When Archibald Primrose, the 5th Earl of Rosebery, opened Glasgow’s People Palace in 1898, he declared it "open to the people for ever and ever".
The building stands as a monument to the men and women whose lives, labour and struggles built Scotland’s largest city.
This week, however, Glasgow Life – an arms-length body of Glasgow City Council – announced that the reopening of the People’s Palace, which had been closed since 2024, had been delayed indefinitely.
The news mirrors similar – but ultimately unsuccessful – efforts to close Edinburgh’s People’s Story Museum in recent years.
This week, Coll McCail is joined by Jim Slaven and Dan Hutchison to discuss the campaign to protect Scotland’s working-class history
Jim is a member of the James Connolly Society and was heavily involved in the campaign to save the People’s Story. He writes the Solidarity Not Charity substack.
Dan is a Glasgow City Councillor for Ibrox who joined Your Party and left the Scottish Greens in October 2025.
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