Words and photographs by Mark Dawes

“Radical” is a big word, with serious and often negative associations. You can get away with being labelled a radical if you are long gone; the name of Red Clydesider John McLean was mentioned more than once during the Radical Independence Campaign Conference in Glasgow yesterday, but he stopped posing a threat to the establishment decades ago and can therefore be badged as “radical” without concern. Being labelled a radical in the here and now carries an implication of threat and extremism. To some extent, there is a recognition in the Scottish left that radicalism is dangerous; those who seek to address the democratic deficit in Scotland can only do this by destabilising the comfortable Westminster establishment. Liam McLaughlan, an 18 year old activist from the Scottish Socialist Party, emphasised the dangers to Westminster posed by the activism of the 3,000 delegates at this unprecedented event. He also mentioned the intemperate comments of Labour’s Michael McCann, MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, who in his Twitter feed labelled the delegates at RIC 2014 as “Trots, extremists, infiltrators” and dismissed the entire event as “aka Trot convention” (sic). McLaughlan also pointed out that McCann will shortly be going to court over his alleged attack on a teenage Yes activist during the referendum campaign, so perhaps McCann’s more virulent comments should be welcomed given that he stopped short of actual physical violence.

Liam McLaughlan, Scottish Socialist Party

Walking around the vast main hall of Clyde Auditorium (“The Armadillo” if you hail from Glasgow) you would be hard-pressed to find many people fitting the description of “radical”, or any of McCann’s more scathing adjectives. A typical cross-section of the massive crowd: placid middle-aged women; bespectacled middle-class gents taking notes; young, friendly people chatting animatedly with each other; babies and young children roaming around; thoughtful pensioners slowly taking their place in the packed rows of seats; fashionable young Asian women and ordinary working blokes in crew cuts and Superdry shirts. Appearances may deceive, but if the 3,000 people in the hall could be described as radicals, then there must be a cadre of ultra-radicals somewhere else, wearing camo and plotting revolution.

Myshele Haywood from RIC Aberdeen questioned the epithet of radicalism early in the Opening Plenary. Is it radical to wish all in our society to be adequately fed, for our drinking water to be uncontaminated by fracking? The demonic nature of our radicalism evaporated further with the stunning words of Saffron Dickson from Generation Yes. Saffron thanked the delegates for “getting up early on a Saturday to listen to a moany, emotional 17 year old schoolgirl”. Addressing 3,000 people did not seem to faze her, as she passionately questioned the fact that she is denied a vote in next year’s general election as she will not yet be 18. The enduring impression left by Dickson was not of a thumping radical, but a confident, articulate, compassionate young woman who has examined the poverty around her in Glasgow and declared it unacceptable. Every single MP in Westminster, every single MSP in Holyrood should listen to the speech by this young woman and feel admiration and a little fear; she will harpoon those professional politicians with passion, common sense and a measure of social responsibility that they could never begin to match.

Speaking of politicians, there were refreshingly few of them around during this vibrant event. The morning’s “Radical Change Now” session was addressed by Maggie Chapman MSP, co-convener of the Scottish Green Party, and Sandra White, veteran SNP MSP for Glasgow Kelvin. Chapman offered a sober, thoughtful assessment of the Scottish political landscape from a Green perspective. White contributed her warm, down-to-earth encouragement for further electoral success by pro-independence parties. She signalled that the notion of a Yes Alliance in the general election, thought to be rejected by the SNP, may not be off the agenda after all; watch this space. The news from only a few days ago that the new First Minister had appointed a gender-balanced cabinet with equal numbers of male and female ministers was warmly welcomed. However, it was curious to note that White was one of the few speakers to mention Nicola Sturgeon by name. The majority of comment and debate during the day focused on activism, consensus and the work of non-partisan groupings. There was no sense of rejecting the SNP’s current popularity, nor was Sturgeon’s appointment ignored as an irrelevance; there was simply far too much activity in other compelling areas which needed to be discussed that there just wasn’t time to consider the recent momentous changes in Scotland’s political mainstream. This is a wonderful situation to contemplate. The drive towards independence encouraged so ably by the SNP is only part of the picture, and the grassroots activism of ordinary folk up and down the country needs a whole conference to be even partly understood. Only 50 metres away, 12,000 very excited people were filling the Hydro, waiting impatiently for First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to come onstage in a venue which conventionally hosts big-budget spectaculars by rock and pop artistes. There is no point looking for comparisons in recent years; nothing like this has ever happened before. 15,000 people spending most of their hard-earned weekend listening to politicians and “radical” campaigners? This time last year, flying pigs would have seemed more plausible.

