The Year of the Union Jack Mug

One of the things that struck me when I took my seat at my first City of Edinburgh Council meeting in 2019 was the display of Union Jack mugs on the Labour benches. Two senior Labour Councillors had  Union Jack mugs to the fore Cllr Cammy Day the Labour Group leader and sometime vice-convener of something Cllr Lezley Marion Cameron.  It seemed odd and might more readily have been expected on the Tory benches. The SNP councillors did not turn up with Saltire mugs. Since I'd left the council in 2012 the Independence referendum had happened and Labour had been an enthusiastic member of 'Better Together'.

Wrapping yourself in any flag - Union Jack or Saltire was not something I was familiar with in the City Chambers over my time there. Until 2019.

Labour were at that time in coalition with the SNP and had been since 2012. By 2019 they were the junior party. The SNP were the lead party in the coalition by dint of getting more councillors elected. Between 2012 and 2019 there had, of course, been the Independence Referendum. During the referendum period Scottish Labour had effectively silenced any of their members who showed sympathies to the independence cause. By 2019 the tensions between the SNP and the Labour groups that were almost wholly based on the constitution. 

After the 2022 elections when again the SNP elected the most councillors there was some speculation that a coalition could be formed again with Labour though because of numbers it might include the Greens as well. Meanwhile away from the council chambers the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was giving interviews where he kept saying that Labour would not enter coalitions with any party. He meant primarily the SNP. The Edinburgh Labour group went along with that and despite having a group of only 13 councillors emerged as the party running the council. How did that happen when the breakdown was 19 SNP, 13 Labour, 9 Conservative, 12 LibDem, 10 Green and Labour did not enter any formal coalition? Simple if you are Labour do a background deal with the Conservatives and the LibDems that sees those parties gain convenor and vice-convenorships (some specially created). Of course Labour protested their innocence saying they'd done no deals. The Conservatives and the LibDems mumbled and looked the other way and hey presto Labour became the party in power. The Union Jack mugs had triumphed and for the first time Edinburgh has an administration based on the constitutional question and not on good governance of the city.

There were two newly elected Labour councillors who refused to back the deal and were promptly suspended from the group with one eventually leaving to sit as an independent. Other strange things happened with the new Transport Convenor saying he would only be in post until October when he'd be replaced by someone better placed to take that remit forward. He's still there. Who his mystery replacement was I guess we'll never know. 

There was some speculation that Labour's tenure would be short but the numbers remain in their favour generally though from time to time they lose out.

The Budget would be the big test and that is exactly what it turned out to be. Labour seemed to have crafted a motion that would allow some asks of the the other groups, particularly the Conservatives and LibDems, to be incorporated to get their budget passed. It didn't turn out that way. Labour's motion was voted down thanks to some tactical voting by some Green councillors and the erstwhile Labour councillor (who resigned from the Labour party during the meeting). Labour had a choice and chose to support the LibDem budget voting it through along with the Conservatives. The progressive and visionary SNP/Green budget was cast aside. There was a problem for Labour though - the LibDem budget that they'd voted for contained causes to end compulsory redundancies and seek to outsource council services starting with waste services. What did Labour have to say about that? Their Leader, the Council Leader, Cammy Day said he'd not read the LibDem budget motion! All would be well though they just wouldn't do those things. Labour had officially lost a member during the budget meeting and now had the same number of councillors as the LibDems whose budget had just passed and who were expected to easily win a by-election in Corstorphine Murrayfield putting them one ahead of Labour. Would the LibDems try to take over? They'd doubled the size of their group at the 2022 Council elections and were expected to gain a new councillor in a few weeks so why not pounce and take control of their budget and the council? They looked the other way again. Perhaps the new 'Better Together' arrangement is too fraught and distrustful for a switch to happen at least for now? 

Time will tell but from the outside it looks like this coalition which insists it is not a coalition will trundle on Union Jack mugs held high. There could be a couple more by-elections that could cause problems for Labour especially if they lost them to the SNP or Greens. There's always the possibility of a defection too as socialist Labour members become increasingly disenchanted with Keir Starmer's Labour. As I wrote this news broke that former Labour councillor Nick Gardner had joined the Greens. I don't know how fresh those Union Jack mugs are but they could be looking mighty tired by this time next year. 

