Scottish referendum: view from Glasgow South branch
This is the text of a statement agreed at a meeting of Left Unity Glasgow South branch. It does not reflect current Left Unity policy but the branch has asked for it to be posted in this Discussion section ahead of a debate on the issue at Left Unity’s forthcoming conference.
The Scottish referendum has to be understood in the context of a capitalist society which is now not merely somewhat rotten, but actually in a state of decay and threatening to disintegrate in many parts of the world. The move to finance capital effectively announced by the end of the Bretton Woods system in 1971 resulted in Britain and other advanced capitalist countries removing much of their industrial base and marginalising from society large sections of the working class. The parasitic nature of the dominant finance capital is absolutely clear to anyone with a basic Marxist understanding of society and both could and should be pointed out to the mass of society.
SCOTTISH NATIONALISM
The move to Scottish nationalism is instead a dead end – part of the process of disintegration of capitalism. However, the campaign was effectively posed by both the populist leadership of the SNP, and by the section of the left which supported the nationalist campaign, as a means of escaping the effects of capitalist crisis by declaring a separate state. Effectively the message of the Yes campaign for Scottish separation was that the local capitalist class in Scotland would guarantee a type of social democratic paradise in one country in contrast to the austerity attacks in the rest of the world.
This was clearly an illusion – the viability of the new Scottish state was predicated on the provision of a competitive tax system and flexible labour market in an attempt to attract investment and engage the rUK in a disastrous race to the bottom – and the promises of the SNP administration to maintain the entire existing economic, political and military structures even attempting to retain the currency marked it out as an absolute falsehood.
THE SCOTTISH LEFT
The collapse into left-nationalism of much of the Scottish left stems from an inability to grasp the nature of capitalism today, an abandonment of the belief in the political agency of the working class and the resultant toxic mix of opportunism and desperation. As socialists, the only independence we should advocate is the independence of the working class. Supporting the creation of a new capitalist state, and the concomitant nation-building project, results in the binding – and ultimately the subjugation in the name of ‘national interest’ – of the interests of labour to capital
in the vain hope that the new Scottish capitalist class will be more benign than the British capitalist class.
Beyond ignoring the global nature and strength of finance capital which will resist even the most modest reforms, the collapse into populist nationalism has resulted in the division of the working class in both Scotland – between yes and no supporters – and between the working class in Scotland and England: a division which makes a united socialist movement all the more remote.
AFTER THE REFERENDUM
Rejecting Scottish nationalism should not lead us to embrace any variant of British chauvinism or nostalgia for the Britain of 1945. Instead, we should reject nationalism in all its forms, work to overcome the division sown by nationalism and fight for the political independence of the working class across Europe and a united European socialist movement.
Left Unity should therefore:
Oppose nationalist and separatist projects where no national oppression exists, while supporting the right to national self-determination;
Commit to the political independence of the working class and the unity of the working class across national borders;
Affirm Left Unity’s commitment to building a united Europe-wide socialist movement as a matter of urgency.
27 comments
27 responses to “Scottish referendum: view from Glasgow South branch”
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We have to note that any amount of blatantly nationalist material has been posted up on the Left Unity website and Facebook with no editorial comment and yet LU Glasgow South branch statement is subject to a disclaimer. The motion supporting Scottish independence was defeated at conference: Left Unity conference did not support either side in the referendum. Why is there a bias to the nationalists on LU sites?
It’s not a disclaimer, it’s an explanation that while this is a statement from the branch it’s not an LU statement because this is a matter that’s going to be discussed at our conference. I think it is unfortunate that you say there has been ‘nationalist’ material on the website as many people would take that to mean far right material and obviously that hasn’t happened. But the pro-independence material has also been clearly marked as representing only the views of particular individuals or tendencies.
The Glasgow comrades should be congratulated on the clarity and of this assessment when the majority of the organised Left in Scotland have abandoned class politics for a short cut up a blind alley.
A really excellent article. It is very important for Left Unity’s future as a genuinely radical socialist party, that Policy Conference adopts this position, or something very similar.
As the article correctly says, most of the Scottish radical and Far Left have completely collapsed into the utter political dead end of SNP-tailing Left nationalism – and significant sections of the remaining RUK Left have also become ensnared by the illusions of there being a “progressive” , “Social Democratic” nationalism in Scotland (and often Wales – and even Cornwall too ). If Left Unity is to have any chance of acting as the broad radical Left political vehicle for united working class resistance to the capitalist Austerity Offensive across the UK we will have to resoundingly reject the siren voices and bogus historical analysis of the Left nationalists and build a party based on real socialist internationalism, not only across the UK, but Europe too – as the article correctly states.
