Jamie Maxwell is a Scottish journalist who writes for Al Jazeera, Vice, the New Statesman, the Herald, and many other publications.
The Scottish government says it wants a new independence referendum in 2023. But there’s every chance that politicians in London will refuse, leaving the Scottish National Party with a choice between helpless submission and risky defiance.
Conservatives like to paint a sanitized picture of British imperialism, but the empire was built on murderous exploitation. Modern Britain is finally coming to terms with the crimes on which its global power rested.
In the wake of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, support for Scottish independence is higher than ever. But the Scottish National Party still has many hurdles to clear before it can break up the United Kingdom.
Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP has teamed up with the pro-independence Scottish Greens. But Sturgeon’s rhetoric on climate change has never been matched by action.
The corruption of British politics by corporate “dark money” is part of a global phenomenon. But we can’t make sense of that trend without recognizing that capitalist oligarchies have always sought to undermine genuine democracy.