Citizens Assembly Scotland: What kind of Scotland do we want to build?

Citizens Assembly of Scotland have reported

First ever Scottish Citizens Assembly with 100 members of the general public covered a whole range of polices, produced over sixty policy suggestions: with Assembly convener Kate Wimpress.

 

Their recommendations included - 

The living Wage, rent caps, NHS pay rise, more devolution for Holyrood over such issues as immigration, trade and tax.

 

The assembly had a Range of demographics,, age , educational attainment, voting intention and background. 

 

The different viewpoints of the assembly enabled understanding of 'otherness' and a general consensus was built to find common ground as important

The aims of the Assembly was to create an Open space for deliberation -  to walk in each other shoes a bit. They were driven by shared values and many were very supportive of the policies they decided on.. 

The assembly has shown how people can reach consensus and how tough choices do need to be taken. Many recommendations were left of centre policies to build a fairer society. 

 

And they looked at issues through a constitutional lens.  https://www.citizensassembly.scot

Odyssey of Thomas Muir

Odyssey of Thomas Muir

The '''Society of the Friends of the People''' was an organisation in Great Britain that was focused on advocating for Parliamentary Reform and votes for all men.

Muir was a leader of a movement for democratic reform and one of the Scottish Martyrs. 

There is a 90ft tall obelisk at the Calton Cemetery Edinburgh to the martyrs. It includes a quote of Muir’s - 'I have devoted myself to the cause of The People. It is a good cause – it shall ultimately prevail – it shall finally triumph. '

His attachment to the popular party in the kirk, his opposition to patronage, his involvement in student politics and influence of contemporary thinkers. The Reformers worked against corruption, nepotism, favouritism and elitism of landowning nobles who controlled the nation’s parliamentary representation at Westminster. Only 5% of men had a vote.

An organisation called 'Friends of the People' led by Thomas Muir, a lawyer from Glasgow and William Skirving, grew to a national movement. Other societies were also formed in England and Ireland.  

In France Muir met Thomas Paine. The movement met with determined and tremendous opposition in London, Edinburgh and Dublin. The radical but self-consciously legal and loyal campaigns of parliamentary reform were mercilessly killed off wittiin 4 years.

Muir and the other leaders were brought to trial, convicted and sentenced to transportation. Muir; Thomas Palmer, a minster from Dundee; Skirving, a farmer from Fife; Maurice a London wine merchant and Joseph Gerrald, a lawyer from the West indies. They were a diverse group.

Their enforced deportation voyage to Australia was recorded in letters and pamphlets by Palmer (published Cambridge 1798) which recorded the government repression and destruction of political and individual liberties.  

**Muir's Pacific journey on the Otter

After 2 years Muir escaped from botany bay on the French ship the otter, which was records in diaries by first mate, Pierre Francois Peron (published Memoirs 1824 Paris) Memoires du Capitane Peron sur ses Voyages.

His voyage took him to Nootka Sound, Vancouver island to Monterrey, San Blas and on to Mexico City, where Muir requested to be allowed travel to America. But the Spanish refused and sent him back to Spain. 

He travelled then Havana, Cuba and Cadiz, Spain – where he was caught up in a naval battle with British men of war and in the gunfire his face was badly injured.

He travelled to Bordeaux, where he was hailed as a 'Hero of the French Republic' and then on to Paris.

Muir's confidant 1798 was Dr Robert Watson of Elgin, emissary to France on behalf of the United Englishmen and he learned of the United Scotsman, the new revolutionary association which replaced the Friends of the People.

In November 1798, Muir moved secretly to Ille-de-France, village of Chantilly, to await the arrival of Scots compatriots. There on 26 January 1799 he died, suddenly and alone. 

Shortly before his death, he said: We have achieved a great duty in these critical times. After the destruction of so many years, we have been the first to revive the spirit of our country and give it a National Existence. 