You are right John but i don’t think LU will step back from nationalism at this stage. The romantic appeal of the extraordinary, dynamic Yes campaign and the utterly dire No campaign means that it has become almost toxic on the left to take an anti-nationalist position. I think we will just have to make the best of it.
I hope you are wrong, Ray, but fear you may not be !
I can fully understand the opportunist bandwagon-joining appeal of Left nationalism for supposed radical socialists in Scotland (and to a lesser extent Wales), who have laboured for decades in ignored isolation with a previously principled radical socialist message, given the now well established tactical policy “leftism” of Plaid and the SNP – which has created a political environment where, as long as sufficient allegiance is pledged to the complete mythology of historical “Scottish and Welsh national victimhood” ,and uncritical agreement is expressed with the additional utterly mythical “business plan” of a separate Scottish mini capitalist state being a viable economic entity such as to sustain a prosperous welfare state, in the midst of a global capitalist crisis, then the self proclaimed “radical Left” can also gain a hearing for their dreams of the further development of this social democratic capitalist state into a fully socialist state. This doesn’t mean this Left nationalist message isn’t complete, unmarxist, hogwash though. It is.
What I cannot understand is the belief widespread amongst the radical English Left that this petty Scottish (and Welsh) left nationalism has anything to offer them – based as the English-based Left is on the 57 million or so overwhelming majority English population component of the UK. In this overwhelmingly majority component of the UK, there surely is not even the illusion for the Left that an “English nationalism” can have any sort of “progressive” aspect ! And the idea that the mass of the English working class, particularly the small more class conscious , or at least left-leaning , minority Left Unity needs to target, draws any class-based “inspiration” from what is actually seen as the sectional and self-interested desire to split off Scotland(or Wales) from the UK , is frankly delusional.
Left Unity will have to “steer Left” to a solid pro-working class unity , as against the inherent divisiveness of left nationalism – if it is to have any chance of building a mass base amongst the overwhelming majority of the working class in the UK, the English working class. It may be that in the medium term a solid “class unity not petty Left nationalism division” position for Left Unity will stunt our growth in Scotland – but growth based on petty nationalism is worthless opportunist growth.
We need to target the overwhelming majority of the working class on this island – and that is the English working class – the point being that the class conscious English worker we need to target currently still has no truck with petty English nationalism – so a principled “build a united working class to fight Austerity across the UK” position is not only politically correct, but is tactically correct too.
Ray- I think you are being too pessimistic in respect of the support for scottish nationalism. I think we have seen its high point in the the referendum campaign. It is true there has been a big growth in the membership of the SNP and they are riding high in the polls but the fact is that the SNP will not deliver social advance for the working class and that will become obvious to its new working class supporters quite soon. The SNP is a party of government and will carryout austerity both locally and at Holyrood. The SNP is a party of the Scottish establishment and it is firmly pro capitalist and pro austerity. The militant talk from some SNP figures about U.D.I. is just crazy stuff that will never get anywhere and will never get mass support. The left nationalist groups ( CWI,SWP, SSP etc) have not experienced any major growth during the referendum campaign. Instead they have, in reality, simply acted as recruiting sargents for the SNP with all their divisive rubbish about the fight for Scottish “freedom” etc. After all if you think scottish independence is the way forward you will tend to join the SNP rather than its daft wee brother! Much of the RIC base has simply joined the SNP. There are at least 3 left nationalist projects or proposed Scottish left parties and they are riven by bitter conflicts between the leading personalities as they scramble for seats at holyrood on the list system in 2016. The scottish nationalist project ( in particular its left variant) is based on the perspective that the British working class will stay quiescent and suffer further defeat. As soon as we see a significant fightback by the working class in britain, and the growth of a serious socialist alternative, support for Scottish nationalism will disappear like snow off a dyke.
sandy
As to the 2015 general election some of the left groups are calling for an SNP vote or a YES alliance at the polls. They are calling for labour to be driven out of scotland because they are traitors to the motherland. Daft stuff that will not get any mass support other than from amongst some desperadoes. It would be a big step forward if we could have a united left slate through out Britain in the 2015 election with at least 3 or 4 candidates standing in scotland. The left nats may be strong enough to block this but, if they do, the anti working class nature of their politics will become even more obvious
I’m not going to approve more comments that are either
1. about disputes in Scotland, or
2. about whether and how this branch’s article should have been posted.
For more information see the website comments policy at http://leftunity.org/comments-policy/
Tom
Sandy
I am afraid that Left Unity will not survive as a British based party, and that the pressure will be irresistable on Left Unity in Scotland to join in with whatever new left party formation emerges. The Yes campaign lost in Scotland in general but won in the left, and in the bulk of working class communities.
