Today marks the centenary of World War I as millions of people up and down the country attend events in remembrance of Britain’s war dead. The decision to wear a poppy in tribute is a personal one, but many choose to instead wear the white poppy of peace or no poppy at all out of principle. Some public figures have been shamed for refusing to wear a poppy, but Jonny Smart argues it’s been used to fuel British nationalism and legitimise the continuation of imperialist foreign policies…

This year marks a century since John Maclean returned to Glasgow after suffering imprisonment, force feeding and hard labour at Peterhead Prison. One of the great revolutionaries of the Red Clydeside era, Maclean was revered by Lenin and Trotsky and described as the British Military Intelligence as 'the most dangerous man in Britain’. Henry Bell, whose book 'John Maclean: Hero of Red Clydeside' is out now, writes for Conter about what inspired him to study the iconic figure, and why he believes his message still matters...

Only days after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he “wasn’t ruling out” consenting to a second Scottish independence referendum, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard seemed to signal this weekend it’s completely off the table if the party gets into power. But Rory Scothorne, writer and activist with Labour Campaign for Socialism, says Scottish Labour is ultimately still traumatised by the independence referendum and won’t be able to get over it until it develops a plan to transform the structures of the British state…

In the first of our ConterCast debates, recorded at Sunny Govan Community Radio’s studios and hosted by Conter editor Jonathan Rimmer, we discuss whether Labour is the most viable socialist project to get behind in Scotland.

This Monday, the first of many ConterCast debates will be held in association with Sunny Govan Radio. Conter ed team member and CommonSpace journalist David Jamieson will debate Labour activist and ex-candidate Laura Dover on the question: is Labour's road to socialism viable. In this piece, David Jamieson sets out why he believes socialists should resist the temptation to ‘pick a horse’, and instead develop a discussion around the crisis of the British state...