Edinburgh Unemployed Workers Centre
Edinburgh Unemployed Workers Centre, also called Broughton Unemployed Workers Centre or simply "The Centre", was an organisation set up by the local Labour Party in Edinburgh, Scotland, as a means of aiding the local unemployed find work in 1981.
However, it soon became independent from the Labour Party and individuals involved became prominent in various social movements of the period, including resistance to the Poll Tax.[citation needed] The Labour Party objected and the council inspected the building and it was shut down. Activists resisted its eviction by occupying the premises until 1 December 1994.[1][2][3] The Centre was frequently in the pages of the local paper, the Broughton Spurtle.[4] The Centre was home to Edinburgh claimants during this period. The collective associated with the Centre was the precursor to what was to become the Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh.[5]
The Edinburgh poet Paul Reekie wrote a poem, "Kiss ma hole",[6] dedicated to the Centre and the Glaswegian writer James Kelman gave a speech at its opening.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ "Auld Reekie anarchy". libcom.org. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "The Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh". 29 April 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "Brougton Spurtle Issue 203" (PDF).
- ^ "Broughton Spurtle Issue 202" (PDF).
- ^ "History of ACE - The Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh". The Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "Counterinfo Lab – Kiss ma hole: autonomous struggles in Scottish politics and culture | Scottish Radical Library". srl.autonomous.org.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ Kelman, James (10 August 2012). And the Judges Said&…: Essays. Birlinn. ISBN 9780857901415.
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