Category Archives: Uncategorized

Open Letter from England

To: Jonathon Shafi (co-founder of RIC) 9 February 2021 Dear Jonathan, I am writing as a supporter of the Radical Independence Campaign (RIC) who came to Glasgow in 2014 along with other supporters from England including Tariq Ali, Hilary Wainwright … Continue reading

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RIC splits

On Sunday 31 January the reconvened conference of the Radical Independence Campaign (RIC) split into a RIC majority and RIC minority over whether the Campaign should continue and be upgraded or whether it should be closed down. In the 2014 … Continue reading

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Voting against the Tory Deal

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland left the European Union in February 2020 with a stay of execution until 31 December 2020. On the 30 December the country faced a dire emergency. Next day the Great Britain … Continue reading

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Free Julian Assange Now

Defend our democratic right to know Free Julian Assange Now I will start with three questions; 1. Will the defeat of Donald Trump and election of Joe Biden make any difference to the cruel and unjust treatment of Julian Assange … Continue reading

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Part 1 Corbyn, Left Unity and Republican Socialism

Part 1 Corbyn, Left Unity and Republican Socialism We might start at the beginning. In 2013 I attended the founding conference of Left Unity debating the merits of different platforms. I spoke about the three historical reference points behind the … Continue reading

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Labour’s historic defeat in Scotland

You may remember the famous Monty Python sketch about a parrot returned by a dissatisfied customer, John Cleese, to the pet-shop run by Michael Palin. As Cleese enters the shop, Palin says, “We are closing for lunch”. Cleese says “Never … Continue reading

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Labour Left Alliance – social monarchism or republicanism?

Republicanism in the Labour Party is the ‘dog that doesn’t bark’ argues Kenneth Morgan, with reference to Sherlock Holmes who deduced from the absence of a fact who carried out the crime. Today the Labour Left Alliance may be the … Continue reading

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No Surrender – a republican case against British Exit

Ireland and Tory Brexit Steve Freeman and Phil Vellender consider the importance of Irish republicanism in the fight against Tory Brexit and how we should answer Tory populist slogans about ‘parliament versus the people’. The Tories had set the coming … Continue reading

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Civil War or Civil Peace

Recently I wrote to Labour MP Helen Hayes, urging her to support a ratification referendum on May’s Withdrawal deal (or even a May-Labour version). This is a democratic right which enables both leave and remain supporters to reject (or support) … Continue reading

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Dangerous Times

Jack Conrad (Weekly Worker 28 March 2019) says “the UK is in the grip of a profound constitutional crisis” and “the left must reject referendum as a matter of principle” and instead “we need our own programme and our own … Continue reading

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