Robin McAlpine, Common Weal

But it was not elected politicians that drove home the passion of Scotland’s new-found political confidence. Robin McAlpine from the National Committee of Common Weal grabbed the lectern with both hands like it was the wheel of a stolen car. With no notes, he rattled out a machine-gun salvo of utterly passionate yet utterly sensible ideas. His scorching monologue was reminiscent of the eccentric scientist in an action movie describing the method to defuse the nuclear device ticking away second by second in the corner. He dispensed, with a quiet intensity, a purpose for each and every activist to provoke actual change in their communities. Every speaker thus far had been warmly welcomed and regularly applauded; McAlpine brought the hall to its feet as he strode back to his chair. His manic, infectious intensity electrified the delegates. Remember – these folk are not radical extremists, these are your neighbours, your cousins, the teachers at your kid’s school. They want to change Scottish society, and they want to do it by their own hand and perhaps without joining a political party. McAlpine urged them on.

Lesley Riddoch

Lesley Riddoch had the misfortune to follow McAlpine and acknowledged the difficulty of doing so. Her second comment suggested that McAlpine should stand for election next year; this provoked massive approval from delegates and strenuous disagreement from McAlpine. Riddoch also ruled herself out as a candidate in future elections, though she has doubtless been encouraged to stand. She alluded to the energy which activists draw from one another, and questioned the position of the traditional elected official; remote, perhaps self-interested. The new world of political engagement is defined by activism rather than egotism. Labour have shown the way in defining the failure of party politics in Scotland; the delegates at this conference seem motivated by the desire for change, rather than the desire for power and privilege. Riddoch wondered if it would be possible to hold a separate, concurrent election next year for 16-18 year olds, those newly introduced to voting in the referendum but denied the chance to vote for the UK government. Liam McLaughlan, only recently enfranchised, highlighted the selfishness of his own Labour MP, Margaret Curran, drawing a salary of over £80,000 and racking up expenses of £180,000, even before this year is out.

Professor David Miller and Anum Qaiser, amidst radicals

While all of this excitement unfolded in the main hall, the breakout sessions were packed. There was a guilty pleasure in trooping through the well-appointed interiors of the Crowne Plaza Hotel to attend a session examining Racism and UKIP. Professor David Miller of Bath University opened proceedings with a scorching attack on Jim Murphy MP. Murphy’s cosy relationship with the Israeli secret services and his involvement in the odious Henry Jackson Society gave Prof Miller all the licence he needed to allege Murphy is “a racist”. Anum Qaiser, who publicly resigned from Muslim Students for Labour in the latter stages of the referendum because she wanted the freedom to vote yes, spoke with engaging good humour about the lurch to the right in UK politics in relation to immigration. Describing the funds absorbed by Nigel Farage and other UKIP representatives through the European Parliament, she cheerfully dismissed Farage as a bigger scrounger than any migrant coming to live in the UK.

