The Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh will be the venue for an important event on the future of the United Kingdom, its nations and the European Union, billed as ‘a conference salute to Tom Nairn’.
Several speakers have already signed up to be part of the discussion on Saturday 18 November, including Fintan O’Toole, Isabel Hilton, Kojo Koram, Joyce McMillan, Neal Ascherson, Hilary Wainwright, James Robertson and Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP who writes that it Is ‘incredibly timely and important’.
The event is subtitled ‘confronting the UK’s democratic crisis’ (see more details on the website here). Organisers say that ‘the Westminster political-media establishment seems to believe it has reasserted its control after the referendums of 2014 and 2016. But frustration with our systems of power - the deep feelings of alienation, inequality and lack of representation - persist and many feel with good reason that the British state continues to stifle democracy and delay essential action — and dread the coming general election as an exercise in continuity’.
The aims of the conference are to:
· Address the democratic failures and challenges of the UK after Brexit in a way that assists and inspires action
· Confront our national differences in a positive spirit of shared as well as distinct interests
· Explore new ways of organising democratic self-government and how to secure truthful debate and combat dark money in the current media world
· Debate the future of the UK as a European country, and a set of European nations, in a Europe changing under the impacts of Russia’s war on Ukraine
· Share understanding of how to confront the climate emergency democratically.
· Consider how to reframe ‘who we are’ to include issues of race and the legacies of Empire and colonialism
· Share the inspiration of Tom Nairn’s pioneering support for participating in the EU and open-minded exploration of nationality and globalisation
Democratic Left Scotland is very pleased to be amongst the organisations sponsoring the event: watch out for more information, and visit the conference website at www.thebreakupofbritain.net
Published June 2023