Revolution Scotland EB

SP21: Independence Victory — the Battle has just begun

The mandate for an independence referendum has been renewed, with the SNP hailing their victory as a ‘landslide’ in the Scottish Parliament elections.

‘Cash for curtains’ — Capitalism means corruption

Sleaze, corruption, and cronyism. These are the words now firmly associated with the Tories and their friends. There is barely a day that goes by without some new details revealing the grubby connections between big business and the government.

Marxists and the National Question

Ben Curry

As the capitalist system lurches from one crisis to the next, old contradictions are re-emerging. Instability, polarisation and huge political shifts are taking place all over the world. As part of this process, unsolved national questions are erupting once more with renewed force around the globe — from Catalonia to Kurdistan to Ireland.

Communists, Trade Unions and the Anglo-Russian Committee

In 1926 Britain was shaken by a General Strike. The strike was sabotaged by the trade union leaders, however, who were given left cover by the CPGB and Comintern for this betrayal. The episode provides important lessons about the disastrous policies of Stalinism and reformism in the labour movement.

Portugal: The Days of Social Peace Are Over

The apparent social peace in Portugal in recent years – without major uprisings or noteworthy social turmoil – hides a much more complex and bitter reality beneath its fragile surface.

Ukraine: Re-escalation in Donbas — Fight the Oligarchs instead!

Since the signing of the Minsk-2 ceasefire protocols in 2015, the civil war in the Donbas de-escalated from open warfare. However, this did not mean an end to the conflict. The people living next to the battlelines are subject to frequent shelling, not to mention the terror of living in highly militarised areas. Besides this new norm for the people in the conflict region, every year has seen a period of reporting about the “re-escalation of the conflict” from Ukrainian and Western media, and the “threat of the Russian menace advancing”.

N. Ireland: Sectarian Riots — A Bad End to a Bad Peace

Over the past week, the North of Ireland has seen its worst rioting in years, ostensibly over the Northern Ireland Protocol signed by the Westminster government with the EU. The threat of loyalist violence has been in the air for months as tensions have ratcheted up since the Protocol came into effect in January.

Kill the Bill: Demonstrations continue against Tory Police law

Last Saturday, thousands marched in London from Hyde Park to Parliament Square to protest the draconian Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. This new legislation would dramatically curtail the right to demonstrate.

The Independence Election? (Editorial 38)

This May’s Holyrood elections will be a landmark event. With the coronavirus pandemic receding for the moment at least, after over a year of hardship for millions, and the SNP on course to form the Scottish Government for a fourth term, the question of Scottish Independence is being thrust to the forefront.

European AstraZeneca debacle: mismanagement, misinformation and vaccine diplomacy

A number of countries in Europe halted the use of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine over the past two weeks, due to an unproven (and unlikely) association with blood clots. Following a review by the European Medical Agency, they have now resumed, but this politically driven decision has seriously dented public confidence in the vaccine, which was already low.