An event to mark 202 years since Scottish workers tried to overthrow the government will take place in Paisley this weekend.
The Radical Uprising, also known as the Scottish Insurrection of 1820, was a week of strikes and unrest, a culmination of Radical demands for political reform under the banner of ‘Scotland Free or a Desert’.
Artisan workers, particularly weavers in Scotland, sought action to reform an uncaring government, however the gentry, fearing a revolution, recruited militia whilst the government deployed an apparatus of spies, informers and agents provocateurs to stamp out the movement.
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Renfrewshire was one of the key areas within the uprising and a monument to the main leaders – Andrew Hardie, John Baird and James Wilson, who were executed for their actions – stands in Woodside Cemetery, Paisley.
Local SNP activists often hold an even at the cemetery and this year it will be held this Saturday, August 27 with a walk from the entrance of the cemetery at 11.30am for a procession to the Martys Monument for 12 noon.
SNP Councillor John McNaughtan said: “I’ve had a few people contacting me to check if there would be a commemoration this year and when it would happen.
“I’m hoping as many people as possible will make it along to this event as it highlights an important part of Paisley’s and Scotland’s history.”
Councillor Kenny MacLaren added: “It’s important to commemorate the actions of the 1820 Uprising, where ordinary Scots stood up to the British state to try to fight for greater freedoms including a Parliament for Scotland.
“The world of 1820 was a different world than that of today. The normal working day started at 5.30am, and it was a 14-hour day with child labour a common occurrence.
“But here today in modern Scotland, in modern Paisley, we see the modern scandal of the food banks.
“Where the poorest of our modern, rich, hi-tech society queue up to receive food handouts to save them from the pangs of hunger which would have been familiar to many of Paisley’s residents in 1820. Some things change but some remain the same.
“In 1820 Baird, Hardie, Wilson and their comrades lit a torch that has passed down 200 years. Their dream is still unfulfilled. Our dream is unfulfilled until Scotland is an independent nation.
“The choice is as clear today as it was in 1820 – Scotland free or a Desert.”
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