Martyrs monument Calton hill Edinburgh

The nature of nationalism and internationalism: Tribalism is not Nationalism

When the European nations expanded and travelled by ship to the Americas, Indies and the far east, they settled, plundered and developed empires: often violently suppressing the indigenous peoples and taking over their lands. In Europe 200 years ago in 1800, there were four imperial powers - Holy Roman, the Habsburg, Russian and Ottoman. Europe had far fewer nations then - a look at the map of Europe is striking; now instead there are 25 independent national states. There were national campaigns against efforts by imperial powers to suppress indigenous languages, when the heroes didn’t lead armies but wrote dictionaries. For the Czechs, Slovaks, Croats and Serbs they believed that if their language disappeared, so would their identity.

Imperialist domination led to great strife, violence, wars, cruelty, starvation and exploitation. In the 20^th century the movement has been away from empires and towards smaller, independent nations. History tells us that when one people dominated in this ‘’survival of the fittest culture (beginning with the Roman Empire) they eventually collapsed due to corruption and greed. Improved interconnectivity and communications should mean we don’t need central hubs anymore. 

The fear of national oblivion and the need for survival, is clearly deeply rooted. In 1848 revolutions and national movements began campaigns for independence. However high prices have often been suffered for the creation of nation states and the post war idea of self determination: for instance the collapse of the Hapsburg empire was a catastrophe for European Jews and there was genocide wars between Bosnian Serbs and the extremist Croats. Perhaps the words extreme and domination are crucial here, which I would describe as “tribalism’ rather than nationalism. After all immigrants and different cultures can happily co-exist safely side by side. Tribalism (along with misguided socialism) often led to top/down, centralized and controlling dictatorships. 

Early last century tribalism took over under these racist dictators, with an extremist, inward-looking and narrow view of what being a nation state means. Tribalism makes me think of sectarian divides and matters a lot for some people. This is the nasty, narrow, ignorant and meaningless side of any nationalism: as seen in the dreadful wars of the Baltic states or the Northern Ireland troubles. Scotland’s Rangers fans mostly support the union, this is about past religious affiliations and class. Why do they continue? Sadly our sectarian divides still seem to matter greatly, and when religion matters less we really should all try to move on.

Germany has developed a federal system of government with autonomous states. In America also each state runs its own affairs (tax, vat, immigration). Also in America, a land of recent immigrants, there are celebrations and acceptance of different cultures side by side – China town, St Patrick’s day parades, German beer festivals, Robert Burns suppers, Hanukkah and more. Also, crucially, while these different identities and cultures are studied in schools, no one religion dominates: that is no one religion is a part of school curriculums or in politics. Yes there are far right or far left extremists, but these views are hopefully on the margins. While many rural areas have been seriously left behind. 

And what of our different identities, languages and cultures in these British isles. In Ireland many fight to keep the Irish language. In Scotland, the Gaelic language and song survived on the Western islands,. After the 1707 union, many Scots writers worked to keep the Scots songs and poems alive. After the 45 however, there was violent suppression of highland culture by the British state. In Scotland we have the National art gallery, the National Scottish orchestra, the National stadium – that’s okay. We can be both proud of our nation and international too

Most would agree that a union with a much bigger state is in fact a take over and not a union in any sense – think China / Tibet, Russia / Lithuania. After the Indy Ref 2014, Scotland must have looked foolish to the outside world. I’m not a particular fan of David Cameron, but at least he was a team player and had some regard for democracy. There are now forces aboard and at home who have no idea what democracy actually means. Boris Johnson and his team appear to want to dismantle any remnants of democracy left in the UK: they are false opportunists, who want to limit both the courts and the press. They look to the likes of Trump, who also claims he’s restoring democracy and the voice of the people!. That’s the model of rule (or supposed freedom) that dictators such as Hitler and Stalin used. (Farage is a mate of Trumps after all). 

