Born in Glasgow in 1965 and brought up in Clydebank, in the shadow of the John Brown cranes, Derek Stewart Macpherson’s earliest memory is attending the launch of the QE2 at the age of two. Since then he has been a student activist, traveller, father of two, public servant, negotiator, political strategist, campaign manager and trade union official, having brought together a broad left faction within the CPSU (Australian public sector union).
He is a Scottish-Australian dual national, having taken out Australian citizenship in 1985, and insists on his right to comment and participate fully in the politics of both countries. Returning to Scotland in 2014 for the indyref, he joined the grassroots campaigners of Yes Clydebank, while completing his acclaimed five-part series of articles, ‘The Hitchhikers’ Guide To Scottish Independence.’
These days he is a musician, writer, pro-indy blogger and economic and political commentator. He is also the founder of The Babel Fish Project, which was conceived in May, 2000, as a way of drawing together the many artists from disparate backgrounds and disciplines he had met in three decades of playing music.
Derek plays guitar and other instruments, sings, arranges and produces the music of The Babel Fish Project but would also like to extend heartfelt gratitude to the many musicians and others who have contributed musically, technically and administratively to the project.
Sue has been around left politics since she was a student at the LSE in the 1970s, during which time she was also involved in the antifascist movement against the National Front. After more than a decade as a trade union activist in Fleet Street, a period which included the miners’ strike and the Wapping […]
Debra Torrance is the youngest daughter of a bookkeeper and a butcher. A late baby, her parents were preparing to become Nanna and Pops not new a mum and dad again. Debra was brought up in the east end of Glasgow and moved around Scotland from the highlands to Fife before settling in Milngavie. She […]