there be losers?
Now read
Follow me on
For on my published books see:
* * *
There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these three to start with
In the Decade of Dissent, Scotland was shaken by grass root campaigns in the north, south, east and west of the nation; in cities, towns, and countryside. There were campaigns against school closures, housing stock corruption, poll tax enforcement, new motorways, nuclear weapons and much more. Inevitably, given Labour’s dominance in Scotland much of this campaigning took place in Labour heartlands. With every arrest, strip search or court appearance of social justice activists, Labour was increasingly seen as part of Scotland’s democratic problem.
Dissenters in Scotland were loud, colourful and utterly disrespectful as much as too each other as to Scotland’s elite. A lot of this glitter and noise came from environmentalists and anarchists who played a large, if still unsung part, in Scotland’s raucous journey to home rule. Environmentalists introduced to Scotland new tactics in non-violent direct action, notably the lock on which was to be used to great effect in many grass roots campaigns and in anti-nuclear protests.
Anarchists brought their years of experience in protecting the rights of the most vulnerable in Scotland, through social welfare advice clinics, naming and shaming abusive social welfare officers, anti-racism actions and creating autonomous centres in occupied buildings. Anarchist and environmentalist forms of resistance and organisation had a huge impact on those of us who came from a traditional socialist (whether Labour or SNP) way of thinking and campaigning.
Feminists and gay activists had long campaigned against the exclusively and abusively hetro male dominated culture and politics in Scotland. As well as bringing in their own activists and networks, feminists and gay activists also provided a well needed critique of other campaigners, including socialists, anarchists and environmentalists.
Whether in protest camps, community halls or Autonomy Centres in occupied buildings there was plenty of music from the likes of , , and countless other Scottish and UK bands. Other art forms included dance, art, sculpture, stand-up comedy, poetry and prose in English, Scots and Gaelic. Some of the most beautiful and powerful poetry, prose and plays came from the Edinburgh writer Sandie Craigie, who as well as being an activist and mother was Assistant Editor of set up in 1992 by Kevin Williamson. Publications like Justice/Cothrom which I helped edit for the Glasgow Anarchist Federation mixed comedy, scurrilous character assassinations and politics to create linksÌý and support for campaigns across Scotland.
There were other more mainstream groups whose members also played a part in those years. provided vital support and logistics for the activists at Faslane Peace Camp; whilst members of Strathclyde Elderly Forum brought years of experience they had in quietly lobbying the political elites on behalf of Scotland’s elder community, they also had considerable knowledge, ideas and history to share. Many also involved themselves in campaigns and protests against the road building schemes in Glasgow, to the confusion of police who found themselves having to arrest granny.
It would be an injustice to all these people to use hindsight to impose a unitary political philosophy on the campaigns of the 1990s. The campaigns were blessed with fulsome discussion and debate, some of which evolved into the creation of different political groupings whilst the others transformed into community groups which fostered local pride and skills. But a common understanding did evolve that was eventually shared by nearly all Scottish activists: Whilst much of the economic and social troubles besetting Scotland had their origin in a right wing London government, they had been exacerbated by the actions of the political elite in Scotland.
But the Decade of Dissent was not a nationalist revolt. For one thing, Scotland’s grass roots activists and supporters were inspired and emboldened by the environmentalist campaigns in England and eagerly invited them into their communities. English dissidents (as well as French, American, German, etc.) taught Scots dissidents the skills needed to defy Labour power. But skills were not enough. Local knowledge was provided by women and men who had been supporters or members of the Labour Party all their lives. They knew the weaknesses and strengths of the machine confronting activists. As the campaigning went on, most but not all of these people would leave the labour party, some joining the SNP, while many more became the backbone of the emerging Scottish Socialist Party.
While the SNP leadership remained divided and confused about what was happening in Scotland, many nationalist activists and supporters had no such qualms. They campaigned, they protested and they took part in actions. If the Labour party activists were carrying the flame of the ILP into the Scottish Socialist Party, SNP activists were reintroducing Social Justice into the nationalist movement.
As the decade rolled on it became ever more obvious that blaming English Tories was not only pointless and racist but entirely missed the point. Scotland’s problems were a product of a corrupt and arrogant Scottish political culture. Responsibility for our problems lay in Scotland not in Westminster. Equally the solution to our problems lay in Scotland regardless of who was in power in London. In effect dissidents in Scotland lived and acted as if they were already in an independent country.
However, acting and living in such away raised its own questions. These questions remain as relevant today as in the nineties and arguably are the most important legacy of the Decade of Dissent. In summary the questions are: What form of governance should Scotland have? Would any Scottish parliament be better at protecting basic rights than a UK one? Does the very nature of parliaments (regardless of whether they be left wing, right wing, democratically elected or not) demand that there be elites and there be losers?
Now read
Follow me on
For on my published books see:
* * *
There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these three to start with
Social Justice & Scottish Independence. Part eight.
8.ÌýÌýÌý People Power
As momentum against the poll tax grew, so did resistance to other attacks on the lives and wellbeing of men, women and children in Scotland and the UK. The Tory government continued its attack on welfare rights and freedom of expression, notably through the Criminal Justice Act of 1994, which sought to criminalize music which was wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats and created a crime of aggravated trespass which targeted nonviolent protest.
These were not only petty and vindictive laws, but as stupid as they were anti-democratic and were massively opposed throughout Scotland and the UK, with local grass roots campaigns sprouting up like magic mushrooms on a warm rainy autumn day. However, if the Criminal Justice Act was seen by many as one more example of the illegitimacy of Tory Rule in Scotland, others saw things differently. For Scotland’s Labour controlled councils, the criminal justice act was to become an important part of the legal armoury that would be used against the growing number of protests.
In Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, the Labour controlled council had turned its attentions to the green spaces of city. The parks of Glasgow had long been seen as the gardens of the people. As well as providing space for socializing and relaxing, they were also a vital breathing space for people living in crowded or inadequate housing. In addition they provided vital green corridors for the wildlife in Glasgow. Like the Soviet Politburo with its Five Year Plans, Labour councillors declared the green spaces unviable and uneconomic. Plans were drawn up. Plans that included casinos, hotels and motorways. Dissent would not be tolerated.