Nationalism is not about whose tribe is dominant or best. It can be about shared histories, stories and songs, sense of place, our values. Religion, which in the past created great divides, must be a personal choice and not part of education or politics. Most countries are melting pots of many diverse people, and our very differences can make us stronger if we value them. People have always moved, or had to move, from enforced migration, from climate catastrophe or wars. Studies show that tribalism, or being part of a tribe, is a powerful motivator. But it can also be blind and ignorant. Scottish nationalism however is not narrow and welcomes all who live here.

Are people voting against the rapid advance of A1, tech businesses, globalization, and the rich getting richer - do they believe some strong man can stop this? I hope and believe there is another way through finding our own voices.

The late, acclaimed journalist Ian Bell, wrote in his Herald article, Scotland and the Easter Rising, that James Connelly seemed to assert that, “Internationalism without an acknowledgement of national identity is a forlorn, empty gesture…The willed amnesia inflicted where he is concerned is part of a wider forgetting. "When we had our vote a misrepresented nationalism colluded with a Labour party defending (so it said) an international ideal. In September 2014, Scotland was the poorer for forgetting.”

In Scotland, our great poet Hugh McDermid wrote: ‘To be international we must first be national.’  The Scottish independence and national movement was not born out of violence but out of the arts. We must now urgently vote to save our right for democratic voices.  

#protectdemocracy

Protect Our Press!

“Democracy dies in Darkness” – Washington Post

Does the press matter? – its essential for democracy to have a free press. (and I hate the way President Trump makes fun of and puts down journalists. Its a great way to deflect from his own failings and mistakes). 

The print press informs how our Broadcasters select their main news items. We need journalists who are independent, and able and willing to question the actions of those in power. We must also protect balance in the press, as they do in other countries. 

European commission president, Ursula von der Lagen, “Now it is more important that ever that journalists are able to do their job freely and precisely to ensure that our citizens have access to crucial information so as to counter misinformation.” 

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Events for 700 Anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath

The  Declaration is the first statement in history to define the democratic rights of people and nations. A great moral declaration: that the people are sovereign. A political document. It was written by a number of aristocrats, lairds and senior clerics who pleaded for protection from English aggression. The declaration was a letter to the Pope to recognise Scotland and Robert the Bruce. It states that sovereignty lies with the Scottish people, and that they should elect their sovereign – that the freedom of the kingdom is more important than the person. 

- Wee Ginger dug on the Declaration of Arbroath anniversary, National newspaper - 

https://www.thenational.scot/news/.looking-ahead-different-scotland-declaration-arbroath-anniversary/

- GRIT orchestra The Declaration compositions, led by Greg Lawson

- RADIO SCOTLAND – Billy Kay - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000h0mr

**Arbroath FILM with Leslie Riddoch

New film “Declaration; the letter of liberty”, 

It’s the product of an amazing Covid-imposed online collaboration between filmmaker @cherlieboy, composer Patrick Doyle and myself. Our aim is to make sure the 700th anniversary of Scotland’s most famous historic document is not forgotten. -  https://www.facebook.com/lesley.riddoch

The Legacy of the Declaration of Arbroath

The Legacy of the Declaration of Arbroath 

‘Not for honour, but for freedom alone’

The red sandstone ruins of Arbroath abbey, Arbroath Scotland, where the Declaration of Arbroath asserting the rights of the people to elect their ruler and for liberty. It was written to the Pope on April 6, 1320, exactly 700 years ago. The Declaration is the first statement in history to define the democratic rights of people and nations.

 “It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”

In central park New York there is a statue of the Scottish writers Robert Burns facing another of Walter Scott.  In 1998, a new parade was started in New York called Tartan Week – which includes many pipe bands and has been led by the actors Sean Connery and Brian Cox. The Scots diaspora, goes back to the early days of American independence and to the importance of the Scots Americans contributions to America and their Founding Fathers. Thee are more statues to Burns in America than to any other writer.

