Skip to content

About Us

The Jimmy Reid Foundation has been established in memory of Jimmy Reid and to continue the legacy of radical political thinking his life represented. The object of the JRF is the advancement of education.

The Foundation is an independent ‘think tank’ and advocacy group focused on practical policy proposals for transforming Scotland, which are based on analysis and investigation of the current Scottish and global political, cultural and social situation.
The Jimmy Reid Foundation was set up to include the full range of progressive politics in Scotland.  All the work of The Reid Foundation is based on a series of underpinning principles drawn from Jimmy’s own thinking:

  • That society should be based on equality and social justice
  • That people should have the democratic power to influence their workplace and social institutions
  • That quality of life should be at the forefront of political debate and not an afterthought
  • That justice can only come from peace and support for human rights
  • That ideas, learning, arts and culture have the power to transform society and individuals
  • That all these principles are underpinned by the importance of national identity and a vision for Scotland

The Jimmy Reid Foundation has been set up by the Scottish Left Review Editorial Board (www.scottishleftreview.org) – the SLR was Jimmy’s last major political project.

The Jimmy Reid Foundation commenced activities as an SCIO on 1st April 2022. It was previously an activity of Left Review Scotland Ltd, a not-for-profit company established in 1999; all its annual accounts up to 2022 are available at Companies House. In recent years the turnover has averaged £40k per year. The company’s main activities were the publication of Scottish Left Review magazine and occasional papers on progressive economic and social issues. All assets of the company amounting to £31K were transferred to the SCIO, and the company is in the process of being wound up. The funding of the Foundation is made up of affiliation fees from trade unions, regular donations from sustaining members, occasional donations and the surplus from the sales of Scottish Left Review magazine. The Trustees have agreed that the first accounts of the SCIO for the period ending 1st April 2023 will be published on the website and annually thereafter.

Our structure
The Jimmy Reid Foundation is run by the Interim Director, Dave Watson, and the Foundation’s Project Board. The Project Board sets and oversees the work of the Foundation.
The membership of the Project Board is as follows:
Chair – Lynn Henderson, PCS union national officer and deputy-chair – Mike Danson (Heriot Watt)
Board members: Stephen Deans (Unite Scotland regional officer), Ruth Dukes (University of Glasgow), Carole Ewart (human rights consultant), Andrea Bradley (Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) union), Dr Eurig Scandrett (Queen Margaret University), Bob Thomson (former UNISON officer), Dave Watson (Policy consultant), Pat Kelly, Lilian Macer (UNISON Scotland) and Mary Alexander (Unite)