WDM and the Radical Independence Conference

Date: 27 November 2014

This weekend I joined over three thousand others as a delegate to the Radical Independence Conference in Glasgow, organised by the Radical Independence Campaign (RIC), whose mission is to promote a more democratic, equal and independent Scotland. Distancing themselves from nationalism and echoing the politics of the World Social Forum, they mobilise under the slogan ’Another Scotland Is Possible’.

I went to the conference both as an activist with the World Development Movement and as an organiser of the Critical Education Project, which runs the political education event Demand the Impossible and works with Unite the Youth – a small group of whose members also attended.

My personal view of the question of Scottish independence notwithstanding – cards on the table, I was hoping for a Yes vote – no-one could deny the immense energy and organisational quality of the conference, which was run almost entirely by volunteers and which was triple the size of the first RIC conference two years ago. The strength of the conference reflected a powerful grassroots campaign – indeed the old-timer Tariq Ali claimed in the closing session that it was the best political campaign he’d ever seen – that registered thousands of working class Scots to vote through a strategy of mass canvassing. It also reflected the political context of Scotland right now, in which, despite the ‘No’ vote in the referendum, the pro-independence camp is feeling strong and confident. Robin McAlpine, director of Common Weal, was positively effusive: ‘I have never been so excited, I can’t believe I’m saying that in defeat. We are not defeated, not really.’

WDM and the RIC conference

WDM was invited to the conference in order to focus on TTIP. Our director, Nick Dearden, spoke to an over-subscribed audience of well over 100 people, alongside Cornelia Reetz from the Stop TTIP coalition followed by a thoughtful and informed discussion. Interest in TTIP was high and a number of delegates approached us asking how to get more involved with campaigning on the issue.

Indeed, TTIP also featured in the political outcome with which the day finished – the launch of the ‘People’s Vow’. This was a response to ‘the vow’ made by Cameron, Clegg and Miliband, in which they promised extensive new powers to Scotland if there were a ‘No’ vote. The People’s Vow, launched in the final session by RIC co-founder Cat Boyd and author and playwright Alan Bissett, outlined a vision of a democratic, equal Scotland. And, at the activist level, the People’s Vow made a series of bold commitments for the struggle for social justice Scotland, including the following:

• support for a campaign of civil disobedience against Trident
• the creation of a people’s budget to map an alternative to austerity
• a commitment to punish politicians who do not take gender equality seriously.

On TTIP, the People’s Vow states: ‘Nor will we tolerate laws that put our vital public services in peril to global corporations. TTIP is wrong for Scotland just as it is wrong for ordinary people on both sides of the Atlantic. We pledge our opposition to TTIP in Scotland.’

There are other areas of overlap, too, between the politics of the RIC conference and the politics of WDM. The People’s Vow also pledges ‘a demonstration for radical land reform and an end to Scotland’s feudal legacy’, echoing our support for movements struggling for land reform in the global south. McAlpine, mentioned above, argued that Scottish progressives need to make control over food a central policy issue – directly echoing the central idea of food sovereignty which WDM has been campaigning for. The People’s Vow to a campaign of civil disobedience against fracking relates to our work in challenging privatised energy systems. And more broadly a desire to create a better Scotland as part of a global project of creating a better world came through clearly.

So what?

Two thoughts about why all this might be relevant to WDM.

1. WDM is neutral on the question of Scottish independence, which is a little beyond our remit. But our warm welcome at the RIC conference and the overlaps between our politics and those expressed at the conference show that this ought to be a good time for WDM campaigning in Scotland. In RIC, our fight for social justice internationally has some highly motivated, well-organised partners. More broadly, the vitality of the RIC conference reflects the enormous political energy in Scottish society at the moment, particularly among those who support independence – on the same day as the conference, around 15,000 people attended a rally with Nicola Sturgeon, the new leader of the SNP. The pro-independence parties have seen a huge surge in membership, with the membership of the Scottish Socialist Party more than doubling and that of the Scottish Greens having quadrupled. In this context, it is clear that WDM’s campaigns could have real traction. Where interest Scottish sovereignty is at an all-time high, TTIP threatens to undermine Scottish sovereignty, undercutting the powers of the Scottish Parliament to exercise control over the economic life of Scotland. The rise of support for the Greens also bodes well for our work on climate and energy justice and food sovereignty. How we work most effectively in Scotland is to be determined, above all by our local activists, but it is clear that our work should resonate widely – this is an important time to be active in Scotland.
2. Whether or not we agree with their politics, RIC is also an exciting example of the possibilities of mobilising diverse groups of people in progressive politics in the UK. All the panels I saw were gender-balanced, and young people played a prominent role, with teenagers speaking in articulate and politically sophisticated ways to the whole conference. Suki Sangha, a young Scottish Asian woman from the STUC, argued explicitly that new social movements cannot be led by middle-aged white men. As our organisation relaunches and seeks to rejuvenate itself in 2015, this is a message that resonates with us too, and RIC is an example from which we can draw heart. 

Lastly, a personal note. For me, the RIC conference was a remarkable experience. I’ve been to hundreds of events since I became politicised over ten years ago and heard countless speeches. But this experience was different to almost any other I’ve had. There was the sense of witnessing a social movement, broad enough to encompass a diverse range of social groups and political tendencies, but anchored in a powerful, oppositional collective political identity that points towards a different kind of society. This gave the day a sense of authenticity, intensity and political sophistication that is too often lacking in the political events I’ve attended and which was exhilarating to experience. And it was a reminder of the transformational power of social movements, and of why WDM’s work in solidarity is so important.

Photo Credit revolutionarysocialism.tumblr.com