 

Robert Burns Statue central park

Tartan Week New York

*There is a straight line from the Declaration to the American Declaration of Independence. (1775 – 1783) After the invention of the printing press, there were books recording the declaration and by the great Scottish enlightenment writers. The scholar George Buchanan wrote in his book of precedency that kings were accountable to the people. In the 18^th many in the American colonies read of the declaration and of the ideas of democracy and the sovereignty of the people. 

“The declaration is a fabulous, layer, poetic document - full of pride, heart and spirit that stands the test of time. An incredible mix.”   Composer Patrick Doyle

“It is the most eloquent case for national self-determination and freedom form external oppression ever written in medieval Europe.” Tom Devine. The Declaration is the first statement in history to define the democratic rights of people and nations. A great moral declaration: that the people are sovereign. A political document. It was written by a number of aristocrats, lairds and senior clerics who pleaded for protection from English aggression. The declaration was a letter to the Pope to recognise Scotland and Robert the Bruce. It states that sovereignty lies with the Scottish people, and that they should elect their sovereign – that the freedom of the kingdom is more important than the person. 

-The power of the written word-

I visited the impressive, haunting red, sandstone ruins of Arbroath abbey a few years back. By pure chance on our drive up to Dundee I picked up a small book on our Scottish hero William Wallace. I had been reading of Wallace in a Robert Burn's biography. Burns was inspired by reading of Wallace and he visited the forests in Ayrshire where Wallace had hidden: he wished to write a song worthy of Wallace and so ne later wrote his famous song 'Scots Wa Hae wi Wallace bled, to the tune Hey Tutti Tatti or known as Robert Bruce’s march at the Battles of Bannockburn.

It can be a strange thing how one journey steps us on to another. There I was on the road to Arbroath abbey, which we found to be a imposing, red, sandstone building steeped in Scottish history and built by William I of Scotland in 1178. Here men spoke of their cherished freedom back in 1320:  and here Glasgow students in 1950 returned the Stone of Destiny, on which Scottish kings had been crowned for 450 years at Scone Abbey near Perth.  This was the place that the Arbroath Declaration of Independence was signed by lords, commons and the clergy of Scotland in 1320. 

 In it they had affirmed our right to be free to live our own lives in our own way.  There is a clip of Ian Hamilton who led the students who returned the Stone of Destiny to Arbroath Abbey, after stealing its return from Westminster in 1951 - speaking of his quest to awaken Scotland from its long slumber, his voice chokes as he speaks..

“.....for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”

In the ‘British’ media there has been NO mention of this hugely significant anniversary. The reason is simply down south in England they don’t really care.  Yet across the world they do care hugely! From the likes of Georgia, which also fought for it nationhood, to America and their wars of independence.

I feel a great sense of anger too that I was never taught any of this great Scottish history at school in Edinburgh – even while I studied higher history! The Union of the Parliaments – was a Trading Treaty – but four years later by 1801 England began colonising Scotland

***A Short history. 

During Alexander II's reign things were stable in Scotland. He was married to the daughter of the English king and his daughter married the King of Norway. Sadly his two sons died and his daughter died too giving birth to a daughter (who later died). Storm clouds were brewing and Alexander had no heir. Disaster was predicted and when he suddenly died and the Scottish Wars of Independence began. When Edward Longshanks, the Hammer of the Scots, paraded north, he stole the Stone of Destiny from Perth and put it under a new Coronation throne in Westminster. Scottish kings had been crowned on the stone for 450 years.  After Robert the Bruce and the Battle of Bannockburn, Edward II agreed to return the stone to Scotland in 1328.  

The Scottish Parliament used to be mobile, but later sat at St Giles in Edinburgh: it sat for 400 years from 1230 to 1707.  After nearly 300 years, the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999, to Robert Burns song A Mans a Man for a That. Can we live up to these expectations and hopes?

