Back in 2005, politically, I, like many lefties in Scotland, felt our time was now. Scottish Socialism was the new Rock ‘n Roll. We had filled halls, built a huge reaction to the rumours and actuality of the Bush/Blair wars, and helped facilitate unprecedented street level dissent at the G8 conference, drawing the international media […]
Scottish Independence
Not My Grassroots by Val Waldron
Things have changed so radically between 2014 and now, that the independence movement is barely recognisable as the same animal. It has been impeded, infiltrated, interrupted, call it what you will, by a plague of misogynistic wreckers. A corner of the Yes movement is a stinking cesspit of bigotry, destruction, hate and treachery. A contaminated […]
(Why) I Joined The Greens by Chloe McDermott
I recognise that the Greens offer an alternative independence supporting party that simply goes further and dares to dream bigger. Where do I start? Well, I guess it should be the beginning. It has been just over four months since joining the Scottish Greens. Ever since jumping ship from the SNP I had been […]
The One With the Nazis
There are strong hints from the events that we’ve just witnessed, that those among us who are loose lipped about Unilateral Declaration of Independence, and rigged referendums should sit back and consider democracy for a bit, or if not, have a look at the ultimate might of the state. For the Yes movement, the conclusion […]
Starmer’s Austerity Brexit
The new Labourite spin is that their own spectacular failure to oppose the inevitable Tory Hard Brexit deal is that the SNP is supporting a ‘no deal Brexit’. This is an absurdity that ought not to require comment, but given the witting and unwitting stupidity that abounds, here’s what’s really happening: Labour are now supporting […]
What happened to the YES movement?
We have come a long way since 2014, since my joining SNP as a member and going to that first conference in Glasgow after the no vote. However, it has not been forward we’ve gone, it has been down. As an ex yesser – and I feel sad that I have to call myself that, […]
Aerosols and Arseholes by Val Waldron
We can’t rely on Boris Johnson to do more than he’s done already for the Indy movement. As we approach the Winter Solstice, and find ourselves blessed with some of the magical cold frosty days, we finally get to see the breath of some of the hard-of-understanding-about-distancing, who gasp past you on the crowded city […]
Hubble Bubble…..
“If you can imagine a debate raging in a bubble, well there are a few of those fragile things floating around back and forth over the border. List parties, George Galloway, English Nationalism, raving mad back-benchers with a penchant for Covid scepticism, the Withdrawal Act and other hideously cataclysmic Brexit related futures to name but […]
This Is Not Over
There’s another layer above the real and fantasised darkness, and it’s a good one. It involves people working away at the grass roots with and for their community. BBC Radio Scotland’s Kaye Adams lives in a world where it’s fine to introduce her “Rule of 6” call-in with the comment “I know dozens of people […]
Reinstate Richie Venton
I just woke up this morning to this article. My friend Richie Venton, a superb union representative for the union USDAW, and IKEA worker, has been sacked. During lockdown, I phoned Richie about an issue a family member was going through in her work. He didn’t have to give me advice – Richie was representing […]