To the Labour councillors in Glasgow City Chambers, Pollok might as well have been as distant and inaccessible as the moon. Located on the south west of Glasgow It was a place of bleak statistics � low income, poor housing, ill health -, whose residents were expected to simply vote labour and be grateful for whatever hand outs they got from city hall. However statistics can obscure other truths. Many people in Pollok had a long history of campaigning for better conditions. They also prided themselves on living beside one of the biggest and most beautiful parks in Scotland, Pollok Country Park.
It was through this park that Labour councillors decided to build a massive motorway, the M77, a motorway which would block residents� access to Pollok. This was part of a bigger plan which included the extension of the M74, which would impact on the lives of people in Rutherglen and Govanhill. It was an undertaking which defied logic � Glasgow already had an incredibly efficient public transport system including trains, busses and a subway � and could only worsen the lives of those living in some of Glasgow’s poorest areas.
In Pollok, locals began to organise and lobby and speak out. One of them Colin Macleod climbed up a tree to highlight the threat to Pollok Park by the proposed M77 motorway. It was a very simple and brave act. The repercussions of which are felt in Scotland to this day. Local residents set up support networks for the tree campaign, supplying food, material, publicity and information on the activities of police, security guards and the wheeling and dealings of Labour councillors. Through a combination of their own efforts and the networks of local activists, including Labour, Scottish Militant, nationalists, environmentalists and anarchist, the people of Pollok reached out to the rest of Glasgow, Scotland, the UK and eventually the world.
One of the problems of describing what happened next was that suddenly there was so much going on. Scotland had already experienced intense campaigning and protests in the early 1990s. From the mid-1990s the fun and the fury was massively amplified. With the setting up of the Pollok Free State, Scotland found itself with two protest camps, the other being the anti-nuclear Faslane Peace Camp outside the Trident submarine base. The residents of both camps used non-violent direct action as part of their defiance, but equally important was the quieter work, education days, clean up days, and the constant welcoming and chatting to visitors.
One of my favourite memories is of meeting the children in Pollok who led a mass walked out of their school in support of the Pollok Free State. I met them in the Pollok Free State and we chatted about schools, stories, the park and my work as a writer. The children were funny, curious and very astute. When some of them were later challenged by reporters that all they were doing was skipping school, one of the children explained that in fact they were still going to classes only classes being held in the camp and not in school. My chat with them was transformed into a creative writing class! Actually there was a pretty formidable education programme in Pollok Free State, much of it based around the pride of relearning traditional skills.
The big headline legacy of the anti M77 campaign was that the Scottish Labour Party’s mantle as the paramount party of the working class and social justice was broken for ever. However, as with all the campaigns in Scotland at the time, there were other legacies, equally if not more important. The education work that began during the heady days of Pollok Free State would continue through the work of the , which continues to give meaning and hope to people suffering worklessness, depression or addiction.
The M77 was built, as was the M74. The trident missiles were stockpiled and the nuclear submarines went on patrol. These were not the only defeats suffered by activists, campaigns and communities. There many such defeats as well as victories. However, the accumulative effect of every campaign - big or small, successful or not, - was this: by their actions the men, women and children opened up new political, social and cultural spaces, spaces free of Tory cruelty and Labour deceit. Anything and everything seemed possible.
Now read Ìý
Follow me on
For on my published books see:
* * *
There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these three to start with
As momentum against the poll tax grew, so did resistance to other attacks on the lives and wellbeing of men, women and children in Scotland and the UK. The Tory government continued its attack on welfare rights and freedom of expression, notably through the Criminal Justice Act of 1994, which sought to criminalize music which was wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats and created a crime of aggravated trespass which targeted nonviolent protest.
These were not only petty and vindictive laws, but as stupid as they were anti-democratic and were massively opposed throughout Scotland and the UK, with local grass roots campaigns sprouting up like magic mushrooms on a warm rainy autumn day. However, if the Criminal Justice Act was seen by many as one more example of the illegitimacy of Tory Rule in Scotland, others saw things differently. For Scotland’s Labour controlled councils, the criminal justice act was to become an important part of the legal armoury that would be used against the growing number of protests.
In Glasgow, Scotland’s biggest city, the Labour controlled council had turned its attentions to the green spaces of city. The parks of Glasgow had long been seen as the gardens of the people. As well as providing space for socializing and relaxing, they were also a vital breathing space for people living in crowded or inadequate housing. In addition they provided vital green corridors for the wildlife in Glasgow. Like the Soviet Politburo with its Five Year Plans, Labour councillors declared the green spaces unviable and uneconomic. Plans were drawn up. Plans that included casinos, hotels and motorways. Dissent would not be tolerated.
To the Labour councillors in Glasgow City Chambers, Pollok might as well have been as distant and inaccessible as the moon. Located on the south west of Glasgow It was a place of bleak statistics � low income, poor housing, ill health -, whose residents were expected to simply vote labour and be grateful for whatever hand outs they got from city hall. However statistics can obscure other truths. Many people in Pollok had a long history of campaigning for better conditions. They also prided themselves on living beside one of the biggest and most beautiful parks in Scotland, Pollok Country Park.
It was through this park that Labour councillors decided to build a massive motorway, the M77, a motorway which would block residents� access to Pollok. This was part of a bigger plan which included the extension of the M74, which would impact on the lives of people in Rutherglen and Govanhill. It was an undertaking which defied logic � Glasgow already had an incredibly efficient public transport system including trains, busses and a subway � and could only worsen the lives of those living in some of Glasgow’s poorest areas.
