by Katie Bonnar Today, we will see the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Rio, Brazil. In recent years, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the cost of hosting the Games and the impact that they have on cities and communities. There are many Olympics enthusiasts who will highlight positive aspects of hosting […]
by Liam McLaughlan The Greek people have delivered a resounding, brave, collective No to austerity and the lack of democracy and accountability that surrounds both European and world capitalist institutions. A momentous night in the history of Europe and one that inspires the left across Europe and the world. It, however marks only the beginning […]
by Ken Ferguson As the Tories unveil their assault on vital services, democratic rights and trade unions amidst the establishment pomp of the Queen’s speech, the need for resistance to this no-mandate government grows ever more urgent. And the sweeping left gains in Spain’s regional elections by Podemos and related forces following the election of […]
by Andrew Kinnell I have often been reminded of Stirling University’s left wing history. Back in the day there were meetings which attracted hundreds of students and the political battle lines on campus were between the Communists on the right and the others on the left (including our own Ken Ferguson, I believe). Such days […]
Exhibition of photographs by Edith Tudor-Hart at the National Portrait Gallery Queens Street, Edinburgh (free entry) by Alan Gay Edith Tudor-Hart was born into the fag-end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at a time of serious social unrest. Vienna was plagued by poverty brought about by mass unemployment. This gave impetus to the Social Democratic movement […]
by Colin Fox It will surely become one of those questions people ask periodically – ‘where were you when you heard Thatcher was dead?’ I was in a traffic jam adjacent to the Antarctic sailing ship RRS Discovery in Dundee. After switching on the one o’clock news, I felt compelled to leap out of the […]
by Campbell Martin The SNP’s landslide victory at the 2011 Scottish Parliament Election was remarkable, particularly when we consider that the whole electoral process was set-up to prevent such an outcome and no part of the mainstream media in Scotland supports independence. Of course, people were not voting for independence in May 2011, which meant […]
by Raphie De Santos The SNP was elected as a majority government in the recent Holyrood elections partly because they were seen as the best option to protect Scotland against the worst of the Coalition’s £111 billion austerity programme of cuts and tax rises. In order to do this, they face enormous challenges within the […]