Tommy Sheridan - Why Independence is the Only Way to Change Scotland
Episode notes
Tommy Sheridan is a Scottish socialist politician and activist who served as a Glasgow city councillor and as a Member of the Scottish Parliament from 1999 to 2007, representing the Scottish Socialist Party. He rose to national prominence in the late 1980s as a leading figure in the campaign against the Community Charge in Scotland, a mass civil disobedience movement that contributed to the tax's abolition. In 2010 he was convicted of perjury arising from a defamation case against the News of the World and sentenced to three years in prison; he is currently standing as a candidate for the Alliance to Liberate Scotland in the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
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- 00:00 — Breaking the poll tax
- 03:00 — Alba's collapse and the Alliance to Liberate Scotland
- 06:10 — Craig Murray and the gender debate
- 10:16 — Electoral polling and the party political broadcast
- 14:05 — Why return to politics
- 15:28 — MSP salaries and political accountability
- 18:29 — Democracy and Accountability Bill
- 22:16 — Bedroom tax and the 2014 referendum campaign
- 25:51 — Scottish pound, EU and EFTA
- 31:23 — Blacklisted by Glasgow City Council
- 35:21 — Political awakening: his mother and trade unionism
- 41:27 — The poll tax and the road to independence
- 45:07 — Socialism and nationalism
- 54:31 — Scotland's natural wealth and energy
- 57:54 — Privatisation and public ownership
- 01:09:19 — Immigration and inequality
- 01:36:39 — Voting strategy: why give Alliance your regional vote
Relevant Links
Alliance to Liberate Scotland: https://liberatescot.scot/
John Maclean by Nan Milton (Book)
\The Enemy Within by Seumas Milne (Book)