In Pollok, locals began to organise and lobby and speak out. One of them Colin Macleod climbed up a tree to highlight the threat to Pollok Park by the proposed M77 motorway. It was a very simple and brave act. The repercussions of which are felt in Scotland to this day. Local residents set up support networks for the tree campaign, supplying food, material, publicity and information on the activities of police, security guards and the wheeling and dealings of Labour councillors. Through a combination of their own efforts and the networks of local activists, including Labour, Scottish Militant, nationalists, environmentalists and anarchist, the people of Pollok reached out to the rest of Glasgow, Scotland, the UK and eventually the world.
One of the problems of describing what happened next was that suddenly there was so much going on. Scotland had already experienced intense campaigning and protests in the early 1990s. From the mid-1990s the fun and the fury was massively amplified. With the setting up of the Pollok Free State, Scotland found itself with two protest camps, the other being the anti-nuclear Faslane Peace Camp outside the Trident submarine base. The residents of both camps used non-violent direct action as part of their defiance, but equally important was the quieter work, education days, clean up days, and the constant welcoming and chatting to visitors.
One of my favourite memories is of meeting the children in Pollok who led a mass walked out of their school in support of the Pollok Free State. I met them in the Pollok Free State and we chatted about schools, stories, the park and my work as a writer. The children were funny, curious and very astute. When some of them were later challenged by reporters that all they were doing was skipping school, one of the children explained that in fact they were still going to classes only classes being held in the camp and not in school. My chat with them was transformed into a creative writing class! Actually there was a pretty formidable education programme in Pollok Free State, much of it based around the pride of relearning traditional skills.
The big headline legacy of the anti M77 campaign was that the Scottish Labour Party’s mantle as the paramount party of the working class and social justice was broken for ever. However, as with all the campaigns in Scotland at the time, there were other legacies, equally if not more important. The education work that began during the heady days of Pollok Free State would continue through the work of the , which continues to give meaning and hope to people suffering worklessness, depression or addiction.
The M77 was built, as was the M74. The trident missiles were stockpiled and the nuclear submarines went on patrol. These were not the only defeats suffered by activists, campaigns and communities. There many such defeats as well as victories. However, the accumulative effect of every campaign - big or small, successful or not, - was this: by their actions the men, women and children opened up new political, social and cultural spaces, spaces free of Tory cruelty and Labour deceit. Anything and everything seemed possible.
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Social Justice & Scottish Independence. Part Seven
7.ÌýÌýÌý Things begin to heat up
In 1989 local and international events impacted on Scotland’s cosy and corrupt political world. In the German Democratic Republic, dissident protests intensified after the China’s communist party’s massacre of protesters in June. With the opening up of Hungary and Poland, mass demonstrations took place in the GDR which led to police assaults, riots and thousands of arrests. In the end the rulers of the GDR chose not to use the Chinese solution. People power and mass mobilisation had toppled a communist regime and inspired social justice and human rights campaigners around the world. In the same year, and with no sense of irony, Margaret Thatcher began to test out the Poll Tax in Scotland - a year before it was to be imposed in the rest of the UK. Of the then seventy two MPs then representing Scotland in the UK parliament, only ten were Conservatives.
In Scotland, the SNP’s Jim Sillars had made non-payment of the Poll Tax a central plank of his . Many labour councillors were also initially vocal in their opposition to the Poll Tax. A mass movement aligned to the wider UK Anti-poll Tax Federation organised demonstrations and protest across Scotland leading to a massive and effective campaign of non-payment. Yet Scotland’s political establishment quickly resorted back to its usual default mode. The SNP leadership huffed and puffed and eventually came out with a half arsed aye, naw, mibbe, if only we wur independent blah blah blah response. Fuelled by its own fear and hatred of dissent, the Labour Party machine’s response was far worse: those who would not pay would be forced to pay, even if that meant breaking into people’s homes, removing their goods and selling them at auction.
These poindings were not particularly cost effective, but that was not their primary function. The function of a poinding was to publicly shame an individual and spread fear to other non-payers. Inevitably attempted poindings were met with mass resistance and most were abandoned. Tommy Sheridan’s leadership in the campaign led to his being arrested and jailed. In response, Glaswegians elected him a Glasgow councillor. As the hatred and resistance to the Poll Tax increased, Labour party councils became more reluctant to confront dissidents. Some poindings did succeed. But only temporarily. One of the scariest moments for me during that time was when I helped liberate goods from an auction house whilst on bail for .
Another issue facing Scots in the 1990s was the new trident nuclear warheads being stockpiled in Scotland. Contempt for human rights and dignity is monstrously amplified by the stockpiling of nuclear weapons. The history of the fifty years from the end of the Second World War to the mid-1990s showed one thing above all others: having a nuclear arsenal gave a nation the freedom to use massive conventional violence without fear of sanction or intervention. This violence could be used directly by the nuclear nations or through client regimes. But the lynchpin to the tens of million murders and maimings of the second half of the twentieth century were those massive nuclear weapon stock piles. Since the 1960s, the United Kingdom’s nuclear submarine fleet and its stockpile of weapons had been stored in Scotland. In 1994 the new Trident system replaced the older Polaris weapons. As convoys of the new nuclear warheads travelled through Scotland they were met by protests and blockades that grew bigger as the decade went on.
But before examining the 1990s in detail, it is well to remember that state power impacted, and continues to impact, on people’s lives in ways that refuse to be fitted into a Scots government versus UK government dichotomy. Away from the big street protests, blockades, and occupations, there were other events in Scotland that showed with terrible and awful clarity that issues of tolerance and social justice were not just a vague political abstraction: they were in fact matters of life and death. The death of in Stewart Street police station in 1994 suggested a deep rooted and violent racism was embedded in Scotland’s police service. Equally, the suicides in Corton Vale prison pointed to a contempt and hatred of vulnerable women in Scotland’s prison service. These deaths and the issues raised by them were felt across Scotland � though it is arguable that no adequate response has yet been made by the state insitutions � and across political lines. One of the most moving responses to the Courton Vale deaths was the , Labour MP for Dumbarton.
