 | This article needs to be updated.(August 2018) |
 | |
| Formation | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Focus | Scottish independence |
| Website | labourforscot |
Labour for Independence was a political organisation for Scottish Labour supporters that were in favour of Scottish independence. It claimed to have 2,000 members across Scotland in June 2014. [1] The organisation had been described as an "SNP front" and, following the September 2014 independence referendum, its founder Allan Grogan joined the Scottish Socialist Party. [2]
Labour for Independence claimed to adhere to Labour's "founding principles [...] of fairness, equality and justice" and sought to offer a vision of an independent Scotland for Labour supporters, in lieu of Scottish Labour doing so. [3] An opinion poll in March 2014, suggested that almost a quarter of Labour voters were planning to vote "Yes" in the referendum [4] The appeal of Labour for Independence had been attributed to frustration and disappointment felt by some Labour voters in Scotland during the New Labour era of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown from the mid-1990s through the late 2000s including William McIlvanney. [5]
Labour for Independence was established in 2012 by Allan Grogan, a dissatisfied Scottish Labour member from Angus. [6] [7] It initially consisted of a website and a Facebook group. [6] In 2012, Grogan wrote on his website: "We need to show the Labour Party, the rest of the political parties and the media watching, that there is a genuine demand from Labour voters for independence". [7] While the head of the Yes Scotland campaign welcomed the creation of a pro-independence group within the Labour Party, [6] it was reported that Labour chiefs believed there was little support within party ranks for independence. [7]
The group held its first public conference at Glasgow Caledonian University on 12 November 2012, in a meeting attended by around 100 party members, activists and supporters and was subject to mass media coverage in the printed press all over Scotland over the following days. Speakers at the event included former Labour MP, Dennis Canavan, Yes Scotland Chief Executive Blair Jenkins, Jeane Freeman from Women for Independence, Ravenscraig trade union leader Tommy Brennan, and Ricky Ross from Deacon Blue. The shift from being an e-campaign group to being an active "feet-on-the-ground" movement was widely seen as the next step forward and warmly received.[ by whom? ]
The group hosted a two-day policy conference in July 2013, which sought to suggest possible policies for a post-independence Scottish Labour Party. The conference was open to paid members only, who must be either existing members of the Labour Party or members of no party whatsoever. [8] It was expected to have hosted 100 people. Policies adopted at the conference include complete opposition to the Trident nuclear weapons programme. [9] [10] [11]
Allan Grogan spoke at the March and Rally for Scottish Independence in September 2013, [12] at which a contingent of Labour for Independence supporters reportedly waved "red flags with a thistle in the upper hoist quarter". [13] After the referendum results were announced, Grogan left the Labour Party and stood down as LFI's co-convenor. [14]
In July 2013, Labour for Independence was branded as an "SNP front" by Anas Sarwar, deputy leader of Scottish Labour, who said that SNP politicians and supporters were "masquerading" as Labour supporters and giving a false impression about the campaign, though LFI founder Allan Grogan responded by stating: "There are many instances in which non-LFI volunteers were pictured around our banner. At no time have we ever claimed these people to be volunteers of LFI." [15]
In August 2013, the Sunday Herald reported that Celia Fitzgerald, an office-bearer within the group, had been an SNP activist since leaving Labour over the Iraq War. She rejoined Labour in 2012 with the aim of changing the party's stance towards the referendum. [16] LFI leader Allan Grogan said he knew of examples of SNP members handing out LFI leaflets. He admitted only 40% of his group's 80 or so members are actually in the Labour Party. Grogan also said LFI had received initial financial support from Yes Scotland, regarding the £245 accommodation bill for the LFI's first conference. [16]
In September 2015 the group was fined £1500 by the Electoral Commission after the group failed to submit a spending report for activity during the Scottish Referendum. The Commission considered this a serious breach of the rules for campaigners and warned that the fine would rise by 50% if Labour for Independence failed to pay it within 56 days, and then possible court action could follow. A previous breach of commission rules were cited for the action where the group failed to put an imprint on campaign leaflets. [17] The organisation was the only referendum campaigner that had failed to submit accounts. [18] [19]
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In Scotland, the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) is a left-wing political party. The party was formed in 1998 from an alliance of left-wing organisations in Scotland. In 1999, it saw its first MSP returned to Holyrood, with five more MSPs elected in 2003. It lost all MSPs in the 2007 elections and has lacked representation in the Scottish Parliament ever since.
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Women for Independence is a grass-roots political organisation which seeks to improve the representation of women in public and political life throughout Scotland. Founded in 2012, the movement promotes the causes of Scottish independence and other constitutional changes they consider likely to contribute to greater democracy, gender equality and social justice. The organisation's full name is Women for Independence – Independence for Women.
The Radical Independence Campaign (RIC) is a grassroots organisation which advocates for Scotland to become a republic, independent of the United Kingdom.
The Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an independent socialist Scottish republic.
Cybernat is a term used in the media of the United Kingdom to refer to extremist online supporters of Scottish independence and the Scottish National Party.
The 2014 Scottish National Party leadership election was held to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and First Minister of Scotland, following the resignation of Alex Salmond as first minister and leader. Nicola Sturgeon emerged as the only candidate and was elected unopposed as leader of the SNP.
A general election was held in the United Kingdom on 7 May 2015 and all 59 seats in Scotland were contested under the first-past-the-post, single-member district electoral system. Unlike the 2010 general election, where no seats changed party, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won all but three seats in Scotland in an unprecedented landslide victory, gaining a total of 56 seats and taking the largest share of the Scottish vote in sixty years, at approximately 50 per cent. The Labour Party suffered its worst ever election defeat in Scotland, losing 40 of the 41 seats it was defending, including the seats of Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy and the then Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander. The Liberal Democrats lost ten of the eleven seats they were defending, with the then Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander and former leader Charles Kennedy losing their seats. The election also saw the worst performance by the Scottish Conservative Party, which received its lowest share of the vote since its creation in 1965, although it retained the one seat that it previously held. In all, 50 of the 59 seats changed party, 49 of them being won by first-time MPs.
RISE – Scotland's Left Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance and political party created ahead of the 2016 Scottish Parliament general election. The name was a contrived acronym standing for Respect, Independence, Socialism and Environmentalism. The Party name was registered as 'RISE - Respect, Independence, Socialism and Environmentalism'. The party was deregistered in November 2020.
