In our occasional focus on magazines and publishers, a look at Scottish Left Review
With its new editor Cailean Gallagher, and refreshed design by Mitchell F Gillies, Scottish Left Review continues to be a crucial publication in ‘an unsettled country’, aiming to be ‘a place of discussion, debate and dissent’.
Rooted in the work of The Jimmy Reid Foundation, its pages are open to a wide range of voices from different organisations, with regular articles from trade unionists and campaigners giving it a sharp and practical edge.
The latest issue has a range of articles on the theme of radical education, taking in pieces from members of the Popular Education Network, the organisers of Radical Glasgow Tours, and lessons from Scotland’s labour colleges over a century ago, which John Maclean played a big part in launching.
The magazine sees arts and culture as an integral part of struggle, not relegated to ‘the back half’, and there’s a look here at a new mural in Glasgow’s Calton, which is part of a project backed by Unite and the union’s General Secretary Sharon Graham.
Amongst the articles on environmental issues is a piece by Climate Camp Scotland, which is organising a ‘five-day long camp for climate justice in the vicinity of INEOS’s fossil fuel infrastructure’ (12-17 July).
It’s good to see that Vladimir McTavish has kept his place in the magazine: his latest ‘kick up
the tabloids’ column riffs on last month’s Ukanian royalist jamboree, noting amongst other things that the king’s crown was wobbling throughout the ceremony: ‘after spending 250, 000, 000 pounds on a coronation, you would think they would make sure that the crown would actually fit’.
Published June 2023.