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In 1989 local and international events impacted on Scotland’s cosy and corrupt political world. In the German Democratic Republic, dissident protests intensified after the China’s communist party’s massacre of protesters in June. With the opening up of Hungary and Poland, mass demonstrations took place in the GDR which led to police assaults, riots and thousands of arrests. In the end the rulers of the GDR chose not to use the Chinese solution. People power and mass mobilisation had toppled a communist regime and inspired social justice and human rights campaigners around the world. In the same year, and with no sense of irony, Margaret Thatcher began to test out the Poll Tax in Scotland - a year before it was to be imposed in the rest of the UK. Of the then seventy two MPs then representing Scotland in the UK parliament, only ten were Conservatives.
In Scotland, the SNP’s Jim Sillars had made non-payment of the Poll Tax a central plank of his . Many labour councillors were also initially vocal in their opposition to the Poll Tax. A mass movement aligned to the wider UK Anti-poll Tax Federation organised demonstrations and protest across Scotland leading to a massive and effective campaign of non-payment. Yet Scotland’s political establishment quickly resorted back to its usual default mode. The SNP leadership huffed and puffed and eventually came out with a half arsed aye, naw, mibbe, if only we wur independent blah blah blah response. Fuelled by its own fear and hatred of dissent, the Labour Party machine’s response was far worse: those who would not pay would be forced to pay, even if that meant breaking into people’s homes, removing their goods and selling them at auction.
These poindings were not particularly cost effective, but that was not their primary function. The function of a poinding was to publicly shame an individual and spread fear to other non-payers. Inevitably attempted poindings were met with mass resistance and most were abandoned. Tommy Sheridan’s leadership in the campaign led to his being arrested and jailed. In response, Glaswegians elected him a Glasgow councillor. As the hatred and resistance to the Poll Tax increased, Labour party councils became more reluctant to confront dissidents. Some poindings did succeed. But only temporarily. One of the scariest moments for me during that time was when I helped liberate goods from an auction house whilst on bail for .
Another issue facing Scots in the 1990s was the new trident nuclear warheads being stockpiled in Scotland. Contempt for human rights and dignity is monstrously amplified by the stockpiling of nuclear weapons. The history of the fifty years from the end of the Second World War to the mid-1990s showed one thing above all others: having a nuclear arsenal gave a nation the freedom to use massive conventional violence without fear of sanction or intervention. This violence could be used directly by the nuclear nations or through client regimes. But the lynchpin to the tens of million murders and maimings of the second half of the twentieth century were those massive nuclear weapon stock piles. Since the 1960s, the United Kingdom’s nuclear submarine fleet and its stockpile of weapons had been stored in Scotland. In 1994 the new Trident system replaced the older Polaris weapons. As convoys of the new nuclear warheads travelled through Scotland they were met by protests and blockades that grew bigger as the decade went on.
But before examining the 1990s in detail, it is well to remember that state power impacted, and continues to impact, on people’s lives in ways that refuse to be fitted into a Scots government versus UK government dichotomy. Away from the big street protests, blockades, and occupations, there were other events in Scotland that showed with terrible and awful clarity that issues of tolerance and social justice were not just a vague political abstraction: they were in fact matters of life and death. The death of in Stewart Street police station in 1994 suggested a deep rooted and violent racism was embedded in Scotland’s police service. Equally, the suicides in Corton Vale prison pointed to a contempt and hatred of vulnerable women in Scotland’s prison service. These deaths and the issues raised by them were felt across Scotland � though it is arguable that no adequate response has yet been made by the state insitutions � and across political lines. One of the most moving responses to the Courton Vale deaths was the , Labour MP for Dumbarton.
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July 30, 2014
Social Justice & Scottish Independence. Part Six
6.ÌýÌý Keeping the faith
By 1987 the Labour party was deeply entrenched into every part of . Labour had 50 of Scotland’s 72 MPs compared to the SNPs 3, 545 local council seats to the SNPs 59 and 223 regional council seats to the SNPs 36. In fact these figures do not do justice to the scale of the SNP defeat. Conservatives, Liberals and Independents all had more votes and elected representatives than the SNP. Labour presided over a country where it was the massively dominant force and its hated enemy the SNP was almost non-existent.
In the 1970s the Labour party had been bitter about relying on the SNP to stay in power in Westminster. Yet, the apparent destruction of the Nats in the 1980s did nothing to ease that bitterness. If anything hatred of the ‘Tartan Tories� intensified; the narrative of social justice increasingly became secondary to a victim narrative which claimed that the nationalists had destroyed the last Labour government and helped Thatcher into power. It was a simplistic yet effective piece of propaganda. Labour had been badly bruised by its own divisions over home rule in the seventies and by its inability to protect traditional Scottish industries in the 1980s: hatred of the nationalist became a unifying salve.
Fear of losing power in Scotland brought with it an unforeseen consequence; Labour began to believe in its own absolute right to control Scotland, dissent was seen as dangerous and would not be tolerated within the party or within its working class heartlands. Labour controlled the local councils that employed working class people, many of whom also lived in council houses. Labour councillors used their influence over homes and wages to bolster support and threaten dissenting voices. Other tools to maintaining power included supporting sectarian divisions to maintain blocks of power throughout Scotland. With control maintained by any means, Labour members were free to use their influence to peddle deals over land and housing, and jet off to holiday junkets in warm climes � with little, if any, critical response from Scotland’s media. The joke in Glasgow was that if labour councillors returned from Hawaii wearing suntans and hoola hoola skirts, the glasgow press would praise them for the efforts they were taking to boost jobs, health and local government. Doubtless Moscovites made the same jokes about Pravda.
Convulsed by its own infighting and reduced to the role of Joker in the body politic of Scotland, the SNP still posed some very difficult questions for Labour. With so many MPs why was the labour party not doing more to defend the people of Scotland against Tory policies? How could Labour accept the legitimacy of Tory rule over Scotland when it had dismissed the democratic vote of Scotland in 1979? The SNP jibed that Labour MPs in Scotland were the ‘fifty fearties�. The jibe soon become more than an irritating insult. In the local council elections of 1988 the SNP doubled its number of seats, becoming the second party of local government, . Later in the same year, the Scottish Labour Party was struck a more substantial blow. Jim Sillars won the for the SNP. Scottish politics was once more about to get very interesting.
