Name Allan Grogan | ||
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Political party Scottish Labour Party, Scottish Socialist Party | ||
Exclusive allan grogan s speech scottish independence rally sept 2012
Allan Grogan is a Scottish political activist in Angus, an ex-professional wrestler, and the founder of the Labour for Independence (LFI) campaign. Since October 2014, he has been a member of the Scottish Socialist Party.
Contents
- Exclusive allan grogan s speech scottish independence rally sept 2012
- Yes in the Park Allan Grogan Scottish Independence Rally Strathclyde Park 7th June
- Political career
- References
Yes in the Park Allan Grogan Scottish Independence Rally Strathclyde Park 7th June
Political career
Grogan was a Labour sympathiser, joining the Labour Party in his late-teens. He remained a member into his early-twenties, until he left the UK to work in Asia. He returned to Scotland and rejoined the party in 2010, working for it in election campaigns.
In 2012, he launched LFI as a "home" for pro-indy Labour voters, and spoke out against Labour's decision to join the Conservatives in the Better Together campaign.
In 2014, Grogan was invited to make the case for Scottish independence at a Scottish Labour spring conference fringe event hosted by the Law Society of Scotland. He shared a platform with Shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran and former First Minister Henry McLeish.
McLeish urged conference attendees to be "tolerant of dissident voices" after Grogan's advocacy of a "Yes" vote prompted jeering from the audience. Writing after the debate, Grogan said that "independence need not mean UK lite, but a progressive nation that cares for all its citizens", and that Labour "can play the leading role in this, but it must accept their follies and embrace the need for real and lasting change".
After the referendum results were announced, Grogan left the Labour Party and stood down as LFI's co-convenor. In October 2014, Grogan joined the Scottish Socialist Party ahead of it's annual conference. Writing in the Scottish Socialist Voice, he admitted that the SSP "reflect the real socialist values that I have campaigned on during the referendum and throughout my life as a Labour Party member".
At the SSP's annual conference in May 2015, Grogan was elected to the party's ruling Executive Committee. He left the SSP in 2016, objecting to the SSP's involvement with RISE.