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John Murdoch: A Land and Labour Pioneer
James D. Young, Calgacus No 2, Summer 1975
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(To read five of John Murdoch's Editorials - click here)
In his introductory piece - Tir 'is Teanga, which set the scene for Young's article, Ray Burnett the editor of Calgacus, made this insightful observation on the role of land agitation in shaping the agenda of the emergent Scottish labour movement.
"In the late 19th century things were very different. All over Scotland from Shetland to the Clyde valley land agitation played a major and often a key role in the development of the Scottish labour movement independent of Scottish Liberalism. What is more, in the Scottish towns and cities the minority socialist presence in the emergent labour movement was successfully able to use the 'land question' and the agitation for land nationalisation as a basic weapon in their armoury. Allied to the miners agitation against private ownership of mineral wealth it became a key factor in the heightening of class consciousness amongst working men."
The debt we owe to these early pioneers is inestimable. One of the most remarkable was John Murdoch …"