Tune in next week to find out what happened next...
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By 1987 the Labour party was deeply entrenched into every part of . Labour had 50 of Scotland’s 72 MPs compared to the SNPs 3, 545 local council seats to the SNPs 59 and 223 regional council seats to the SNPs 36. In fact these figures do not do justice to the scale of the SNP defeat. Conservatives, Liberals and Independents all had more votes and elected representatives than the SNP. Labour presided over a country where it was the massively dominant force and its hated enemy the SNP was almost non-existent.
In the 1970s the Labour party had been bitter about relying on the SNP to stay in power in Westminster. Yet, the apparent destruction of the Nats in the 1980s did nothing to ease that bitterness. If anything hatred of the ‘Tartan Tories� intensified; the narrative of social justice increasingly became secondary to a victim narrative which claimed that the nationalists had destroyed the last Labour government and helped Thatcher into power. It was a simplistic yet effective piece of propaganda. Labour had been badly bruised by its own divisions over home rule in the seventies and by its inability to protect traditional Scottish industries in the 1980s: hatred of the nationalist became a unifying salve.
Fear of losing power in Scotland brought with it an unforeseen consequence; Labour began to believe in its own absolute right to control Scotland, dissent was seen as dangerous and would not be tolerated within the party or within its working class heartlands. Labour controlled the local councils that employed working class people, many of whom also lived in council houses. Labour councillors used their influence over homes and wages to bolster support and threaten dissenting voices. Other tools to maintaining power included supporting sectarian divisions to maintain blocks of power throughout Scotland. With control maintained by any means, Labour members were free to use their influence to peddle deals over land and housing, and jet off to holiday junkets in warm climes � with little, if any, critical response from Scotland’s media. The joke in Glasgow was that if labour councillors returned from Hawaii wearing suntans and hoola hoola skirts, the glasgow press would praise them for the efforts they were taking to boost jobs, health and local government. Doubtless Moscovites made the same jokes about Pravda.
Convulsed by its own infighting and reduced to the role of Joker in the body politic of Scotland, the SNP still posed some very difficult questions for Labour. With so many MPs why was the labour party not doing more to defend the people of Scotland against Tory policies? How could Labour accept the legitimacy of Tory rule over Scotland when it had dismissed the democratic vote of Scotland in 1979? The SNP jibed that Labour MPs in Scotland were the ‘fifty fearties�. The jibe soon become more than an irritating insult. In the local council elections of 1988 the SNP doubled its number of seats, becoming the second party of local government, . Later in the same year, the Scottish Labour Party was struck a more substantial blow. Jim Sillars won the for the SNP. Scottish politics was once more about to get very interesting.
Tune in next week to find out what happened next...
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There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these three to start with
Social Justice & Scottish Independence. Part Five.
5.ÌýÌý Defending Red Scotland
Thatcher was not content with destroying Scottish industry and society. Scotland was to the store house for more nuclear weapons and nuclear waste. Exhausted as Scots were by the struggles against Tory rule, such arrogance and contempt carried the danger of reviving nationalist feeling. In May 1985 leading nationalist lawyer and anti-nuclear campaigner Willie McCrea was found mortally wounded by gun shots. His death occurred ten months after the abduction and murder of the English anti-nuclear campaigner Hilda Murrell. Whether McCrea’s death was suicide, murder or a Special Branch assassination is still open to question. Certainly the British State has never baulked at killing troublesome lawyers. No fatal accident inquiry was held. And despite requests from politicians and campaigners no public inquiry has ever been held.
In the latter half of 1985 I was still a SNP member and was involved in the battle to save the steel mill. I’m sure there must have been marches and drums and applause and sausage, onion and tomato sauce baps � that was part of the fun of campaigning in the early 1980s � but my memories of Gartcosh lack any colour or sense of defiance. It was savage cold that winter when I took my turn staying in the camp set outside the gates of the steel mill. The men and the women who lived in the surrounding houses always seemed to talk quietly. It felt like a funeral. Even when trade unionists and Labour and Nationalist activists stood together and discussed tactics there was little sense of hope.
I only stayed overnight at the camp on a couple of occasions, most of my work was leafleting and bucketing. But a curious thing happened on one of the nights I did stay in the camp. The older activists were away having a meeting so there was only a handful of young men and teenagers, including myself, huddled in a cold and leaky tent. Then an older man stepped into the tent. He spoke passionately about the steel mill and how its closure would destroy him and his family. He also told us he had some dynamite and wouldn’t it be great to blow up a nearby bridge. I was eighteen and it seemed like a great idea to me. Fortunately my companions were more copped on then I, and the man's offer was politely declined. He tried to bring the subject up a few more times and then left.Ìý With hindsight I still cannot say whether he was Special Branch or a local bam or just some guy so distraught with the threat to his community that anger was getting the better of him.
No bridge was blown up. Gartcosh closed in 1986. Scotland was a despondent place. Even Special Branch wound down its Tartan Terror frolics; Scotland was so despondent, it seemed a futile occupation. In 1987 the song rose to number three in the UK charts. It pretty much summed up the despair in Scotland at the time: ‘Bathgate no more, Linwood no more, Methil no more, Irvine no more�.
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Thatcher was not content with destroying Scottish industry and society. Scotland was to the store house for more nuclear weapons and nuclear waste. Exhausted as Scots were by the struggles against Tory rule, such arrogance and contempt carried the danger of reviving nationalist feeling. In May 1985 leading nationalist lawyer and anti-nuclear campaigner Willie McCrea was found mortally wounded by gun shots. His death occurred ten months after the abduction and murder of the English anti-nuclear campaigner Hilda Murrell. Whether McCrea’s death was suicide, murder or a Special Branch assassination is still open to question. Certainly the British State has never baulked at killing troublesome lawyers. No fatal accident inquiry was held. And despite requests from politicians and campaigners no public inquiry has ever been held.
