GKN Florence: this is what worker led just transition looks like
After more than 3 years in occupation, the Florence GKN workers’ fight to save jobs and develop alternative production continues
Grangemouth – the fight for jobs and climate justice
INEOS’s plans to close Scotland’s only petrol refinery at Grangemouth represent a critical test for both unions and climate campaigners.
Climate failure sparks SNP crisis
Pete Cannell looks at how the gulf between the SNP’s rhetoric and climate policies that relied on partnership with the oil and gas industry sparked a crisis.
Climate denial and far right populism
Pete Cannell explores the way in which far right populist parties are using climate denial as a key part of their agenda.
From Ukraine to Gaza: imperialism, resistance and solidarity
Two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine we need international solidarity in building resistance to imperialism and militarism.
Why I support Palestine: an interview with Merilyn Moos
My family in Germany were killed by Nazis because they were Jews. What Israel has constructed in Gaza is a concentration camp.
Report from the Global Climate Jobs conference
Critical discussions on the role workers’ organising must play in the transition to a zero carbon economy.
Scotland after Sturgeon
What are the prospects for Scottish independence now Sturgeon has stepped down?
Covid – forgotten (by governments) but not gone
Governments have failed to defend us from Covid, but it remains a key issue.
Russia’s invasion and world imperialism
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows that we have to understand imperialism as a world system.
Stop Cambo
Pete Cannell, an activist in Scottish environmental group Scot.E3, looks at the political significance of the growing campaign to prevent the development of new oil and gas fields in the North Sea
A Universal Credit inquiry | Part 1
Millions of people out of work due to Covid are experiencing the cruelty of the Tories’ reformed welfare system for the first time.
The Scottish general strike of 1820
Pete Cannell recounts the first general strike in the history of capitalism.
Abolish Nato now
As Trump and Erdoğan join other NATO heads of state for its seventieth birthday summit, Pete Cannell argues we should take a hard look at the role of the British state within the alliance.
Review: A Planet to Win – Why We Need a Green New Deal
Pete Cannell reviews an important contribution to the discussions around the Green New Deal.
Planning a Just Transition in Scotland: 17 November
On Saturday 17 November, there will a one-day conference in Edinburgh to discuss the transition to a sustainable low carbon economy.
We are working women and we make Glasgow
The strike that began today (Tuesday 23 October 2018) in Glasgow may be the biggest equal pay strike in UK history. Pete Cannell reports on Day One. Thanks to Christine, Mike and Eric for their contributions to the report. The two-day strike for equal pay involves more than 8,000 Glasgow council workers, members of the GMB and […]
Scottish solidarity with Catalunya
Pete Cannell of International Socialists Scotland (Scotland rs21) reports back from recent solidarity protests with Calatunya.
#GE2017: One Tory MP in Scotland is too many
Pete Cannell discusses the questions that face socialists in Scotland in the up-coming general election.
Building a socialist bookshop
Pete Cannell describes how a socialist bookshop was built up through a period of social and political struggle in Scotland. These struggles may have abated for the time being but in the shape of sfbbooks they leave a permanent resource for the radical left which feeds a continued hunger for ideas and provides inspiration for future battles. […]
Building an anti-war movement
Pete Cannell reflects on the debates surrounding Syria and suggests how we move forward.
Climate crisis, jobs crisis, crisis of democracy
Pete Cannell and Brian Parkin discuss how the oil price crisis is leading to tens of thousands of jobs losses in Scotland, and what we could do about it.
Taking a longer view
Pete Cannell is an active member of Edinburgh Stop the War Coalition. He responds here to Mark Boothroyd’s article on the Syrian Revolution and the anti-war movement. It was good to read Mark Boothroyd’s article on the Syrian Revolution and the anti-war movement. My hope is that it will trigger a debate on how the movement […]
Ten Years on From Make Poverty History
Pete Cannell reflects on being involved in the large protests around the Make Poverty History campaign and the G8 Alternatives that took place in Scotland 10 years ago. This is part of a new series in which activists will consider different moments and forms of activity they’ve taken part in over the years. Just […]
Thousands rally in George Square – report from Glasgow anti-austerity protest
North and south of the border, last Saturday was an important day in the process of building a mass fight back against austerity. Pete Cannell, from Edinburgh, and Joe Sabatini from Carlisle report from the anti-austerity rally in Glasgow. Thousands rally in George Square Pete, from Edinburgh, reports: As tens of thousands marched against austerity […]
Jim Murphy’s election: a death sentence for Scottish Labour?
Jim Murphy is the new leader of the Scottish Labour Party. That he was even a candidate for the job, writes Pete Cannell, shows how little the Labour Party understood what was happening in Scotland during the referendum campaign. The final months of the referendum campaign were a festival of democratic participation. The objective was […]
Yes campaign falls short, but its legacy must endure
Pete Cannell reflects on a momentous referendum campaign, the significance of which goes far beyond the result. The enduring legacy of the last few weeks and months in Scotland will be the energy, clarity and vision of all those grass roots campaigners who campaigned for a Yes vote. This is what a mass movement looks like. […]
Edinburgh: vibrant protest against Farage
Pete Cannell reports: Farage’s public meeting in Edinburgh last night was intended as more than just another publicity stunt. Until this year’s elections UKIP’s impact in Scotland has been minimal. Just a year ago Farage had to run from Edinburgh, unable to find a taxi that would take him to the station. Recent polls, […]