The annual commemoration of anti-fascist volunteers who fought fascism in Spain now includes a key contribution from Italian comrades
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Where is the radicalism local government needs?
Labour peer PAULINE BRYAN assesses a new report from the think tank, Our Scottish Futures
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Yanis Varoufakis and Jeremy Corbyn laid out a roadmap for peace, justice and equality as they celebrated the legacy of inspirational socialist Tony Benn, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
The NEU’s annual conference promises heated debate, with motions on international politics, curriculum reform and union amalgamation likely to provoke strong reactions and challenge the status quo, writes Education for Tomorrow editor ROBERT POOLE
WITH a yet another round of cuts being visited on Scottish councils, it is essential that there is a discussion on the future of local government in Scotland.
From that point of view the report by the think tank, closely associated with Gordon Brown, Our Scottish Futures is welcome. The title Re-Wiring Scotland is more than a nod to Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, for ultimately the report adopts the contentious position that Scotland should legislate to allow a “metro mayor” system.
However there is a at least one point in the report that is not contentious at least across the left in Scotland, that is the need to decentralise power from the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood to local authorities.
More from this author
There is little benefit coming to Scotland or the wider UK from projects like Rosebank or Jackdaw – or indeed renewables – as profits are siphoned out of the country by foreign companies, writes PAULINE BRYAN
Unwanted, imposed Tory interventions on Scotland fuelled demands for devolution, and today Labour risks repeating past mistakes if Ian Murray seeks to bypass Holyrood on spending, warns PAULINE BRYAN
With a lack of radical thinking from the Starmer-led UK government, support for Scottish independence is unlikely to evaporate any time soon – spelling trouble ahead for Anas Sarwar, argues PAULINE BRYAN
The party north of the border needs to have a serious think about how it retains its newly elected MPs in the future. How those MPs are able to assert Scottish policy in the UK Parliament will be key, argues PAULINE BRYAN