*POSTSCRIPT

The Scottish Parliament 

The Scottish Parliament, sat for 400 years (1230 - 1707) influenced by the Reformation, Enlightenment and great scholars. It set many precedents that were eventually incorporated into the British parliament. It worked to reduce the power of the monarchy. The great scholar George Buchanan, wrote that all political power resides in the people, and it must reside in the people: and that it is lawful and necessary to resist kings. 

The Scottish Parliament was begun in 1235 under Alexander II and had a political and judicial role. It sat for 400 years and incorporated The Three Estates – clergy, nobility, Burghs – who all sat together in a single chamber. Which contrasts to the divisions in the English parliament with its House of Commons and House of Lords. And the parliament travelled across the country. Later it sat in St Giles 1563 – 1639, and the nearby Parliament Hall 1639 – 1707.

The great scholar George Buchanan, (1506-1582)

based his writings on the Scottish clan system, the Declaration and the father of democracy. He wrote that all political power resides in the people, and it must reside in the people: and that it is lawful and necessary to resist kings if they become tyrants. 

This was drawn from the Declaration. There were many attempts to suppress his work and he foresaw where stupid Stewart vanity would lead.  James VI and I of England, (1603 Union of the Crowns) was tutored by the highly respected scholar. Buchanan was one of the most significant literary and political figures of the 16^th century: poet, playwright, historian, humanist scholar, teacher to Mary Queen of Scots, and later to her son James Stewart VI of Scotland and I of England. He wrote one of the most important books in literature –

 A Dialogue on the Law of Kingship among the Scots, a critical edition and translation of George Buchanan's 'De Iure Regni apud Scotos Dialogus  

Democracy and Universal Suffrage

It appears that the small island nation of Iceland led the way

Iceland is generally held to be the oldest Parliament, starting in 930. The oldest continuous Parliament is the Tynwald (Isle of Man), which started in 979, although its roots go further back. In 1188 Spain held one of the first parliament followed by the Netherlands in 1581. 

In the UK the Union of Parliaments 1707, brought about a more modern parliament, which limited the power of the monarch. 

After the Union of the Parliaments in Britain – which dissolved both the Parliament of Scotland the Parliament of England under James Stuart (VI Scotland and I England) to create a parliament of Great Britain, which sat in London. The modern concept of parliamentary government emerged in the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707 - 1800 ) and in Sweden during the Age of Liberty (1718 - 1722). 

**Universal Suffrage

Suffrage – is the right to vote in public, political elections. 

Britain was not one of the first countries to offer votes for all men, and later all women.

France - 1792 suffrage for all men (in 1850 excluded criminals and homeless)

America  - 1856 Voting rights all white males, and suffrage women 1920

New Zealand  1893 – full suffrage and votes for women. First self-governing country.

Finland - 1906 – suffrage all men and women (women could also stand for election) 

UK – 1918 – male suffrage, all men the vote

1928 – all women the vote. 

Voting Injustice

In 1969 UK closed a loophole where 7% got 2 votes!

Also in 1969 Northern Ireland  votes for Catholics after the civil rights movement. (under Harold Wilson)

In the US, some states exercise shared sovereignty to offer citizens the opportunity to write, propose, and vote on referendums. 

Referendums in the UK are rare. In the UK we have a passive, non interactive democracy.

and we have too large, impersonal council areas. 

Four Hundred Years of the Scottish Parliament

St Giles

The Scottish Parliament,sat for 400 years ( 1230 - 1707 ) influenced by the Reformation, Enlightenment and great scholars. It set many precedents that were eventually incorporated into the British parliament. It worked to reduce the power of the monarchy. The great scholar George Buchanan, who based his writings on the Scottish clan system and the father of democracy. He wrote that all political power resides in the people, and it must reside in the people: and that it is lawful and necessary to resist kings (or queens) or (we might say all rulers) if (or when) they become tyrants. There were many attempts to suppress his work and he foresaw where stupid Stewart vanity would lead.  