Tariq Ali

In the main hall, Bernadette McAliskey intoned on the notion of “The Fire Next Time” with wisdom, experience and grit. It was becoming apparent that the conference was packed with remarkable people who had driven political change from below without ever making the pact with the devil required of partisan elected officials. McAliskey quietly unfolded British history like a picnic cloth which, on opening, is filled with rotting fruit and grisly, fearful cuts of broken meat. Tariq Ali is a giant of British intellectual life, but he spoke with time-served experience of the Scottish democratic evolution. He demonstrated an immersion in the reformist history of Scotland which put many Scots in the hall to shame. His grouchy, heavy features betrayed a life considering the most weighty of social and political struggles. His words appear endlessly dissatisfied with the status quo. He forensically explained the corruption of British politics while observing the revival of Scottish political engagement with agreeable glee. Scottish independence is an inevitability, in his estimations. Sandra White looked ahead to 2017 as a date for independence to finally be realised; Robin McAlpine predicted 2020. Tariq Ali gave no dates, but his certainty seemed even more believable. He is a man who gives unswerving support to what he believes is right, not what he has been told to believe is right.

Benoit, Quebec Solidaire

It was an article of faith of the Better Together campaign that those voting Yes were all foaming-mouthed Nationalists, crazed with the superiority of Scottishness and stopping just short (or even racing beyond) Nazism in nationalistic zeal. Anyone with even a casual interest in Scottish politics knows how little truth lies in these views. It is insulting beyond belief to compare the SNP’s social democratic agenda with the genocidal, militaristic fascism of 20th century Europe. For those associating with the Radical Independence Campaign, internationalism is the concept which enlivens the current surge in Scottish political life. The Scottish independence referendum was an inspiration to independence movements across Europe, just as those movements gave hope to each of us as we participated in the awakening of Scottish political activism. The accusations of “Nationalism” directed at Scottish activists are especially unfair given that the source of these criticisms are British Nationalists. UKIP, the Conservative Party and the Labour party are knee-deep in the Unionist cause. They deny democratic reform to smaller administrative units because it either diminishes their own electoral power base or undermines the economic stability of a centralised system.

Jordi, Candidatura d’Unitat Popular (CUP), Catalunya

During the “United We Stand” forum at RIC 2014, speakers from Quebec, Catalunya, Greece and Spain articulated the resonances between Scottish independence movements and their own attempts to overcome centralism and work towards self-determination. Benoit from Quebec Solidaire provided a useful historic perspective on the failures of Quebecois struggles against the Canadian government, and cautioned against trusting the instincts of a single nationalist party in light of the dissolution of Partie Quebecois. Jordi from Candidatura d’Unitat Popular (CUP) spoke of Catalunya’s recent popular vote to dismiss Madrid’s centralist stranglehold and referred to the other parts of Spain, Euskadi and Galicia, who also want to break from the Spanish government.

Yiannis, Syriza, Greece

Yiannis from Syriza in Greece spoke with authority on the development of a common agenda amongst 18 separate groupings who put aside differences to form a united grouping to challenge “Austeritarianism”. Greece has been uniquely punished by the austerity agenda, and Yiannis provided a brilliant explanation of this as a right-wing ideology manifest across Europe, rather than a singular economic policy adopted by national governments facing a financial squeeze. The incredible rise of Podemos in Spain demonstrates both an appetite for reformist politics and a rejection of the old guard. Launched in January 2014, Podemos took 25% of the vote in the Spanish elections in August 2014. Taking 5 of the 54 seats in the Spanish parliament, Podemos have engaged ordinary people in “circles” (public discussions reminiscent of the Greek “agora”) and “Mareas” (waves) where mass protests focus attention on a specific issue such as education or workers rights. Alba and Alvarado from the Podemos circle in Edinburgh explained the shift in emphasis from “left vs right” to “people vs the establishment”.

Alba and Alvarado, Podemos, Edinburgh/Spain

Closer to home, two unique struggles in London were described by the Ritzy Cinema Workers and the E15 Mothers group. The oppressive low-wage regime challenged by cinema workers managed by the Cineworld chain eventually resulted in a 26% pay increase – which still did not raise their income to a living wage.

