The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends an impressive impersonation of Bob Dylan
Home truths
JOHN FOSTER recommends the down-to-earth realism of a political memoir that navigates the surreality of Scottish politics
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Here, Vermiglio, William Tell and Wolf Man
New releases from Thorpe and Morrison, Daria Kulesh, and Will Finn and Rosie Calvert
RINA ARYA confronts the brutal operation of Francis Bacon’s approach to portraiture
Emphasising his continuous engagement in labour movement struggles, ALISTAIR FINDLAY salutes John Foster’s contribution as activist, strategist, intellectual and defender of the Morning Star
ANDY MIAH advocates the use of AI to assist people by expanding access to global literature and culture
EWAN KOTZ relishes a veteran Glasgow band that have lost none of their verve for live performance
Hope and Despair: Lifting the Lid on the Murky World of Scottish Politics
Neil Findlay, Luath Press £14.99
THIS is the second volume of Neil Findlay’s account of his 10 years in the Scottish Parliament. It provides a brutal exposure of Scottish politics from 2017 to the present.
The years of hope were those between 2017 and 2020. Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto provided a programme for working class empowerment which transformed the perspectives of the Labour movement in Scotland.
The last two years, 2020-21, were those of despair. Corbyn and, in Scotland, Richard Leonard were despatched — and Labour’s new leaders made it clear they would move back towards the politics of New Labour. Then, at the same time as Covid exposed the fatal flaws in both Scotland’s social fabric and its current political institutions, the SNP imploded.
More from this author
JOHN FOSTER examines how the late SNP leader shifted the party leftwards and upwards, bringing Scottish independence to the forefront while fundamentally failing to address deeper issues of class and corporate capture
Ahead of a TUC special Congress next weekend to fight Conservative anti-strike laws, JOHN FOSTER looks back to 1969 and 1972 when similar proposals were defeated through class solidarity and painstaking organising work
JOHN FOSTER discusses the role of communists in responding to the aggressive militarisation initiated by the US in a world that faces an unprecedented period of acute crisis, as he introduces the international resolution for this autumn's Communist Party Congress
Half a century ago, 8,000 workers took over four shipyards in Scotland and instead of striking, kept working. JOHN FOSTER previews an event to mark this brave action, which not only saved every job, it turned a period of retreat into a working-class offensive
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JOHN FOSTER examines how the late SNP leader shifted the party leftwards and upwards, bringing Scottish independence to the forefront while fundamentally failing to address deeper issues of class and corporate capture
Under Starmer and Sarwar, both the UK and Scottish Labour Parties are committed to the dogmas of neoliberalism – although signs are that resistance is growing, argues VINCE MILLS