In the latter half of 1985 I was still a SNP member and was involved in the battle to save the steel mill. I’m sure there must have been marches and drums and applause and sausage, onion and tomato sauce baps � that was part of the fun of campaigning in the early 1980s � but my memories of Gartcosh lack any colour or sense of defiance. It was savage cold that winter when I took my turn staying in the camp set outside the gates of the steel mill. The men and the women who lived in the surrounding houses always seemed to talk quietly. It felt like a funeral. Even when trade unionists and Labour and Nationalist activists stood together and discussed tactics there was little sense of hope.
I only stayed overnight at the camp on a couple of occasions, most of my work was leafleting and bucketing. But a curious thing happened on one of the nights I did stay in the camp. The older activists were away having a meeting so there was only a handful of young men and teenagers, including myself, huddled in a cold and leaky tent. Then an older man stepped into the tent. He spoke passionately about the steel mill and how its closure would destroy him and his family. He also told us he had some dynamite and wouldn’t it be great to blow up a nearby bridge. I was eighteen and it seemed like a great idea to me. Fortunately my companions were more copped on then I, and the man's offer was politely declined. He tried to bring the subject up a few more times and then left.Ìý With hindsight I still cannot say whether he was Special Branch or a local bam or just some guy so distraught with the threat to his community that anger was getting the better of him.
No bridge was blown up. Gartcosh closed in 1986. Scotland was a despondent place. Even Special Branch wound down its Tartan Terror frolics; Scotland was so despondent, it seemed a futile occupation. In 1987 the song rose to number three in the UK charts. It pretty much summed up the despair in Scotland at the time: ‘Bathgate no more, Linwood no more, Methil no more, Irvine no more�.
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Social Justice & Scottish Independence. Part Four
4.ÌýÌý Teenage Kicks in the 1980s
For a teenager the early 1980s was the best thing ever. While the new Conservative government was intend on smashing civic society, Scotland remained a defiantly socialist country. Caledonia was filled with plucky soviet inspired pioneers boldly giving the finger to the running dogs of capitalism, whilst waiting for the great leap forward into a benevolent and all loving Marxist paradise â€� which would come about once the labour party won power in the UK.Ìý Thatcher however had other plans.
Much has already been written about the destruction of Scotland’s traditional manufacturing base in the 1980s and I need not go repeat that awful litany of closures here. Defiance without victory is a hard thing to sustain, yet long term things were achieved during the 1980s. Labour controlled Strathclyde region leased land outside Faslane Naval Base to anti-nuclear campaigners and Faslane Peace Camp remains a focus for world-wide resistance to Nuclear weapons. Many of the men and women who suffered under Thatcher’s axe remain defiant and active to this day, not least the men and women of the mining communities who I met during the Social Justice campaigns of the 1990s. But there is no denying that by the mid 1980s Red Scotland was becoming exhausted and increasingly bitter place.
Whether a Scottish parliament could have resisted or at least soften Tory attacks on Scotland is one of those great what ifs of history. Certainly in the aftermath of Thatcher’s stunning 1983 re-election some of the No campaigners of 1979 now came to support the idea of home rule, either as a measure for defending Scotland or protecting the Labour Party’s dominance. Among the converts was Robin Cook. However, this debate remained behind closed doors.
When I was 16 or 17 I went to a Labour party talk in Castlemilk, on the outskirts of Glasgow. The wee man from the party stood up and gave his spiel. Housing, poverty, health and other Social Jutice isues were not mentioned at all. Thatcher was only mentioned in the passing. Instead the audience was given a lecture about the evils and dangers of the SNP. It was the first time I heard this theory articulated, but not the last. To this day, it still does the rounds in various guises and it remains as shocking a thing to hear now as it was then. In summary, here are the facts as espoused by the wee man from the Labour Party. The SNP, he explained, says it’s all for worker’s rights and defying Thatcher. It says it is a Socialist Party. But it is also a Nationalist Party. Socialism and Nationalism. What happens when you put them together?Ìý It happened in Germany with Hitler. Do not let it happen here! So there it was explained to working class teenagers, the Scot Nats were actually Scot Nazis.
Luckily I was and remain a contrary wee shite. My childhood has a lot to do with this. Like many families in the West of Scotland, mine is a mixture of the Orange and Green, my heritage being a mix of the Irish who fled the hunger and dislocation of late 19th century Ireland and the Scottish Protestants who tried to shove them back on the boat again. There is pride in both sides of my family and much to celebrate but having brought mixed cultured children into the world my parents and their respective families were faced with a very real problem. Should the weans be brought up Catholic or Protestant. In the end I was baptised a Catholic. However, whilst I went to Chapel on Sunday, I went to Orange walks on the Saturday. As our American friends are wont to say ‘Go figure!�
One legacy of my upbringing is an appreciation that nothing is ever black or white (or orange and green). I like shades and tones and splashes of confusion and sheer bloody mayhem. Having listened to the crazy labour man’s harangue I did not sign on the line and become a member of the people’s party. Instead, within a week I joined the SNP. Admittedly I was more motived by umbrage than conviction, but at least I made a go of it. I did try to stay in the SNP, but I’m not a nationalist. It’s just not in my make-up. I do retain a lot of respect for the SNP activists as I do for many of the Labour activist who I have met over the years. But I guess it’s like my Orange and Green background. I have been influenced and inspired by the Labour and Nationalist parts of my Heritage, but I remain in politics as in faith, a firm Atheist.
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To be continued�
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There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these three to start with
For a teenager the early 1980s was the best thing ever. While the new Conservative government was intend on smashing civic society, Scotland remained a defiantly socialist country. Caledonia was filled with plucky soviet inspired pioneers boldly giving the finger to the running dogs of capitalism, whilst waiting for the great leap forward into a benevolent and all loving Marxist paradise â€� which would come about once the labour party won power in the UK.Ìý Thatcher however had other plans.