Postscript: Full Council on 4 May marked a year since the last elections and the SNP attempted to remove the Labour leader and the Convenors/Vice-Convenors. It failed because the Union Jack coalition held - great thing giving senior roles to parties you 'are not in coalition' with isn't it? 

 Rob Munn was SNP Councillor for the Leith Walk ward 2019-2022

Me For Queen and Samantha Whates live at Leith Depot April 2023

 I like small gigs. That closeness to the artist testing their sounds in front of small audiences is a special thing and one that I always find enlightening. 

This was certainly one of those nights. I was there to see Me For Queen and Samantha Whates two singer-songwriters creating music one step outside of the mainstream staying true to their muse and sharing those creations with small but appreciative audiences.

None more so than the the audience that greeted them at Leith Depot's new performance space in April. I was lightly familiar with Samantha Whates music (initially through here work with Josienne Clarke in the duo PicaPica) and was less familiar with Me For Queen but aware of her connections to other artist like Alva Leigh and Sarah Howells.

Samantha opened the night and performed a well received selection of her songs focussing on her recent album 'Waiting Rooms' (recorded in, yes waiting rooms around the UK) and the brand new 'Early Works'. 

Me for Queen (Mary Erskine) focussed on her new album 'Microclimate'. The songs are worth taking the time to get to know as Mary has a way with subjects and words that is worth following through. 

Both guested on each others songs adding to the feeling of collaboration that touring can bring to artists and audiences. These were unique performances that are unlikely to be repeated.

These are two artists that are well worth seeing so if you get the chance then take it. You won't be disappointed.

A friend of mine uses the hashtag #shoplocal to tag small gigs he goes to locally and that is applicable here. I walked to the venue like it was a local shop and walked home afterwards. If only a trip to my local Tesco was so uplifting. #shoplocal

https://www.samanthawhates.me/

https://meforqueen.bandcamp.com/

Gordon Lightfoot a reflection

I drove into Orillia, Ontario in the summer 1990 on the second long road trip of my North American odyssey and saw the City of Orillia sign (population 27000) it proclaimed proudly "Orillia Home of Gordon Lightfoot."  

(picture credit unknown)

I allowed myself a wry smile for the Canadian troubadour known worldwide for his hits 'If you could read my mind' and 'Sundown'. Orillia and Canada are rightly proud of this song-writing genius. He wrote many songs over his long career and the two mentioned are the ones most will remember hearing. There are many others. His songs caught the mood of those late sixties early seventies singer songwriter times with their beautiful melodies and lyrical turns.

His death at the age 84 robs the world of a master tunesmith but what a legacy he leaves. Over a run of albums from his debut 'Lightfoot!' in 1966 through the 1970s and 1980s he established a reputation as a songwriters songwriter with his songs covered by Elvis, Bob Dylan and many others. In 1976 he had a hit with a song named 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald' a song about the tragic sinking of an ore freighter in Lake Superior. It was an unlikely hit being longer than the radio standard but caught  contemporary interest in the tragedy and told the story of the victims. 

The outpouring of emotion on his death from across the world and especially the music world in Canada and beyond illustrates the reach that he had, how familiar people are with his music and how his songs connected to people. That is the testament to a great artist. 

The Bonnevilles - Live and Loud at Sneaky Pete's

 

I can never get over just how much sheer rock'n'roll noise the Bonnevilles make. The economy of one guitar and one drum kit combined with powerful playing of Andy and Chris produces a visceral music that clears away not just the cobwebs but everything in it's path.

Opening their set with 'Down to the River' and 'Good Suits and Fighting Boots' their garage punk blues rock sound does not mess around - at one point Andy asks Chris 'what time is it?' and the answer comes back '20 past 9' which brings the retort 'what? fuck we're playing these songs too fast!' 

The set covers the run of albums so far released and these songs are more than road tested but still as fresh and exhilarating as when I first saw them in Leith Franklin Cricket Club years ago (when I  realised there were only two Bonnevilles making that incredible racket). 

