Scottish Labour – the Return of Its Radical Roots Mike Cowley

ScottishLeft Review Issue 109 January/February 2019 - £2.00 'best re(a)d' 'best 1 - ScottishLeftReview Issue 109 January/February 2019 ASLEF CALLS FOR AN INTEGRATED, PUBLICLY OWNED, ACCOUNTABLE RAILWAY FOR SCOTLAND (which used to be the SNP’s position – before they became the government!) Mick Whelan Tosh McDonald Kevin Lindsay General Secretary President Scottish Ocer LRD TUC Sept15_Layout ASLEF1 10/07/2015 the 14:09 train Page 1 drivers union- www.aslef.org.uk FIGHT ANTI-UNION LAWS www.rmt.org.uk General Secretary: Mick Cash President President: PSeaneter P Hoyleinkney 2 - ScottishLeftReview Issue 109 January/February 2019 feedback comment Bastards of Brexit and the 'national interest' appy New Year to all our crisis. And, many more bemoan that the negotiating against twenty seven others subscribers, readers and whole system of politics itself in Britain (in the form of the EU which includes Hsupporters. And, with the is in a mess. No politician or party stands Germany, France, Italy and Spain as the pleasantries now done, let’s get back to out with any dignity or stature in this major constituents). This is a moment the matters at hand - of hard politics. situation according to this view. of power play where the balance of Over the last few months, day-in-and- forces needs to be realistically appraised. The problem with such an analysis day-out in the pages of the Guardian, Second, clubs which are engaged in the is that it tends to depoliticise what its parliamentary sketch writer, John job of self-preservation and expansion remains an intensely political process. reviews Crace, has lambasted Theresa May as (which the increasingly intergrationist EU The view is almost as if there were at an automaton, a robot called Maybot. very much is) do not allow members to hand competent and skilled politicians Maybot has, according to Crace, entered leave the club and maintain the benefits prepared to work together in the such a state of malfunction that she is of the membership of the club (especially ‘national interest’ that the situation only able to repeat that she is ‘very clear’ without paying for them). This was would be different and so much better. about ‘being clear’. Her behaviour would always going to be a no-brainer. Both But this is a deeply apolitical and naïve seem, according to some, to amount to points eluded the quite deluded brash appraisal. The reason why May’s deal is the tip of one almighty mess in British and buccaneering perspective of the likes unlikely to get passed in parliament is politics over Brexit. After the pulling of Boris Johnson (with Tory leadership because the Tory party is not only weak of the meaningful vote in parliament pretensions), who grandstanding and (reliant upon the Democratic Unionist and the inability to gain any further playing to the audience of Tory activists, Party (DUP)) and badly split (with the concessions, the prospect of falling off told us that all that was needed was to likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg of the European the cliff of a ‘no deal’ departure is seen say ‘give us what we want or we won’t Research Group and Boris Johnson being as a literal crashing out of the EU. To this, play ball’ (or handover £39bn). These the obvious ‘hard’ Brexiteers). But behind others moan that the political system are the instances of the most obvious this are a few seldom recognised realities. has been so skewered on the knife of cases of the bastards of Brexit. But there Brexit that there’s a policy vacuum on First, the likelihood of May negotiating are many others too, like Dominic Raab, other matters (although it should be a deal that would satisfy both hard Tommy Robinson or Nigel Farage. What noted - as Chris Stephens points out in Brexiteers and DUP was always going to binds them together is that they want to his article - Universal Credit continues as be extremely slight because although use Brexit as a means to deliver an even does austerity). Others go further and Britain is a substantial economy it smaller state, with protections from the called this mess downright chaos and is, nevertheless, just one economy market on workers’ rights, environmental regulation and consumer rights even ScottishLeftReview further reduced. Sounds like England as a Issue 109 January/February 2019 green and pleasant land of the Victorian Contents or Edwardian eras. Editorial comment .................................................................................................................................... 3 Just Transitioning – marrying environment protection and social justice Stephen Smellie..................... 5 The political crisis around Brexit is now so Greening economics and politics with social justice Francis Stuart......................................................... 7 profound that the case for a referendum Partnership for progress Matthew Crighton ............................................................................................ 9 on either May’s deal or a ‘no deal’ is very Rebelling against extinction Douglas Rogers ......................................................................................... 10 much required. This is not a betrayal of The global dimension of the Just Transition Bill Bonnar ........................................................................11 Why and how the SNP must stop being ‘the party of oil’ Simon Barrow ..............................................12 the ‘no’ vote in 2016 precisely because Opportunities for Scotland’s climate related legislation Gordon Morgan .............................................13 that referendum did not take a view on Capitalism is the climate crisis Dave Sherry ........................................................................................... 14 what form Brexit should take. It is clear Universal Credit – universal cruelty for the poor and vulnerable Chris Stephens .................................15 Death in Police Custody: the case of Sheku Bayoh Aamer Anwar .........................................................16 that May’s deal is not a good one and a On the frontline: fighting the fascists Talat Ahmed ............................................................................... 17 ‘no deal’ is even worse. Rather, another ‘Value Education, Value Teachers’ campaign marches on Larry Flanagan .............................................18 referendum would allow ‘no’ voters Tories in tatters results in rise of right? Sean Duffy ............................................................................... 19 the opportunity to express their view Scottish Labour – the return of its radical roots Mike Cowley ...............................................................20 Labour’s Scottish problem Róisín McLaren ............................................................................................ 21 on what kind of Brexit they wish for. Scotland needs a community organising movement Linda Somerville .................................................22 Whether this turns into a referendum Another Edinburgh revolt: staff and students elect a radical rector Angi Lamb ....................................23 to reverse the decision of the 2016 one Betrayal of the Sandinista revolution Joseph McAleer ..........................................................................24 would depend on what the question Catalonia and the continuing Spanish crisis George Kerevan ................................................................25 Age, ageing and ageism: how ageist is Scotland? Bill Johnston .............................................................26 (binary choice between May’s deal and Scottish theatrical revolution Mark Brown ............................................................................................ 27 ‘no deal’) was or questions (the binary Film and book reviews Jackie Bergson, Sean Sheehan, Robin Jones ......................................................28 choice plus the options to delay leaving, Kick up The Tabloids ............................................................................................................................... 31 rescind Article 50, stay in the EU/rejoin 3 - ScottishLeftReview Issue 109 January/February 2019 the EU etc etc) were. Of course, what defined as juxtaposing the masses against imprecision of use here has in parallel in makes the political crisis as profound elites. Is there a case for the left trying to the imprecision of using the other terms as it is are the intractable divisions in use the same terms and language for its discussed above. This is not to suggest Labour, between ‘leavers’ like Corbyn and own purposes? Put more starkly, can the that properly using terms like socialism ‘remainers’ like Keir Starmer and how left refashion what is usually the preserve would miraculously strengthen Labour’s this influences many tactical questions of the right, turning it against the right? electoral standing or its radicalism. But including the relationship between Recall, David Cameron’s ‘we are all in it is to suggest for the longer term that calling for a general election and any it together’ mantra of the Coalition socialism rather than social democracy is kind of further referendum. Corbyn and government era. In Gramscian terms, what is required to address and end the a section of the left in Labour have been this would mean establishing a counter- ills of capitalism. against the EU for decades in the vein hegemony with it. Certainly, Corbyn’s Speaking of Labour’s electoral standing, of Tony Benn. Starmer and

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