THE immediate consequence of the recent victory of Donald Trump and his Republican allies in the American elections has been to embolden the far-right.

We in Scotland are not immune to this. Scotland has long had its own far-right intolerant nationalism in the shape of the Orange Order, a disease of British nationalism which continues to make its presence felt in our streets, creating a deeply threatening atmosphere for pro-independence Scots and Scots with an Irish heritage.

Now the boldness of the far-right in Scotland has taken a disturbing and brazen turn with reports that neo-Nazis plan to gather in Bathgate this weekend for a so-called "white power concert". According to the anti-racism charity Hope not Hate, it has received information that up to 150 neo-Nazis, including a "sizeable contingent of boneheads from Germany" will descend on the town for an event featuring fascist bands and music.

The name of the venue has not been released as organisers seek to keep details of the event a secret in order to prevent it from being cancelled or swamped by anti-racism protesters. In 2022 a similar event planned in the town was cancelled after details leaked out in advance.

READ MORE: Anas Sarwar is unsurprisingly keeping quiet on hospital league tables

Hope Not Hate said the alleged event this Saturday would feature Ken McLellan of the neo-Nazi and Rock Against Communism skinhead band Brutal Attack, whose songs include “Rivers Of Blood", a phrase from Enoch Powell's notoriously racist and anti-immigration speech in the 1960s, and "White Pride/White Passion".

Rock Against Communism was originally the name of a white-power rock concert that took place in the United Kingdom in the late 70s and early 80s. The lyrics are typically racist, antisemitic, violent, and mainly focus on white nationalism. McLellan is very much in this vein with songs glorifying the Holocaust and the Nazis in WW2.

The wider Rock against Communism movement originated in 1978, and was associated with the far right racist party the National Front. It was intended to be the far right's response to the Rock Against Racism organisation. Brutal Attack has been in existence since 1980, being formed in response to the American punk band the Dead Kennedys' song released that year entitled "Nazi Punks - F**k Off". Brutal Attack has been called one of the oldest hate bands in continuous existence, and characterised by the music magazine Spin as "If any band represents modern hate music, it’s this one."

Also said to be on the lineup for the fascist-fest in Bathgate are Brad Hollamby of the band Bulldog Breed, whose albums are banned from being sold on the record collectors’ site Discogs, and Benny Bullman from the band Whitelaw, a band whose name tells you all you need to know, their album Echoes from the Past features British Union of Fascists leader Oswald Mosely on its album artwork.

Police Scotland have been made aware of Hope Not Hate's claims and are investigating. Should the event go ahead it threatens to make Bathgate a no-go zone for ethnic minorities and members of the LGBT community. But I'm sure that certain flute band types will welcome them with open arms, even though the service men and women from WW2 whom they claim to honour fought and died to keep Nazis out of Britain. Right-wing bigotry doesn't do irony.

Anas Sarwar has been left with egg on his face after a man whom Sarwar dismissed as a fringe figure has been given a junior government position.

Josh Simons, who before becoming an MP was director of the highly influential right-wing think tank Labour Together, has been appointed a private parliamentary secretary to Environment Secretary Steve Reed, in a promotion from the backbenches which could help him land a Government job later.

Being appointed as a private parliamentary secretary to a government minister is generally seen as the first rung on the ladder to a later ministerial career. Morgan McSweeney, Simons' predecessor as director of Labour Together, was recently appointed as Keir Starmer's chief of staff.

In February this year, Simons was at the centre of controversy after he said that the Government should put people-smuggling gangs on a barge and "then ship the barge up to the north of Scotland, for all I care." He also said that his only issue with the previous government's immoral Rwanda deportation plan was that it wasn't good value for money. As criticism grew following the comments, Sarwar tried to dismiss Simons as a fringe figure. Yet that "fringe" figure appears to have considerably more influence over Labour Government policy than Anas Sarwar does.

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said that Brexit has undermined the UK economy and called for relations with EU to be rebuilt as Trump plans US tariffs which threaten a global trade war. No longer a member of the EU trading block, the UK economy is more exposed to potential risk than other large European economies.

Starmer is opposed to re-entering the EU’s single market or customs union and is determined to maintain the hard Brexit bequeathed by the Conservatives out of fear of the right-wing press and the rise of Reform UK.

Starmer hopes to win more modest changes from Brussels such as mutual recognition of professional qualifications and a veterinary agreement that could alleviate the need for checks on food exports. This is the economic equivalent of treating someone bleeding to death from a gaping wound with paracetamol.

(Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)

Naturally, BBC Scotland has demanded that Sarwar give a response to Andrew Bailey's condemnation of Brexit and his implicit call for a much closer relationship with the EU in order to protect Scotland and the UK from the global consequences of Trump's economic vandalism.

Naa, don't be silly, they haven't even asked. The Scottish Government minister with responsibility for football went to some football matches, that's the really important issue this week. This is the very kind of partisan media stupidity which has led to the political king of stupidity and his henchmen taking over the American Government.

This piece is an extract from today’s REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug.

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