Tonight was the opening night of their UK tour and the energy was incredible. They did pace themselves with a slow 'Kneel at the Altar' and a long story of two fan boys playing at Junior Kimbrough's Juke Joint during a US tour. There's some audience participation when Andy descends from the stage and some new songs from a forthcoming album and its a wrap. The Bonnevilles are easily one of the most powerful live acts you can hope to see - no pretention just maximum rock'n'blues. How was your Tuesday night?

https://thebonnevilles.co.uk/

Shame - Rivoli, Toronto

 This short review was originally published in TLN in January 1991.

A Scottish group playing downtown Toronto promoting an album so far unreleased in their home country?

As the Canadians say "eh?" Shame play an invigorating set containing a wealth of new material. Live Shame shake off the studio bound feel of the album 'Symi', creating a music which aches for a larger audience. And that is a shame.

Short and sharp it was in the TLN Short Lives section. Shame were a band lead by Norman Rodger ex TV21. I caught up with them in Ottawa and travelled with them to Toronto where they played live on a local cable station and in the afternoon and the Rivoli that night.

Shame by Shame

Robert Forster - The Mash House

 It's been a long time since I bought that Postcard Records single and first release for the Go-Betweens 'I need Two Heads' and finally seeing one of the driving forces of that band live. 

It's been a journey since those years of the Go-Betweens producing critically acclaimed albums but somehow success seeming forever out of reach. Solo careers with the same outcome, the return of the Go-Betweens then the death of Grant Mclennan, more solo music. Throughout Robert Forster has continued to produce interestingly offbeat songs with an angularity and an increasingly poignant feel.

So I find myself, finally, in a venue to see this singular talent on tour to sing the songs from his latest album 'The Candle and the Flame'. It's Robert backed by his son Louis on guitar and bass.

The night features the bulk of the new album from the biting punkiness of 'She's a Fighter' to the reflectiveness of 'Tender Years' and 'The Roads'. The new songs sit well with the revisited Go-Betweens songs that are scattered through the set, 'Spring Rain' and 'Rock'n'Roll Friend' get a warm reception but  the new songs do too 'There's a Reason to Live' and 'When I was a Young Man' capture the mood well. As a writer I've always felt listening to his songs that they sound like short fiction, its like Raymond Carver or Sam Shepard had put their stories to music. Robert maintains an easy and droll banter with the audience throughout and seems genuinely moved by how warmly he is received. He finishes the night with 'Head Full of Steam' and everyone goes away happy.

 

Independence and Building a Nation

 This article was prompted by trying to process the announcement from Nicola Sturgeon that she was standing down as First Minister of Scotland and SNP Leader. It doesn't have the answers and is a personal view based on my experience as an SNP member, organiser and veteran of the 2012-2014 Independence referendum campaign.  

The problem for the SNP and the independence movement is not necessarily the intransigence of Westminster over consent for a section 30 order and a new independence referendum but actually in continually seeking of a referendum when the answer is always no. As Labour leader Keir Starmer has also backed the no section 30 order mantra the road to independence via a referendum appears narrowed to the point of being unpassable. Increasingly shrill elements of the independence movement attack the SNP, its government and increasingly the First Minister for this impasse. The target should be the Tories and Labours denial of democracy.

The campaign for independence has become the campaign to get a referendum with the hope and vision of an independence prospectus playing second fiddle. Even when that independence vision was talked about it seemed to obsess on things like the currency and independent Scotland would use or split on whether to re-join the EU or apply to EFTA (the latter option is a minority view but a vocal one). By focussing on these issues divisions are created rather than consensus. There is a lack of a forum to create that consensus as the Scottish Independence Convention seemed to go mute after staging a huge meeting in the Edinburgh Usher Hall which should have resulted in the establishment of a means to progress the wider independence campaign. That didn’t happen despite a multiplicity of groups and organisations advocating for an independent Scotland some of which were set up to try and fill that vacuum.

