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Cat Boyd

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Cat Boyd (born 15 March 1985) is a Scottish trade union activist who was a co-founder of the Radical Independence Campaign and the Scottish Left Project. She was a prominent figure during the Scottish independence referendum, 2014.

She is one of the people credited with bringing together RISE - Scotland's Left Alliance, a left-wing electoral alliance created ahead of the 2016 Scottish Parliament general election. She stood, unsuccessfully, as a RISE candidate for the 2016 Scottish Parliament election on the Glasgow regional list. She writes a weekly column for the The National newspaper.

Background

Boyd studied International Politics at the University of Strathclyde, and is a member of the Public and Commercial Services Union. She was a member of the International Socialist Group (Scotland), although unlike many people in that group she did not come from a background in the Socialist Workers Party. Her mother, Isabelle Boyd, is a former headteacher and has a CBE.[1]

Activist

It was during the campaign ahead of the Scottish independence referendum that Boyd emerged as a prominent activist. In November 2012 she co-founded the Radical Independence Campaign, which supported a left-wing vision of an independent Scotland.[2] Boyd also sat on the editorial board of the Scottish Left Review.[3]

While the outcome of the referendum was "No" to independence, analysis of voting patterns suggested that this new coalition in Scottish politics had led to a significant change in political opinion in many of Scotland's more deprived communities.[4] In the months that followed, a new coalition was forming, called the Scottish Left Project. Boyd described the project not as a party but a way to link up with other socialists, community activists, trade unions, social justice campaigners and activists.[3]

Boyd was jeered on BBC Question Time (17 Nov 2016) when, after condemning the 2016 vote for Brexit, she admitted that she herself had not voted in the EU referendum.[5][6]

RISE

Boyd was seen as a spokesperson as speculation grew around a socialist challenge being formed for the Scottish Parliament elections in 2016,[7] having been involved with protests against austerity[8] and appearing at The Left Field at the 2015 Glastonbury Festival.[9] She had cited the need for a new left-wing force on the basis that she considered the Labour party to have collapsed.[10]

She also spoke against involving figures like Tommy Sheridan who had been seen as divisive.[11] She was hopeful about momentum of the project in reviving a socialist movement in Scotland.[12] After the alliance was launched at the end of August, with support from the Scottish Socialist Party,[13][14] Boyd said she thought RISE would appeal to ex-Labour voters.[15]

In January 2016, RISE announced that they had selected Boyd as a candidate for the Scottish Parliament election in 2016 and that she would top their regional list for Glasgow.[16][17] She lost the election and RISE did not gain any seats nationally, polling just 1% in Glasgow and coming eighth (behind Sheridan's Solidarity movement).

Writer

Boyd co-wrote Scottish Independence: A Feminist Response with Jenny Morrison, a book published in 2014, exploring the contemporary relevance of Scottish feminist history.[18][19] On the 2015 International Women's Day she spoke about women and the referendum at a meeting at Sinn Féin's Ard Fheis.[20]

She has also been an advocate of social justice and internationalism.[21]

Boyd writes a weekly column that is published in The National, a Scottish daily compact newspaper.[22]

References

  1. ^ Gordon, Tom (27 March 2016). ""We want to take the fight for ordinary people right into the parliament, right into the belly of the beast, and shake things up a bit."". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Radical Independence Campaign launches 'People's Vow'". BBC News. 22 November 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b Boyd, Cat (14 December 2014). "Left needs to fightback against Blairite". Scotland on Sunday. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  4. ^ Maxwell, Jamie (22 September 2014). "Post-No Scotland: should the SNP have made a more radical offer?". New Statesman. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  5. ^ Jason Allardyce (20 November 2016). "Jeers for left-wing activist who danced when Thatcher died". The Times.
  6. ^ Tom Gordon (18 November 2016). "Yes campaigner who condemned EU leave campaign jeered over Brexit vote abstention". Herald Scotland.
  7. ^ Gordon, Tom (24 May 2015). "'Scottish Syriza' to stand at next Holyrood election". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  8. ^ Duffy, Judith (20 June 2015). "More than a thousand attend anti-austerity protest in Glasgow". The Herald. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Left Field: 2015 debates". www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk. Glastonbury Festival. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  10. ^ "Big Question: would a one-party state be a disaster for Scotland?". Prospect. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  11. ^ Hutcheon, Paul (3 May 2015). "Sheridan's fight against perjury conviction suffers setback". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  12. ^ Gordon, Tom (7 June 2015). "'Scottish Syriza' gains support from left in Greece, Spain and Canada". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  13. ^ "SCOTTISH SOCIALISTS BACK BUILDING NEW LEFT ALLIANCE". 24 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  14. ^ "Colin Fox: closing speech to the RISE Conference". Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  15. ^ Carrell, Severin (19 September 2015). "Scotland's Rise alliance ready to challenge SNP in Holyrood". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  16. ^ "RISE announce list". Bella Caledonia. 6 January 2016.
  17. ^ Gordon, Tom (29 November 2015). "Scotland's Syriza promises radical socialist manifesto for Holyrood election". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  18. ^ Allan, Vicky (17 August 2014). "A don't-know state of mind". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  19. ^ Dunn, Sinead (29 September 2014). "A readable, robust and unapologetic feminist voice". International Viewpoint. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  20. ^ Rummery, Kirstein (12 March 2015). "Reflections on Women in Scottish Politics after International Women's Day". www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  21. ^ Boyd, Cat (21 December 2014). "Westminster simply doesn't work". The Scotsman. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  22. ^ "Latest articles by Cat Boyd". The National. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
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