Much has already been written about the destruction of Scotland’s traditional manufacturing base in the 1980s and I need not go repeat that awful litany of closures here. Defiance without victory is a hard thing to sustain, yet long term things were achieved during the 1980s. Labour controlled Strathclyde region leased land outside Faslane Naval Base to anti-nuclear campaigners and Faslane Peace Camp remains a focus for world-wide resistance to Nuclear weapons. Many of the men and women who suffered under Thatcher’s axe remain defiant and active to this day, not least the men and women of the mining communities who I met during the Social Justice campaigns of the 1990s. But there is no denying that by the mid 1980s Red Scotland was becoming exhausted and increasingly bitter place.
Whether a Scottish parliament could have resisted or at least soften Tory attacks on Scotland is one of those great what ifs of history. Certainly in the aftermath of Thatcher’s stunning 1983 re-election some of the No campaigners of 1979 now came to support the idea of home rule, either as a measure for defending Scotland or protecting the Labour Party’s dominance. Among the converts was Robin Cook. However, this debate remained behind closed doors.
When I was 16 or 17 I went to a Labour party talk in Castlemilk, on the outskirts of Glasgow. The wee man from the party stood up and gave his spiel. Housing, poverty, health and other Social Jutice isues were not mentioned at all. Thatcher was only mentioned in the passing. Instead the audience was given a lecture about the evils and dangers of the SNP. It was the first time I heard this theory articulated, but not the last. To this day, it still does the rounds in various guises and it remains as shocking a thing to hear now as it was then. In summary, here are the facts as espoused by the wee man from the Labour Party. The SNP, he explained, says it’s all for worker’s rights and defying Thatcher. It says it is a Socialist Party. But it is also a Nationalist Party. Socialism and Nationalism. What happens when you put them together?Ìý It happened in Germany with Hitler. Do not let it happen here! So there it was explained to working class teenagers, the Scot Nats were actually Scot Nazis.
Luckily I was and remain a contrary wee shite. My childhood has a lot to do with this. Like many families in the West of Scotland, mine is a mixture of the Orange and Green, my heritage being a mix of the Irish who fled the hunger and dislocation of late 19th century Ireland and the Scottish Protestants who tried to shove them back on the boat again. There is pride in both sides of my family and much to celebrate but having brought mixed cultured children into the world my parents and their respective families were faced with a very real problem. Should the weans be brought up Catholic or Protestant. In the end I was baptised a Catholic. However, whilst I went to Chapel on Sunday, I went to Orange walks on the Saturday. As our American friends are wont to say ‘Go figure!�
One legacy of my upbringing is an appreciation that nothing is ever black or white (or orange and green). I like shades and tones and splashes of confusion and sheer bloody mayhem. Having listened to the crazy labour man’s harangue I did not sign on the line and become a member of the people’s party. Instead, within a week I joined the SNP. Admittedly I was more motived by umbrage than conviction, but at least I made a go of it. I did try to stay in the SNP, but I’m not a nationalist. It’s just not in my make-up. I do retain a lot of respect for the SNP activists as I do for many of the Labour activist who I have met over the years. But I guess it’s like my Orange and Green background. I have been influenced and inspired by the Labour and Nationalist parts of my Heritage, but I remain in politics as in faith, a firm Atheist.
Now read
To be continued�
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Social Justice & Scottish Independence. Part Three
3.ÌýÌý
1979 and all that
Born in the late 1960s I grew up in a Labour household during the nationalist fervour of the 1970s. My memories of that time include heated debates over Scotland’s oil and the dangers of home rule, which apparently would turn Scotland into another Northern Ireland. Another argument in Labour homes and communities � and one which is still rolled out to this day � is the weird and racist belief that without a socialist Scotland, England would suddenly turn into a far right wing country.
The Labour Party in Scotland always had a difficult relationship with the idea of devolution for Scotland. There is a justified rationale behind this: the more united the UK is, so the argument goes, the better it can use its power and wealth to bring social justice to all. Devolution would dilute the UKs ability to create a progressive society. It is a sincere and valid argument, however belief in it has led to some very unpleasant and anti-democratic decisions being taken by Labour in Scotland.Ìý
In 1970s a powerful group of labour activists including George Robertson and Brian Wilson and Robin Cook campaigned for a no vote in the devolution campaign, allegedly . Despite the fear mongering and confusion sown by no campaigners 63.6 percent of the Scottish electorate came out to vote. The devolution vote was won by 51.6% to 48.4%. Yet this democratic and free vote was declared null and void. Due to a clause added to the devolution bill, a win could only be accepted if more than 40 per cent of the electorate voted yes. This clause had been added by the Scottish Labour MP George Cunningham, who represented Islington South and Finsbury in the House of Commons. In the bitter aftermath the Conservatives tabled a vote of no confidence in the labour government. .Ìý
In the following UK election the SNP vote collapsed and they were left with two MPs in Scotland. The nationalist threat had been broken. And just to make sure it stayed that way Special Branch ran its own little Tartan Terror campaign to further discredit and disillusion any remaining nationalist sentiment. In 1979 both Labour and Conservatives increased their ; Labour returned 44 seats with 41.6 per cent of the Scottish vote and the conservatives returned 22 seats with 31.4 per cent of the vote.Ìý Though the Tories had less than 40 per cent of the vote in Scotland, no Labour MP questioned the legitimacy of their right to rule.Ìý
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Born in the late 1960s I grew up in a Labour household during the nationalist fervour of the 1970s. My memories of that time include heated debates over Scotland’s oil and the dangers of home rule, which apparently would turn Scotland into another Northern Ireland. Another argument in Labour homes and communities � and one which is still rolled out to this day � is the weird and racist belief that without a socialist Scotland, England would suddenly turn into a far right wing country.
