What times we are living in: in addition to the wars taking place in Ukraine, in Israel / Palestine, in Yemen and elsewhere, the twin threats to our planet of nuclear calamity and catastrophic climate breakdown fuse together to threaten the very habitat we rely on.
Scottish CND has a proud sixty-five year history of campaigning for peace and nuclear disarmament, with a particular focus on urging the removal of nuclear warheads from Faslane and Coulport and the decommissioning of the so-called ‘independent’ Trident so-called ‘deterrent’.
Now the organisation is gearing up to host the Festival For Survival, to be held across two venues in Glasgow on Saturday November 4th.
Scottish CND chair Lynn Jamieson has explained that ‘reducing the risk of nuclear catastrophe remains our organisation’s priority, but the links between nuclear weapons and environmental calamity demand attention. Not least because Scotland can make a stronger contribution to the future of the planet if the network of organisations that make up our peace movement and environmental movement combine’.
A determination to promote combination and alliance-building is evident in the line up of speakers who are coming together at the Festival, including academics, campaigners, cultural figures, international guests and a range of authors including Layla-Roxanne Hill, who co-authored Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland.
It’s also striking that there are elected politicians from different political parties, including MSPs Bill Kidd of the SNP (who convenes the Cross-Party Group on Nuclear Disarmament), Ross Greer from the Greens and Labour’s Katy Clark. Faith representatives include the Church of Scotland’s Roger Sturrock, the Moderator of Glasgow Presbytery and William Nolan, the Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow.
Democratic Left Scotland is particularly pleased to see a strong representation of trade unionists amongst the speakers, including Alex Gordon, President of the RMT, Bill Ramsay of the SNP Trade Union Group, Arthur West of the Scottish CND Trade Union Network, and Angela McCormick who is an Executive Committee member of EIS FELA, whose campaign for fair pay we’ve been highlighting, and Cat Boyd (in a personal capacity) who is both a Herald columnist and the PCS National Officer for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The festival workshops will provide plenty of opportunities for considerations and suggestions from anyone who attends the event. What will be most important is what happens afterwards, and the activities and campaigns that are galvanised from the 4th November. Signing up to the Scottish CND newsletter is a great way to stay informed – you can do that on the website where, of course, you can also find out how to join (or rejoin!) the organisation.
Published 9 October 2023.