The University of Aberdeen plays host to a major event on Friday, 1st December, at 1.00 pm in the King’s College Conference Centre, marking the 25th anniversary of Gordon Brown's first and seminal book, the Red Paper on Scotland.
Written while Brown was a 24 year-old student Rector of Edinburgh University, the Red Paper was a daring political tract which not only set out the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s early political thinking but brought together some of the most notable thinkers and politicians of the time, including the now Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and the playwright John McGrath. It was also formative in establishing the devolution agenda.
The one-day conference – organised by Fraser MacDonald and Andy Cumbers - brings together a number of celebrated political, academic and media commentators to ask whether the Red Paper can speak to a 21st century Scottish politics.
Assessing the historical importance of the Red Paper are original contributors Owen Dudley Edwards and Tom Nairn who join other journalists and academics such as The Observer’s Neal Ascherson, Guardian economics editor, Larry Elliott and feminist writer Sheila Rowbotham.
To conclude the event, a new generation of politicians will lead a plenary discussion on the contemporary relevance of the book. These include Scottish Health Minister Susan Deacon, Kenny McAskill, Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Spokesperson, as well as Labour and Scottish Socialist MSPs John McAllion and Tommy Sheridan.
Writing recently in The Observer, Neal Ascherson described how the Red Paper 'lit up the Scottish political scene like a lightning flash' with its powerful message that ‘devolution can lead to socialism or – put cautiously – constitutional change can lead to social justice’.
Having enlisted many of the key thinkers in the quarter century since the publication of the Red Paper, the conference will set out an agenda for the future of the Left in Scotland, addressing topics as diverse as the impact of globalisation, the widening gap between rich and poor and the evolving political landscape in a post-Dewar Scotland.
‘It was such a seminal book’ said Fraser MacDonald. ‘But it is surprising how many people have forgotten about it, including, perhaps, Gordon Brown himself. Unlike many of the other contributors to the Red Paper he seems reluctant to recall the time when he advocated public ownership and community democracy, and yet these are themes which still have a contemporary resonance’.
Conference organiser Andy Cumbers, said: 'It will be a unique occasion, involving politicians, media commentators and academics on the Left, coming together to discuss the legacy of Gordon Brown's Red Paper. It is also significant that it takes place at a time when there is a growing global anti-capitalist movement and socialist ideas appear to be coming back onto the political agenda in Scotland.’
Further information from:
Fraser MacDonald or Andy Cumbers, Arkleton Centre for Rural Development Research Tel (01224) 273901
Website: www.abdn.ac.uk/arkleton/redpaper
University Press Office on telephone +44 (0)1224-273778 or email a.ramsay@admin.abdn.ac.uk.