IAN LAVERY MP says an immediate focus on raising wages and reducing costs must be part of a strategy to show Labour can deliver for workers again
Progressive federalism is Scotland's third option
Professor JAMES MITCHELL argues the left has a strong case for getting a third option on any future independence ballot which would prioritise what power is used for — not just who holds it
Friedrich Merz’s call for a new Plaza Accord ignores how Washington’s 1985 currency ambush destroyed Japan without fixing US deficits — China, a sovereign socialist state with 1.4 billion consumers, cannot be bullied the same way, writes CARLOS MARTINEZ
World Peace Council president PALLAB SENGUPTA assesses the challenges facing the international peace movement and sends greetings to the Liberation AGM
KIERA MARSHALL says there is a gulf between the privileged circles in which most politicians move and the lives of working-class youth in left-behind estates – and as a newly elected Senedd member she’s determined to do something about it
ANGUS REID and ANDREW JOHNSTONE report on an initiative that we must take this summer
At last weekend’s International Conference Against War, LINDA PENTZ GUNTER talks to the Palestinian physician and politician about the struggles ahead to achieve a truly free Palestine
SCOTLAND’S constitutional debate casts a long shadow over its politics. Next May’s Holyrood elections will see the SNP seek a mandate for a second independence referendum. This will suit the Tories. The shrinking political agenda combined with the narrowing constitutional options crowd out other issues and options.
This does not mean that the constitution is unimportant or should not ignored. Constitutions frame political debate and carry inherent biases. But constitutional politics need to be grounded in debates on the kind of society and economy we want.
The current binary choice — independence vs the status quo — distorts debate. Instead of starting by asking what kind of society we want and then considering where constitutional power should lie, it starts and ends by arguing over where power should lie. It discourages serious public policy debate and gives impetus to a battle between Scottish and British identities that plays more on emotions than reasoned considerations.
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