THE Scottish Left Review magazine has reached a significant milestone with its 125th September/October 2021 issue. In doing so, we have outlasted any other left magazine published in Scotland in the post-war period.

Radical Scotland, which emerged out of the SNP’s left-wing ’79 group, lasted just 51 issues between 1982 and 1991.

We were founded in 2000 by veteran UCS work-in leader and former communist, Jimmy Reid, as his last political project. 

He gathered around him significant figures on the left, of different parties (Communist, Labour, SNP) and none, to draw up a left-wing agenda that he hoped would influence the newly re-established Scottish Parliament, in particular, but also society in Scotland more widely.

Bob Thomson, former Unison official and former chair of the Scottish Labour Party, has been the key link between then and today. 

Sustained by a loyal base of subscribers, support from many different unions and much voluntary labour over and above of that of Thomson, on a bi-monthly basis, Scottish Left Review has provided left commentary and critical analysis. 

Beginning by training its fire on Blairism and New Labour, the magazine has successfully navigated its way through challenging times for the radical left. Prime amongst these have been two sides of the same coin. 

First, the decline of not just “old” Labour but the decay of Scottish Labour itself as it headed both rightwards and downwards, in the process vacating the territory of social democracy to the SNP.  

And, second, the dominance of the SNP as the governing party that talks left but whose words are seldom matched by its deeds. In the process, the SNP has monopolised what is commonly understood to be left-wing but very much in the manner of the “emperor’s new clothes.”

On top of that, Scottish Left Review has weathered the fractious implosion of what was one of the few bright developments for the left, namely, the Scottish Socialist Party, after it gained six MSPs in the Scottish Parliament in 2003.

It also steered a course through the independence and Brexit debates not only by not taking sides but by specifically allowing all the views of the left on these matters to get a fair but critical airing within its pages.

This sense of consensus-building where possible and recognising differences and facilitating honest debate between them — as well as looking outside just party politics to examine politics as a whole — has helped sustain Scottish Left Review. It now has many more people willing to write for it than ever. All are unpaid. 

In 2011, a year to the day of Reid’s death, Scottish Left Review established the Jimmy Reid Foundation.

Over its life so far, the Foundation has produced nearly 100 publications (policy papers, pamphlets, briefing notes) and organised dozens of meetings, mostly recently on the fiftieth anniversary of the UCS work-in.

Its well-attended annual lectures have featured Jeremy Corbyn, Len McCluskey and Nicola Sturgeon amongst others. We are delighted that this year, STUC general secretary, Roz Foyer will deliver the lecture on Thursday October 7 on a “people’s recovery.”

So, what of the influence and impact of Scottish Left Review? It has provided an intellectual resource for many by critiquing, for example, the nature of neoliberal independence which holds sway with much of the SNP leadership.

It has given extensive coverage to the arguments and actions of those in the environmental movement that believe fighting for climate change also requires fighting for system change. We have intensified this up prior to the Glasgow Cop26 climate conference later this year.

Has Scottish Left Review led to any new legislation in the Scottish Parliament? No, is the blunt, sobering and honest answer — though that may be setting the bar a little high given the tight management of Parliament by the mainstream political parties. 

Nonetheless, there are certainly instances of influence within Parliament though. For example, in calling for the resignation of then Scottish Labour leader, Kezia Dugdale, in September 2017 after she made clear her opposition to Corbyn, a senior Labour insider in the pages of the Scotsman attributed Scottish Left Review a crucial role in ratcheting up the pressure on her to go.

Of course, what came next in the form of Richard Leonard’s leadership of Scottish Labour, which Scottish Left Review critically supported, was unfortunately short-lived. 

Like the Morning Star, Scottish Left Review has — albeit for a shorter and more modest period of time — worked hard to survive and prosper in order to be able to take advantage of the political opportunities that are presented to the left by the crisis of capitalism and its neoliberal variant. Indeed, still being on the scene is no mean achievement but, as ever, that is necessary but not sufficient.  

So, it is with some wind in its sails that Scottish Left Review looks forward to reaching its 200th issue. We will continue not to only critique the SNP, Scottish Labour and Scottish Greens from a left perspective but also put forward a left alternative to them and build support for those that agree with this perspective.

You can help us to this so by subscribing and supporting us at www.scottishleftreview.scot where you can read all 125 issues for free.

Professor Gregor Gall is editor of Scottish Left Review and director of the Jimmy Reid Foundation.