Launch of Scottish Republican publication - Spairn

The new Scottish Republican organisation "Saorsa" have launched their publication on the web according to their website.

It will be interesting to see if they can add anything meaningful to the struggle for a Scottish Republic. If so then their existence should be welcomed.

This weblog will however recognise the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement (SRSM) as the main organisation to struggle for a Workers Republic. The SRSM have recently expanded with a new N.England branch.

Below is taken from the Saorsa website

Launch of Scottish Republican publication - Spairn

31 October 2010

Saorsa is pleased to announce the launch of Spairn, a web-based Scottish republican publication. Whilst the decision to launch the publication has been taken by members of Saorsa it is our objective to provide in Spairn an open-forum whereby all strands of republicanism in Scotland can organise and debate in a fraternal manner.

By our reckoning there are eight Scottish Republican organisations of varying size and activity, plus many other individuals in other organisations or none, most notably the SNP.

We believe that there are around the same number of Irish Republican organisations active in Scotland who likewise support the establishment of an independent Scottish Republic as part of a wider strategy against British Imperialism.

Whilst recognising that in some cases long-standing political and personal differences will continue to exist - we believe that it is in the interests of the wider progressive working-class movement in Scotland that common-ground be found and built upon between these groups, to work together, where possible, in a spirit of mutual co-operation and respect.

We hope that through Spairn we can play a role in this objective and accordingly place Spairn at the disposal of the wider, progressive republican and socialist community in Scotland.


The Future

It is our hope that if Spairn is to be a useful tool for Republican politics that it can, over time, become a means for bringing some form basic unity around a set of common demands such as;

Establishment of an Independent Scottish Republic
Support for a Unified 32-County Irish Republic
Opposition to all manifestations of British Imperialism.



However we also hold to the position of the Edinburgh-born revolutionary James Connolly that the struggles for national and social freedom are inseparable, and paraphrase him that; “The cause of labour is the cause of Scotland, the cause of Scotland is the cause of labour. They cannot be dissevered.”

In the face of the Capitalist banking crisis, services being slashed and 100,000 public sector job losses in Scotland republican politics must also, in our opinion, be immersed in community politics, empowering working-class communities and building a campaign of resistance to Imperialism from the bottom-up.

Given that the Socialist Left in Scotland is about to engage in the worst round of sectarian bloodletting for many years this will become an even greater necessity for progressive republican politics.

However such matters are for the times ahead. We hope to show our commitment to these goals through our actions. In the meantime we welcome all submissions to Spairn be they articles, notices or reports of events/ rallies and so on.


Remember it is YOUR paper. Please use it.



Spairn – (A’ Ghaidhlig – Struggle)