It has now become increasingly clear that the non-nationalist left in and out of LU will be barely tolerated as eccentrics and even actively marginalised while support for nationalism is simply assumed to be the majority opinion.
Any issue with regard to the SNP making cuts or whatever will simply be blamed on the “union” and the Scottish Labour Party (quite understandably) will go into steep decline. Every problem of Scottish workers will now be given an an anti-Westminster (aka anti England) tinge and this will continue until there is another referrendum which delivers the “correct” result.
I really think that the game is up and that we will better serve the interests of workers unity by accepting independence, however fraudulent its claims. Then we (in England)will at least be able to appeal to Scottish workers on the basis of internationalism, and the workers in Scotland will be able to see through the claims of nationalists of left and right and see that rule by the Scottish bourgeoisie is no better than rule by the united British version.
As if to confirm what I say above – LU National Council have decided to send three people to speak at the Radical Independence Conference, which just assumes that this will supported by the majority.
I don’t see how it assumes any such thing. The NC had a vote and decided to do that – so it was, by definition, supported by the majority of the NC. (And they’re going as observers, not speakers.)
If your gloomy prognosis comes true, Ray, (and you are undeniably closer to the pulse of what the LU membership thinks than I am stuck out in the rural boondocks) then the very temporary “victory” of Left nationalists at Policy Conference which you predict will quite simply spell the rapid end of the current, Left Unity model , attempt to pull together an electorally viable Left of Labour radical socialist party with mass appeal across the UK.
We are already quite evidently “stalled on the political runway” at below 2000 members, after reaching beyond this figure in the summer, and one of the key reasons for this is all the usual small sect Far Left “comfort blanket” political baggage we are relentlessly accumulating as we try to grow. This baggage is in the form of the inter sect conflict in some branches, the Leftie language codes and assumptions we all use without thinking, or the obsessional “positionitis” problem. “Positionitis” is the Leftie curse of wanting to win political points by getting every avowedly revolutionary group’s entire set of political positions on board what is meant to be a broad Left group ,not a revolutionary vanguard party, eg, “imperialism”, “Israel”, all sorts of identity politics issues, citizens income, excessive environmentalism, and now opportunist Scottish Left nationalism. This baggage all serves to cut us off from the mass of ordinary left-leaning working class people , particularly the overwhelming majority of the UK working class, the English working class, who just want to find a viable political vehicle to fight the Austerity Offensive and unite the working class across the UK.
There is a looming danger of another Socialist Alliance or Respect type “collapse though incoherence” happening here, if November’s Policy Conference doesn’t wake up and “smell the coffee” and get our tiny young nucleus of a broad mass party equipped with an appropriate , focussed “policy bundle”. One things for sure , whatever the left nationalists think, there is a gap in the political “marketplace” for a broadly based British form of Die Linke or even Syriza (admittedly based on a very, very, different historical/political base). If Left Unity can’t make the break from the small sect Left bubble, it will still have to be built as Austerity and the global capitalist crisis grows ever more severe over the next few years.
Ray G wrote :”Then we (in England)will at least be able to appeal to Scottish workers on the basis of internationalism, and the workers in Scotland will be able to see through the claims of nationalists of left and right and see that rule by the Scottish bourgeoisie is no better than rule by the united British version”
Very gracious of English Left ( what exists of it ) to “save” Scottish workers.
For a more in depth understanding , see
http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2014/10/11/after-the-september-18th-referendum-vote-a-socialist-republican-response/
There is absolutely no suggestion whatever in my comment that English workers are needed to “save” Scottish workers. I don’t know where you dredged that up from.
I was suggesting that if Scotland becomes independent, which is looking likely in the mid-future timescale, then English workers will be able to appeal to them on the basis of international solidarity, just as we do now to Greek, Italian, French workers etc.
I go on to say that Scottish workers, free of England will see through their own (Scottish) bourgeoisie. If you don’t agree with that then what are you doing in a left party at all.
That the rather ludicrous nationalism of the Republican Communist group that you recommend, complete with their obsession with Queen Anne, is given any credibility at all by LU members, is a symptom of the opportunist malaise infecting the current left in Scotland AND England.
Too much pessimism here from John and Ray.
I think Left Unity still has the potential to develop into a significant socialist challenge to the powers that be. It is true we are still living through a period of working class defeat but the potential for a successful fight back is evident. The ruling class has no positive vision for the future and we are facing at least 10 years of continuing austerity and crisis. The mass of the people are looking for an alternative to the tired politics of the establishment. What is missing is an intellectually coherent socialist alternative and an organisation that can promote working class solidarity and self activity. If we could get that right we could grow into a mass force quite quickly
As to the Scottish national question- the YES forces lost. A nationalist break up of Britain ( and the nationalist antagonism that would have ensued from any such break up) has been forestalled for a significant period, and if the working class socialist left gets organized, permanently defeated.