The Labour Party in Scotland always had a difficult relationship with the idea of devolution for Scotland. There is a justified rationale behind this: the more united the UK is, so the argument goes, the better it can use its power and wealth to bring social justice to all. Devolution would dilute the UKs ability to create a progressive society. It is a sincere and valid argument, however belief in it has led to some very unpleasant and anti-democratic decisions being taken by Labour in Scotland.Ìý
In 1970s a powerful group of labour activists including George Robertson and Brian Wilson and Robin Cook campaigned for a no vote in the devolution campaign, allegedly . Despite the fear mongering and confusion sown by no campaigners 63.6 percent of the Scottish electorate came out to vote. The devolution vote was won by 51.6% to 48.4%. Yet this democratic and free vote was declared null and void. Due to a clause added to the devolution bill, a win could only be accepted if more than 40 per cent of the electorate voted yes. This clause had been added by the Scottish Labour MP George Cunningham, who represented Islington South and Finsbury in the House of Commons. In the bitter aftermath the Conservatives tabled a vote of no confidence in the labour government. .Ìý
In the following UK election the SNP vote collapsed and they were left with two MPs in Scotland. The nationalist threat had been broken. And just to make sure it stayed that way Special Branch ran its own little Tartan Terror campaign to further discredit and disillusion any remaining nationalist sentiment. In 1979 both Labour and Conservatives increased their ; Labour returned 44 seats with 41.6 per cent of the Scottish vote and the conservatives returned 22 seats with 31.4 per cent of the vote.Ìý Though the Tories had less than 40 per cent of the vote in Scotland, no Labour MP questioned the legitimacy of their right to rule.Ìý
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There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these three to start with
Social Justice & Scottish Independence. Part Two
2. Where to begin?
No political party in Scotland is immune to viewing facts as malleable materiel to be used and bent and twisted as suits. In the hands of the Labour Party in Scotland, though, such propagandizing has been inflated to new and sublime levels that are only connected to reality by the thinnest of tattered and worn threads.Ìý Compared to the creativity of the Caledonian comrades, the spin and dissembling of Tony Blair and his colleagues seem oafish and pedestrian.
This is not a new phenomenon, sadly deceit and double speak have a long and venerable history in the Labour Party in Scotland. However Labour’s current creativity with facts contains two grave dangers for the party: not only will it end up completely divorced from how the world is seen and experienced by people in Scotland; but equally it will finally become completely detached from its origins as a party that believed in and struggled for social justice for the peoples of Scotland and the United Kingdom.Ìý
Some would argue that Labour became divorced from its past a long time ago, but this is an overly simplistic view â€� as well as an insult to those who remain loyal to labour, either as voters or grassroots party members. It is a trite and idiotic narrative which portrays labour and unionism as incontrovertibly bad and SNP and independence as self-evidently good.Ìý The truth is that the recent history of Scotland is as messy, dynamic and bewildering as life itself. No outcome was, is or will be inevitable.
One difficulty in trying to examine contemporary events in Scotland is deciding where to begin the story. Does it start with the current referendum campaign or with the reconvening of the Scottish parliament? Perhaps we should whizz all the way back to the mid ninth century when Kenneth Mac Alpin united the various peoples and cultures north of the Forth and Clyde rivers into a political entity known as Alba. There are of course other memorable dates, including 1915 Glasgow rent strikes organised and led by women activists in the Independent Labour Party, or the land agitation of the Highland Land League with its slogan
These and many other dates and events are a crucial part of Scotland’s history. However, for an understanding of the debates and conflicting voices in the current referendum I would suggest it is important to examine the Decade of Dissent, the ten years of social justice agitation that preceded the first Scottish assembly election in 1999. However to understand what happened between 1989 and 1999 there is a need to examine the campaign and aftermath of the referendum which Scots mostly now try not to talk about. The devolution vote of 1979.
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There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these three to start with
No political party in Scotland is immune to viewing facts as malleable materiel to be used and bent and twisted as suits. In the hands of the Labour Party in Scotland, though, such propagandizing has been inflated to new and sublime levels that are only connected to reality by the thinnest of tattered and worn threads.Ìý Compared to the creativity of the Caledonian comrades, the spin and dissembling of Tony Blair and his colleagues seem oafish and pedestrian.
This is not a new phenomenon, sadly deceit and double speak have a long and venerable history in the Labour Party in Scotland. However Labour’s current creativity with facts contains two grave dangers for the party: not only will it end up completely divorced from how the world is seen and experienced by people in Scotland; but equally it will finally become completely detached from its origins as a party that believed in and struggled for social justice for the peoples of Scotland and the United Kingdom.Ìý
Some would argue that Labour became divorced from its past a long time ago, but this is an overly simplistic view â€� as well as an insult to those who remain loyal to labour, either as voters or grassroots party members. It is a trite and idiotic narrative which portrays labour and unionism as incontrovertibly bad and SNP and independence as self-evidently good.Ìý The truth is that the recent history of Scotland is as messy, dynamic and bewildering as life itself. No outcome was, is or will be inevitable.
One difficulty in trying to examine contemporary events in Scotland is deciding where to begin the story. Does it start with the current referendum campaign or with the reconvening of the Scottish parliament? Perhaps we should whizz all the way back to the mid ninth century when Kenneth Mac Alpin united the various peoples and cultures north of the Forth and Clyde rivers into a political entity known as Alba. There are of course other memorable dates, including 1915 Glasgow rent strikes organised and led by women activists in the Independent Labour Party, or the land agitation of the Highland Land League with its slogan
These and many other dates and events are a crucial part of Scotland’s history. However, for an understanding of the debates and conflicting voices in the current referendum I would suggest it is important to examine the Decade of Dissent, the ten years of social justice agitation that preceded the first Scottish assembly election in 1999. However to understand what happened between 1989 and 1999 there is a need to examine the campaign and aftermath of the referendum which Scots mostly now try not to talk about. The devolution vote of 1979.
Now read
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* * *
There’s a wheen o Yes campaigns and campaigners out there on twitter. But you might want to check out these three to start with
