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News, Campaigns & Events
Thoughts on the election outcome
Whilst the storm clouds began to gather over Downing Street, Democratic Left Scotland members and friends met online last week to discuss the prospects for the left in light of the outcome of the Scottish Parliament election. Maggie Chapman MSP, Coll McCail and Simon Barrow supported the discussion by giving perspectives from Green, Labour and SNP standpoints. There was an acknowledgment that this had not been an overwhelming election. There had been limited capacity within
Re-elected! Maggie Chapman - Scottish Green Party MSP for the North East region
A member of Maggie Chapman’s campaign team reflects on a successful campaign for a Holyrood seat. Scotland’s Parliament will see the return of Maggie Chapman as MSP for the North East region. In spite of Maggie’s hard work over the last 5 years and Green progress across Scotland, re-election was not a forgone conclusion. The North East Region is vast, taking in Dundee and Angus in the south and Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and a small part of Moray in the north. The region is, to
Scottish trade unionists: Looking beyond the election
Day three of of the STUC Congress at Dundee Caird Hall saw important discussions on Scotland’s industrial future. Investing in ferries, supporting oil and gas workers and democratic control of energy were all discussed. Impassioned calls for the defence of local journalism was made, and support echoed for those striking at the University of Aberdeen. One of biggest debates of the day was one focussed on military spending. Following a considered discussion, with a range of v
Perspectives & Views
“A dozen or so”: Your Party in Scotland has "dwindled into obscurity"
Niall Christie is a committed and experienced activist who took up Scotland’s ‘place’ on Your Party’s Central Executive Committee. Then, on the basis that the party has 'run out of road', he resigned. Now it’s time to learn the lessons of what’s gone wrong. Casting my vote this week was not how I had foreseen myself doing so just a month or two ago. Instead of again trudging to the ballot box to vote (in my case, Green in the constituency and SSP on the list), my hope was tha
News, views and directions from the European left
Doug Chalmers reports on this month’s Congress of the European Left Party, which he attended as a representative of Democratic Left Scotland. How to build a new democratic socialist society – feminist and ecologically sustainable, in a time of austerity and militarism? That was the background question to the 8th Congress of the Party of the European Left. Founded in 2004, the Party of the European Left consists of 22 member parties, ranging from the PCF, die Linke, Syri
Hopeful pointers for the Holyrood election from Dundee Pensioners’ Forum
Our members have been bravely prominent - amongst others - in opposing some very nasty street protests against asylum seekers housed in Dundee. Led by so-called Dundee Patriots, claiming to be protecting women and girls, these protestors have brought a new level of hostility and physical aggression to Dundee streets over the winter months. The Pensioners Forum had also noticed a different tone in the conduct of debate in the Scottish Parliament, sadly echoing the infantile y
Reviews and Reflections
Progressive perspectives
Scottish Left Review marks its 150th issue. The Educational Institute of Scotland has sponsored Scottish Left Review 's March / April issue, this support from a key component of our country's labour movement meaning that every delegate to the Scottish Trades Union Congress will receive a copy when it meets in Dundee (22 to 26 April). STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer contributes an agenda-setting piece to the issue. Foyer recovers the language of 'taking back control' for a
The feeling of a changing world
Harvey Duke writes on protest songs and the power of art, highlighting Bruce Springsteen's new protest song 'The Streets of Minneapolis' , which was the fastest trending song on YouTube in the United States on the day of its release. We’ve all heard the idea: the personal is political. There are moments in our lives when what had felt deeply personal also begins to feel deeply political. Even before we know much about politics, Art can sometimes help us feel connected to the
Burns Day: online poetry - and nuclear disarmament
The good people at Scottish CND have established a tradition of successful Burns events, gathering renowned poets based in Scotland for a programme of peace-themed poetry. As the organisers say, 'these events have been heartening antidotes to the often oppressive, militaristic discourse that is all too common in the national political conversation'. This year, the Scottish CND Burns Afternoon Event will take place online - it's on Sunday 25 of January between 3pm-5pm, and is
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