It bothers me that the British media portrays the British or English democracy as if it’s the oldest and best in the world. It is not. And while the contributions of the Scots are simply swept aside. Also Britain lagged behind other countries with universal suffrage (votes for all men) and crushed the Peoples Reform movement late 18^thcentury, in Ireland and Scotland. 

The Scottish Parliament was begun in 1235 under Alexander II and had a political and judicial role. It sat for 400 years and incorporated The Three Estates – clergy, nobility, Burghs – who all sat together in a single chamber. Which contrasts to the divisions in the English parliament with its House of Commons and House of Lords. And the parliament travelled across the country. Later it sat in St Giles 1563 – 1639, and the nearby Parliament Hall 1639 – 1707.

The Declaration of Arbroath

The Declaration of Arbroath (1320) - Arbroath was the place that the Arbroath Declaration of Independencewas signed by lords, commons and the clergy of Scotland in 1320.  In it they had affirmed our right to be free to live our own lives in our own way.  Six years after Bannockburn.

There is a clip of Ian Hamilton, who led the students who stole back the Stone of Destiny 1951 from Westminster abbey, at the Arbroath visitors centre, speaking of his quest to awaken Scotland from its long slumber, his voice chokes as he speaks.. 

...for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.

The Scottish Parliament determined the religious orthodoxy but at this time more power resided with the church and the monarchy. James Stewart V was Catholic.  

The Protestant Reformation happened in 1560, and Bishops were excluded after 1567 - abolished by the Covenanters1638 – 1651.

George Buchanan

Under James VI and I of England, (1603 Union of the Crowns) who was tutored by the highly respected scholar and the father of democracy George Buchannan. Buchanan was one of the most significant literary and political figures of the 16^th century: poet, playwright, historian, humanist scholar, teacher to Mary Queen of Scots, and later to her son James Stewart VI of Scotland and I of England. He wrote one of the most important books in literature. A Dialogue on the Law of Kingship among the Scots, a critical edition and translation of George Buchanan's 'De Iure Regni apud Scotos Dialogus 

The Lord of the Articles was often appointed by the Crown, and parliament therefore became less independent. There was the War of the Three Kingdoms (not English civil war) and The Thirty years religious war in Europe, 17^th century. 

Turbulent Times.  Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland in 1651, after Charles I was executed and he went as far north as Dunottar castle, looking for the Scottish crown. (which was hidden elsewhere) 

Ten years later in1661, saw Charles II restoration. He sent Commissioners to rule his northern kingdom. His brother Catholic James VII fled into exile 1689. This period is called the Glorious Revolution, but why is it glorious but other revolutions are only ordinary? And this led to divisions Northern Ireland begun under Henry VIII.

The Scottish Parliament nominated William of Orange and they disposed James Stewart VII under the Claim of Rights, and they offered the Crown to William and Mary, with limits to royal power. .

The Union of the Parliaments – was a Trading Treaty - but by 1801 England began colonising Scotland. 

After years, the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999, to Robert Burns song A Mans a Man for a That. Can we live up to these expectations and hopes?

The NEW Scottish Parliament 1999  to 2019 

'When on 25 march 1707 James Ogilvie, Earl of Seafield, Chancellor of Scotland, signed the Act of Union, ending Scotland's ancient independence, and merging the two parliaments of Scotland and England into the United Kingdom Parliament, he threw down the quill with these words: 'Now there's the end of an auld sang.'   

Ian Hamilton on taking back the Stone of Destiny. "It may be, it just may be, that on Christmas Day 1950 four young people wrote a new verse to that old song. Whatever we did, the song is still being sung."

Scottish heroes

Alexander Hamilton 

Admiral Cochrane – Named by Napoleon, "the sea wolf', he never lost a sea battle. After exclusion from the Royal Navy he assisted other country's to achieve their independence. 

John MacLean – Political hero

Alexander Hamilton – One of American founding father 

George Buchanan – Father of Democracy

Elsie Inglis -  Scottish doctor and medical reformer. 