E15 Mothers, Newham, London

The emotional presentation by E15 Mothers, including a film showing their activism on housing reform in east London and their critical campaign against the mayor of Newham Council, Sir Robin Wales, was especially inspiring. The theme of active youth, a constant through the day, re-appeared as 19 year old Jasmine explained her own political awakening. Initially fighting to gain affordable housing for her and her child in a borough where 400 houses had lain empty for over 8 years, Jasmine spoke eloquently of the campaign group which had grown out of the isolated concerns of young single parents evicted from a hostel in an unforgiving social environment.

3000 radicals, yesterday

As the main hall filled again with the hundreds of delegates who had participated in workshops and debates elsewhere, the Closing Plenary faced a difficult task in matching the passion, intensity and vibrancy of the day so far. Sarah Beattie-Smith offered a cheerful welcome to the packed hall, and introduced Tariq Ali to offer some closing comments. Ali’s blazing intelligence and uncompromising critique left the hall in no doubt that the (so-called) radical independence agenda had the full support of one of Great Britain’s most trenchant critics.

Tariq Ali

Author Alan Bissett was introduced; he would read from a People’s Vow, a rejoinder to the “Vow” published by the Daily Record on September 15th and apparently declaring the intent of all the major UK political parties to provide new powers to the Scottish Parliament. He opened with a thought remembering his last time in this huge hall, when he had watched Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour perform on the very spot on which he stood. “But he signed that Better Together letter, so fuck him”. Bissett then seized the room; this was not off-the-cuff comment, this was full-throated rhetorical exposition on the new world of Scottish politics, delivered with pride and an impish grim.

Alan Bissett reads The People’s Vow

If anyone could take the buoyant mood of this gathering of quiet revolutionaries a stage further, it was Cat Boyd. Boyd is one of the co-founders of the Radical Independence Campaign, and a seasoned yet youthful speaker on Scottish political reform. Boyd has a fragile quality in her face as she speaks. She betrays an entirely understandable emotional outrage about the world she inhabits in the subtle nuances of her expression. Her voice is potent, but occasionally sounds like it might break with emotion. Every time her voice displays this fragility, the statement which follows is declared with utter clarity, potency, and intent. Her closing comments were declarative, outraged, purposeful. After only three years, the Radical Independence Campaign occupies this odd, echoing concert hall as a temporary home. The Liberal Democrats had their conference here a few months back, and by comparison it looked like a group of forty accountants had mistakenly booked Wembley Stadium for a meeting. Cat Boyd commands the emotions of this unlikely group of political reformers because she is manifestly not the usual white male political cipher which Westminster has traditionally attracted. A standing ovation was guaranteed, but the warmth and respect expressed by 3,000 people towards Boyd and the rest of the Radical Independence Campaign was moving and surprising.

Cat Boyd, Radical Independence Campaign

One of the delights of the evolving independence movement is how easy it is to approach people like Patrick Harvie, Robin McAlpine, Cat Boyd, and speak directly to them. The same is true of the SNP’s representatives; I have met Sandra White and Nicola Sturgeon in the most ordinary of places and they always communicate with a refreshing honesty. I offered my congratulations to Cat Boyd as she left the conference. She seemed genuinely taken aback by being offered small praise; she responded warmly, smiling, but eventually blushed deeply. This humility is absent in our elected officials. Scotland is currently populated with reforming mainstream politicians who might wash away the old guard of the Westminster elite. But we also have a generation of thoughtful, passionate, non-aligned individuals who can rip apart the fabric of the existing political structure, engaging and inspiring ordinary activists who seek change without toeing the party line. RIC’s motto is “Another Scotland is possible”. Yesterday’s conference proved that this is not a hopeful, futuristic statement, but a prediction which has already been proved correct.

Alan Bissett and Cat Boyd

More images from RIC 2014 here. All photographs by Mark Dawes. Please give credit if re-using.