UK Supreme Court ruling leaves Scottish referendum hopes in doubt
The UK Supreme Court has ruled that Scotland cannot hold a new independence referendum without the UK parliament’s approval. In a unanimous judgement, the court argued the matter of an independence referendum was reserved for Westminster, not Holyrood
Nothing to see here: entertainment venues facing mass closures in Scotland
MSPs have warned that the epidemic and rising expenses have created a “perfect storm” for Scotland’s cultural sector.
According to Holyrood’s culture committee, the sector is grappling with serious issues as it tries to recover from COVID-19, and the cost-of-living crisis is making matters worse.
What’s the point of the Scottish government’s ‘non-optional guidance’ on Covid?
Scotland is sleepwalking into a fresh crisis under the SNP-Green coalition, writes Johnnie Hunter
Communist Party: ‘beware false prophets’
The Communist Party has urged the labour movement not to listen to “the false prophets of the right” in response to the 6 May election results. “The likes of Lords Mandelson and Adonis only have one overriding aim – to defend the power and wealth of monopoly capitalism”, CP General Secretary Robert Griffiths told the party’s Political Committee on Sunday evening (9 May 2021).
Alex Salmond launches Alba Party in bid to re-enter frontline politics
This afternoon (26 March 2021), Former First Minister, Alex Salmond announced he was launching a new pro-Independence Party ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections in 6 weeks time. “The Alba Party” is expected to run in each of Scotland’s 8 regions and as part of the launch, Salmond announced the Party was aiming to ensure “the Independence Supermajority’, calling on SNP voters to vote tactically to ensure a majority of pro-Independence MSPs are returned to Holyrood.
Holyrood pantomime distracts from real issues
Politics in Scotland this week has been entirely dominated by the ongoing enquiry into what is being dubbed as Salmond vs Sturgeon in a he-said-she said battle of the heavyweights. On Thursday (19 March 2021) it was announced that the Committee investigating the Salmond Inquiry was due to vote, by five to four, in favour of finding that Sturgeon misled Parliament. Calls for Sturgeon’s resignation have been growing louder from all corners, although this still seems unlikely. Sturgeon will be expected to resign, but only if the Committee finds that Sturgeon ‘knowingly’ misled the parliamentary committee.
Holyrood passes controversial Hate Crime Bill
MSPs have passed what has been described as “Scotland’s most controversial piece of legislation”. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill was passed on Thursday (11 March 2021) by 82 votes to 32, with 4 abstentions after a marathon debate of amendments on Wednesday. The legislation seeks to consolidate existing law and extends protection for some vulnerable groups with a new offence of “stirring up hatred”. Concerns have been raised about the potential impact on freedom of speech, with opponents arguing that the full implications of the proposed law have not been thought through. While supporting the principle of protecting people from prejudice, they argue that the definition of “‘stirring up hatred” is too vague and open to interpretation.
Communism isn’t to blame for soup kitchens in Glasgow – capitalism is
Recently, a picture has emerged of a soup kitchen in George Square, Glasgow, organised by Kindness Homeless Street Team, with a queue that was around two hundred people long. The surprising thing about this is that people were surprised. Homelessness is all around in Glasgow. It is not something that is hidden like it is in other parts of the country. A short walk from Glasgow Central Station to Buchanan Street would show you that, with people sleeping rough at the side of the road.
Class struggle is back, but will class politics follow?
Nick Wright argues that despite the disappointing end to the Corbyn era in 2019, the labour movement is not in a weaker place in terms of militancy, membership and motivation — and this can be translated into electoral success once again.
YCL: “fight against Tories & SNP goes hand in hand with the fight against COVID-19”
The Young Communist League has issued an updated statement on the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic in response to the massive increase in deaths and new infections and the government’s total failure to battle the crisis.