Thomas Muir – Votes for all reformer.

Robert Burns – Kept Scots song alive

Charles Rennie MacIntosh – Architect for a simpler beauty of design

Margaret Macdonald -  Scottish artist and designer. 

The scale of contribution of physics and medicine. 

Notably James Clerk Maxwell –  important physicist. electromagnetic radiation

James Clerk Maxwell

Admiral Cochrane

George Buchanan

Lord Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (1775 – 1860), British naval Officer of the Royal Navy, mercenary and radical politician. He was a daring and successful captain of the Napoleonic Wars, leading Napoleon to nickname him Le Loup des Mers ('The Sea Wolf'). He was successful in virtually all his naval actions. He was dismissed from the Royal Navy 1814 following a controversial conviction for fraud on the Stock Excahnge. He helped organise and lead rebel navies of Chile and Brazil during their successful wars of independence1820s. While in charge of the Chilean Navy, Cochrane also contributed to Peruvianindependencethrough Freedom Expedition of Peru. He was also asked to help the Greek Navy but was prevented by events from having much impact.

In 1832, he was pardoned by the Crown and reinstated in the Royal Navy with the rank  of Rear Admiral of the Blue. His life and exploits inspired the naval fiction of 19th- and 20th-century novelists, particularly the figures of C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brien's protagonist Jack Aubrey. 

John Maclean (1879 – 1923) a Scottish schoolteacher, and revolutionary socialist, Red Clydeside. He was notable for his outspoken opposition to the First World War which caused his arrest under the Defence of the Realm act, and loss of his teaching post, after which he became a full-time Marxist lecturer and organiser. In April 1918 he was arrested for sedition, and his 75-minute speech from the dock became a celebrated text for Scottish left-wingers. He was sentenced to five years' penal servitude, but was released after the armistice. Maclean believed that Scottish workers were especially fitted to lead the revolution, and talked of "Celtic communism", inspired by clan spirit. In captivity, Maclean had been on hunger strike, and prolonged force-feeding had permanently affected his health. He collapsed during a speech and died of pneumonia, aged forty-four.

James Clerk Maxwell (1831 – 1879) Scottish scientist in mathematical physics, His most notable achievement was to formulate the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation. bringing together for the first time electricity, magnetism and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell’s equations for electromagnetism have been called the "second great unification in physics"^[ after the first one realised by Isaac Newton. With the publication of “A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field”

in 1865, Maxwell demonstrated that electric and magnetic fields travel through space as wavesmoving at the speed of light. Maxwell proposed that light is an undulation in the same medium that is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena. The unification of light and electrical phenomena led to the prediction of the existence of radio waves.

  

Globalization versus identity

There is a significant struggle going on between remote, soulless, faceless, one size fits globalization – and our need for a sense of belonging and our roots, stories and identity. 

Many misunderstand what they term ‘Identity Politics’, as something harmful and isolationist. 

This is not the experience here in Scotland. Here it has nothing to do with race, and it is inclusive and about all who want to make a home here. Its about appreciating place, heritage and difference as positive things. The stories that make us who we are – our values, culture, 

Its also crucially important for Scotland to be international in out look and our major festivals are centred around welcoming the world to our doorstep.  

There are good aspects about globalization: ease of communication, progress, travel etc.

But there are many negatives too: giant exploitive corporations, reduced workers rights, pollution, its being characterless.  Our world has become so fast speed and automated and many of us spend so much time online interacting with a machine. 

I see young people returning now to valuing the real, authentic, local and the independent – hardback books, vinyl, traditional music, vintage clothes – something tangible and real to hold on to.

Also those posh socialists simply want to replace one elite with another. This is no answer. I want to se progressive, co-operative answer is to reform from within – by offering decent childcare, co-operative education, fair opportunities, improved healthcare. 

I want Scottish independence, because I believe in progressive and fair democracy.