Maybe now is time to put aside obsession with getting a referendum and focus on better governance for Scotland and importantly the furtherance of Scottish interests. That can be seen widely as the Scotland that independence can build but can also be seen in the Scotland that home-rule can build. We’ve seen some of that with the creation of Social Security Scotland and changing the narrative around benefits; it is also evident in the changes to the tax system to redistribute wealth in Scotland. Both come from recently accrued powers from Westminster. Other areas where creating a different Scotland could be realised are in the area of Social Care where though work has started there are contentious issues that need to be resolved and if they can be worked through Scotland can again show that solutions made here in our nation can make Scotland better. Other bold areas could include reform of local government – our councils need autonomy starting with the way they are funded. Empowering local government and trusting them to make good decisions should be the sign of a confident national government. Decentralising decision making should be the watchword and one that could go further within local government itself.

This process of nation building is something that can build confidence towards independence as electors see positive changes that affect their lives. If a good governance can produce tangibly good outcomes with a devolved Parliament then confidence can be built in the ability of an independent Scotland can do even better.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s and into the early terms of the Scottish Parliament the fault line in the SNP was one of gradualist vs fundamentalist. Put simply the gradualist method believe building support and powers in the Scottish Parliament could see all but independence achieved while the fundamentalist line was complete independence achieved in an instant. The misguided 1992 General Election slogan ‘Free by 93’ was fundamentalist hubris and while it raised aspirations at least for those in the SNP it failed miserably at the polls. Instant-ism is not a great political philosophy. The SNP independence strategy in the 1990s (and before) was to win a majority of Westminster seats and then negotiate independence. That changed with the coming of the Scottish Parliament and the SNP adopted a formal policy of holding a referendum on independence following an election victory. That strategy was one of gradualism. Voters could vote for the SNP in an election without committing to supporting independence. As a political strategy it worked - SNP support rose to the point where after winning the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections the UK Government recognised the legitimacy of the call for a referendum and permission was granted. If there was a flaw in the SNP policy it was that there was no right for the Scottish Parliament to call a referendum again without asking for permission from the UK Government. More recently an independence referendum has been seen almost as an article of faith for the independence movement. The IndyRef2 syndrome that needed a date before serious campaigning could start. At times it felt like a referendum was needed even if the outcome was rejection.

There is a real danger that if another independence referendum is lost the independence project will be derailed indefinitely. You only need to look at present day Quebec to see a becalmed independence movement. The Quebec sovereigntist feeling still exists – indeed three of the parties elected to the National Assembly would call themselves sovereigntists and currently they are in the majority but talk of a fresh referendum on Quebec independence is muted. In the most recent parliamentary by-election the Quebec Liberals attacked Quebec Solidaire for having members who support a fresh referendum. The latter won the by-election but there is so far no re-ignition of the sovereignty debate.

We are in an uncertain time for our own independence movement. We are dealing with a UK Tory government that practises a muscular unionism to interfere in Scotland. They have made it clear that a referendum will not be permitted and Labour as putative government in waiting echo that.

Some argue that there is a glimmer of hope in Gordon Brown's 'Commission on the UK's Future' and it's talk of strengthening Scotland's economic powers though it is all couched in terms of co-operation and mutual benefit so may not offer the autonomy Scotland needs over various matters such as increased control of welfare or immigration to name two. If Labour do win the next UK General Election the SNP should hold them to deliver on the recommendations as they affect Scotland and push for further devolution. The question for Labour is how much they are willing to give. The other side of that may be based on whether they make any inroads in terms of winning seats from the SNP in Scotland. Though even if they do win more seats there is no evidence that a Devo-Max Labour exists anymore. 

That is why it is important to have strong and cohesive SNP group of MPs at Westminster and it will be as important if not even more so if and when Labour takes over from the Conservatives. It is therefore important that we do not lose what we've built and work now to empower a new case for independence. The responsibility for getting that out to the public will be with the grassroots of the party - no more waiting for the starting gun to be fired or a date to be set. The case for the powerful government that independence can deliver needs to be communicated door to door. It is those conversations that will identify both the appetite for independence and the issues that actually concern voters so that they can be addressed. If as a party the SNP can make progress on that surely the wider independence movement will shake off the cobwebs and get out there with their vision of an independent Scotland as well. There were many strands in the 2014 independence campaign and there is a need to energise that multiplicity again.  

The new SNP leader will have to grapple with these issues and chart a way forward that builds on what autonomy Scotland has, seeks to further that autonomy, stands up for Scotland's interests and watches the political weather for the opportunity to get to independence.