IT has been a busy year for the Scottish Resistance.
The group, who describe themselves as a “peaceful movement of activists dedicated to restoring Scotland’s independence from the brainwashing power of the Westminster imperial masters”, have been on the fringes of Scottish political life for years. But this year was different. They’re still on the fringes, but now have a slightly higher profile, and some more members.
Their heckling of former Labour MPs Margaret Curran and Jim Murphy, and their attempt to have David Cameron arrested for war crimes, brought them to the attention of the national press.
And they’ve told The National that in 2016 they plan to go after Scottish Labour’s Kezia Dugdale, as well as SNP MP Phil Boswell and former SNP MP Natalie McGarry.
“We will be going after those politicians that are liars and hypocrites and protesting their hypocrisy, that’s whether they’re unionists or pro-independence parties,” Sean Clerkin, a prominent member of the resistance, tells The National.
Clerkin is known to every journalist in Scotland. In his time he has been part of, and possibly the sole member of Glasgow Against Atos, Glasgow Against Austerity, Glasgow Against Housing Stock Transfer and the Glasgow Homeowners Campaign. He is not a member of the SNP. He wears his politics on his sleeve. In 2010, the non-aligned socialist, as he describes himself, used a column in the Scotsman to call for a cap on immigration, claiming that “multiculturalism has gone far too far” and that the “indigenous” culture of Scotland was being “undermined.”
The Scottish Resistance are figures of fun for many. Recently a reproduction of their T-shirt by the anonymous Brian Spanner Twitter account became a thing, with columnists Alex Massie, David Torrance and comedian Al Murray buying and modelling them. Forty-six were sold in the end with £548 going to JK Rowling’s Lumos charity.
But, Clerkin says, they’ve never been more popular. “We’ve now got 7,000 members because of what we’re doing...”
How do you become a member? “People come on to our Facebook.”
You class members as people who like the Facebook group? “No they come and say they want to join us.”
But are the members just people on Facebook, they don’t pay fees?
“We’ve got 7,000 subscribers.”
People who subscribe to the Facebook page, that’s how you class membership? “We view the 7,000 subscribers as supporters because they continually come on and give our support to us.”
Three days before May’s election, outside the St Enoch Centre, Jim Murphy and a fairly bewildered Eddie Izzard spoke to handful of Labour party supporters who were surrounded by members of the Scottish Resistance who were in turn surrounded by members of the Scottish press. A shopper on his way into the St Enoch centre shouted: “You’re aw a bunch of fannies.”
It wasn’t clear if he was talking about Labour, the Scottish Resistance, the press, or all of us.
It was impossible for Murphy to speak at that event. Clerkin heckled him using a loudhailer. Others were shouting and holding banners. Every time Murphy tried to speak he was drowned out. In fairness the former Labour leader seemed to be having a huge amount of fun. But the Mail called it an ambush; the Evening Times wrote of “ugly scenes.”
“It was good old-fashioned political heckling,” Clerkin says. “If Jim Murphy had wanted to come off his podium and answer the criticisms we would have welcomed him to do so and we would have debated with him in a polite but forthright fashion.”
James Scott, the erstwhile leader and founder of the Resistance had his membership of the SNP suspended soon afterwards. Despite 50-odd emails and letters, Clerkin says the activist is still waiting for due process and an opportunity to defend himself.
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