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 Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, 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. 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. The Centre was frequently in the pages of the local paper, the ''Broughton

Spurtle The spurtle (or "spurtel", "spurtil", "spirtle", or "") is a wooden Culture of Scotland, Scottish kitchen tool, dating from the 15th century, that is used to stir porridge, soups, stews, and broths. The rod-like shape means that porridge can b ...

''. 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 The Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, also known as ACE, is an infoshop and autonomous social centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1997, although it follows on from previous groups. Antecedents ACE formed out of the Edinburgh Unemplo ...

. The Edinburgh poet Paul Reekie wrote a poem, "Kiss ma hole", dedicated to the Centre and the

Glaswegian The Glasgow dialect, popularly known as the Glasgow patter or Glaswegian, varies from Scottish English at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum to the local dialect of West Central Scots at the other. Therefore, the speech of many Glaswegia ...

writer

James Kelman James Kelman (born 9 June 1946) is a Scottish novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist. His novel '' A Disaffection'' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 1989. Kelman won ...

gave a speech at its opening.

References

1981 establishments in Scotland 1994 disestablishments in Scotland Organisations based in Edinburgh Organizations established in 1981 Organizations disestablished in 1994 Political organisations based in Scotland Left-wing activism Unemployment in the United Kingdom {{Scotland-org-stub