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A new referendum will distract from the class struggle
A vote on Scottish independence only eight years since the last will replace this new unifying wave of worker militancy and strikes with a disabling polarisation between right-wing unionism and nationalism, warns JOHNNIE HUNTER
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaking during an event in Edinburgh to outline Scottish independence plans. Issue date: Sunday June 26, 2022.

FIRST MINISTER Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement of plans for a second referendum on Scottish independence last month came off the back of Britain-wide RMT rail strikes which captured the public imagination and inspired trade unionists across the country to be bold again.

In the face of an intense so-called cost-of-living crisis, organised labour is standing up and fighting back with a determination not seen for some time — from the Glasgow cleansing workers to the railworkers and university staff across Britain, to the recent CWU national ballot.

For the left and labour movement in Scotland these developments offer an electrifying change to disabling polarisation between right-wing unionism and nationalism.

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