We’re talking about the important one-day conference in Scotland, rather than an actual sudden moment in which the component parts of ‘Ukania’ will separate.
Perhaps, though, the gathering in Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms on Saturday 18 November will help focus and add some momentum to the process by which the ‘slow foundering’ of the union state can be addressed in progressive and positive ways.
The conference will consider the future of the United Kingdom, its nations, and the European Union, and is inspired by the work of Tom Nairn, a Scottish political thinker and theorist of unparalleled range and audacity. The organisers state that Nairn’s work on nationalism, the British state and globalisation in the era of market supremacy ‘remains an inspiration to radicals and reformers everywhere. We want to celebrate Tom’s life not by looking back ponderously on his thought but by embracing his spirit of restless engagement with reality’.
One of the speakers, Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, calls the event ‘incredibly timely and important’. Other speakers include The National columnist Lesley Riddoch, writer Neal Ascherson, Uncommon Wealth author Kojo Koram, journalist Isabel Hilton, Clive Lewis MP, The Scotsman journalist Joyce McMillan, Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole, author James Robertson, Professor Richard Wyn Jones, former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood and Radical Independence Campaign co-founder Jonathon Shafi.
Democratic Left Scotland is pleased to be amongst the range of organisations sponsoring and supporting this conference. Find out more and book your ticket: https://thebreakupofbritain.net/