The separatist balloon has been punctured. The mass of the working class in Scotland were not willing to go along with the mad cap separatist scheme despite the best attempts of sections of the left to paint the SNP government and its independence project as pro working class. For those workers who did support independence the main reason was the desire for an alternative to austerity. However it is now more obvious than ever that there is no Scottish alternative to austerity. The chance for a british wide socialist challenge in the general election of 2015 needs to be seized and we should work with other left forces like TUSC to agree a joint socialist platform and stand a large slate of candidates.
I don’t think the forces support Scottish independence within Left Unity are in the ascendant. The nationalist left in Scotland are in a mess and the majority of their base has joined the SNP. The prospect of a united left nationalist party are dim to non existant- there will be no SSP mark 2. It is wrong and disappointing that the EC of Left Unity have taken the decision to send 3 observers to the RIC conference who all seem to be supporters of Scottish independence and none of who are actually politically active in Scotland. It is right to go to the RIC conference but the delegation should be politically balanced. Why no left unity member from Scotland who opposes independence and wants to build a british wide socialist party as part of the delegation?
In Left unity in Scotland we have had our internal problems in part due to differences on the national question but with the referendum out of the way that should cease or at least significantly decrease. It always surprised me that you would join Left unity in Scotland if you were against a british wide party and were a supporter of independence. There are so many left nationalist groups to choose from you have wonder why anyone would join a group that was explicitly for a british wide party if they were for a Scottish only party.
Anyway it is now clear after the ref result that the only positive way forward is to unite the socialist left in britain in order to fight to increase the power and political weight of the british working class as apart of the fight for a socialist Europe
sandy
I agree with your post entirely Sandy. I was just plagued by a bout of counter revolutionary pessimism , born out of sheer incredulous disbelief at what has happened to the majority of the radical Scottish Left, for a moment there. I’ve had a swift dram and feel better now !
‘Very gracious of English Left ( what exists of it ) to “save” Scottish workers.’
Aren’t Leftists in England allowed to comment on what’s been happening in Scotland then?
Perhaps people like me would have kept quiet if most of the Scottish Left hadn’t ditched class politics, for a quick fix nationalism dressed up as something else.
Not only is it mistaken to characterise all those on the Left – including eg. Tariq Ali , Noam Chomsky, Bernadette McAliskey – who support the dismantling and breaking up of the British State – one potential means of which would be by “independence” for those north of a man-made border – as nationalists…..
– it is also chauvinistically insulting and offensive.
But there is always some in the self-appointed leadership of the working class who think they know best.
Left Unity was a good idea – but seems intent on following much of the rest of the (dis)organised Left in England in tearing itself apart.
Davy- I think the continuing refrain that the Scottish independence movement is not a nationalist movement is getting a bit tired. Do you really still believe that? Who was the big gainer from the YES campaign- the SNP. Even the demos called by the “left” nationalist groups were dominated by the flying of the Saltire and the Lion Rampant. The red flag was nowhere to be seen. I am just waiting for the left nat groups to start to claim that the SNP is not actually a nationalist party! As to the state of left in England it is obviously not great but there is nothing to compare to the degenerate nature of the left in Scotland. Look to the disgraceful history of the SSP and the political project of the charlatan tommy Sheridan if you want to see the real degeneration of the left. The SSP, its split and the aftermath made socialist politics look an unprincipled and disgraceful laughing stock to the mass of the population. A whole layers of activists were disillusioned and demoralized by this concrete example of left nationalism in action- (an unprincipled attempted con job on the working class) and socialist politics were made to look unprincipled and grubby.
As to Tariq Ali he seems a nice guy but he has been a political clown ever since he dedicated one of his books to Boris Yeltsin and then called for a vote for the liberal democrats. His knowledge of Scottish politics is zilch. When he spoke in Glasgow he cited the jacobite rebellion of 1745 as a fight for national freedom. Hopeless
http://new.livestream.com/IndependenceLive/ssp2014
The SSP have voted for a YES independence alliance at the 2015 general election. They are trying to get agreement with the SNP and greens that there is only one pro independence candidate in each constituency Typical anti working nationalist politics. It was always their trajectory. Looked like about 100 people at the conference from the video
sandy
I’m well aware of previous problems of SSP , Sandy – which were compounded by the opportunist behaviour of London based sects who supported Sheridan in setting up Solidarity after he had chosen to go to court. Without their resources and support Solidarity would have been unlikely to get off the ground. And they are still there supporting Sheridans latest opportunist circus , which I agree with you on. This is latest contribution from Republican Communist Network
http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2014/10/24/the-future-of-the-radical-independence-campaign/
Comrades
As I was at the last National Council and I would point out that the NC decided to send 3 delegates but it was the subsequent EC which decided it would send 3 folk who all have a track record of supporting Scottish nationalism with not one member of LU in Scotland being involved. I have pointed out this is somewhat bizarre as it is those of us active in Scotland who will have to deal with whatever comes out of the RIC conference, but so far I have had no response on this one.
