21/04/2021
In 2012, the Scottish and UK governments struck a historic agreement to hold a referendum on independence for Scotland. Weeks later, hundreds of radicals – socialists, feminists, greens, trade unionists, community activists and others – came together in Glasgow to consider the transformative potential of breaking from the British state. This was the first Radical Independence Conference.
The 2012 meeting led to similar events being held on an annual basis as well as the formation of local groups around Scotland, activities which became known as the Radical Independence Campaign (RIC).
Nearly nine years on, the political landscape has changed entirely and independence is no longer a minority pursuit.
The rise of the Tory hard right, and all of its corrupt incompetence, is no longer a leftist prediction but a horrible reality.
The climate emergency is no longer an environmentalist’s warning but a real and present danger.
Unlike those heady days of the 2014 campaign, the left has once again become disorganised and disorientated, struggling to plot an agreed course independent of the celebrity politicians and personalities who dominate the parliaments and the press.
But the need for, and interest in, progressive, democratic, radical solutions to the questions raised by the question of independence haven't gone away. We still want answers to the problems raised by this question of self-determination. Independence for what? Independence but how? Independence exactly when?
So, it’s time for the radicals of Scotland to come together again to consider strategic solutions in light of our subsequent experiences.
RIC can and must put clear blue water between the radical case for independence and both the conservative, economic prospectus of the SNP’s Sustainable Growth Commission and the social conservatism of the rivals who have popped up without scrutiny, without policy, seemingly without scruples. Misogyny and anti-LGBT+ rhetoric have no place in progressive politics, let alone in the radical transformation we envision.
RIC can and must bring the politics of the street, of the community and of the workplace, back to the very centre of the independence movement. Working class people in this country deserve a forum which allows their voices to be heard and their interests to be prioritised.
With May's election likely to strengthen the pro-independence majority in Holyrood, it’s time for RIC to reconvene and consider the future of radical independence.
Radical Independence hasn’t gone away. We, the local groups and activists who have kept up the fight since 2014, are now planning a new conference. This will be unlike any RIC conference that has come before.
It will have to be online, but we believe this can be a strength for now. People will be taking part in their own living rooms from Lerwick to Lanarkshire – lowlands, highlands and islands – and not from hotel function rooms and stages.
Our focus will be on participation. There’ll be plenty of work to do: much-needed skills training, strategising and practical planning how we will make a democratic, Scottish republic a reality, piece by piece.
There’ll be questions to be answered. What is a republic? What does sovereignty of the people amount to? How do we ensure that the process of democratic decision-making becomes the norm?
Answers won’t be handed down from on high and all of us taking part in this conference will have to make important decisions about how we organise going forward.
The work of organising this conference is beginning immediately. Conversations are already beginning and a working group will meet this week. We want you to be a part of this process, whether you were one of the thousands involved in RIC in the previous decade or whether you are part of the new generation of activists who will shape Scotland’s future.
You can help by thinking about what workshops and discussions we need to equip local groups to rebuild an effective campaigning organisation. We definitely need your help if you’ve got practical skills with web design, social media and content creation.
If you want to be part of planning the Radical Independence Conference 2021 – get in touch now on [email protected].
