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.