The stooshie around Lamont’s resignation is interesting. The Scottish establishment is increasingly nationalist and this obviously includes the labour bureaucracy and its party. The dominant ideology pumped out in the media up here is scottish nationalism. Not necessarily pro independence but pro scottish nationalist with a small n. The scottish political establishment are united in the demand for more power for the scottish establishment. This demand is part of the tendency to disintegration produced by the crisis of capitalist society. The demand for more power for holyrood in order to promote the “national interest” is pushed as an alternative to class struggle socialism. This line has been pushed by the labour bureaucracy for at least 30 years. The labour party in scotland has been on the right of the labour party for the last few decades. The labour bureaucracy has more social weight here than down south. It is firmly pro capitalist and pro austerity. There is nothing progressive or pro working class about the demand that the scottish labour party has more autonomy from London. The scottish establishment will back this demand as part of the process of the break up of the working class movement along national lines and in its attempt to get more power for Holrood. Lamont, Mcleish, Lord Mcconnell. Sir Charles Grey etc are on the right and have no interest in fighting austerity. Same as the SNP in this regard. A british wide socialist alternative is needed if the working class movement is not to be broken up into national fragments. The counter revolutionary social democrats are decaying and dying through out the world. Will they be replaced by a socialist alternative or will the labour movements of the world decay into pro capitalist hollowed out shells
Very well put indeed , Sandy. Tariq Ali doesn’t appear to be the only “leftie bewitched by the rise of petty nationalism with a pseudo Leftish face in Scotland, trying to equate the , entirely reactionary feudal aristocratic, rebellion of 1745 in some bizarre way with the spirit of working class political hope and progress of the 1945 UK General election. Well they both have a “45” in them !
I’m still expecting some of our more vituperative Scottish Left nationalists to suddenly reveal themselves as closet “Left” Jacobites – not “republicans” at all maybe with a newly discovered (social democratic) Pretender ?
Anyone who wants to see where all this collaboration by the Left nationalists with the SNP’s historically bogus misrepresentation of what Scotland’s history actually was leads to politically, ie to a form of “political theory Alzheimer’s disease” – whereby what is claimed to be “radical Left” politics has actually timewarped back to bourgeois nationalist , “radical Whig” politics of about 1800 or so – as if the rise of the working class and Marxist socialist politics had never happened , need only gaze at the quite extraordinary policy submission from our LU “Constitution Commission” for November’s Policy Conference..
The comment that “The dominant ideology pumped out in the media up here is scottish nationalism” is simply mistaken. Shall we count up the papers and TV stations? How many of them came out for Yes?
Duncan- you have misunderstood my point. It is not only the SNP who say they stand for the interests of scotland but all the main parties in scotland claim to be promoting the “interests of Scotland”. The main labour party supporting newspaper, the daily record, has a advert saying Real Scots read the Record. All the political discussion in the media is about how to promote the interests of scotland. Even the tories say the are acting in the interests of scotland by advocating the union. The SNP say that it is in the interests of scotland to be independent- The labour party, the tories and the liberals say it is in the “interests of scotland” to be in the union.The SNP say it is in the interests of scotland to be independent. All the mainstream parties agree that it is the interests of scotland that are primary and the proper subject for political debate. (The interests of the british working class dont feature). In that sense they are all scottish nationalists with a small n. Open british nationalism is marginal in political discourse. The scottish establishment promote Scottish nationalism.
If you had gone on to read the next sentence after your quote you would have seen what i was getting at eg “The dominant ideology pumped out in the media up here is scottish nationalism. Not necessarily pro independence but pro scottish nationalist with a small n. The scottish political establishment are united in the demand for more power for the scottish establishment.” Up here everything is branded with the prefix Scottish- scottish Power, scottish gas scottish this and scottish that.. The scottish establishment promote scottish identity among the working class. They dont see scottish identity or “scottishness” as a problem but as a plus. That is why scottish nationalism is the dominant ideology up here
sandy