This Friday, US President Donald Trump will try to escape the continuing bad press about the Epstein scandal by travelling to one of his favourite places in the world, Scotland, to visit his two golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Turnberry, on Scotland’s West coast.
Landing in Aberdeen in the morning, Trump plans to visit his familiar haunts for four days, and is expected to meet both Scottish First Minister John Swinney and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Yet, Scotland’s welcome is going to be far from warm. A vibrant coalition of trade unions, justice campaigners, solidarity groups, and climate activists is orchestrating a “festival of resistance”.
From Saturday noon and onwards in the Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen to outside the American consulate in Edinburgh to ad-hoc demonstrations wherever Trump treads, Scots will once again show the world that the champions of authoritarianism and division are not welcome. We encourage all who can to take part—either by joining the protests in person, marking the occasion in your communities, or sharing messages of solidarity from across Europe.
The Scottish First Minister has declared that he will meet Trump in “Scotland’s interest” promising to “protect and promote” the nation while discussing tariffs, Gaza, and Ukraine. We encourage him to challenge the US President in a very public way on these important global issues. It would be naïve to hope that hearing an earnest defense of democracy and human rights from the leader of his mother’s native country could spur Trump to reflect on how to change course. But we nonetheless hope that Swinney will not shy away from pointing out unwelcome truths in the context of his diplomatic efforts.
Such leadership would be particularly vital in times when UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been showing a servile attitude towards Trump, which many across the UK have seen as yet another sign of Westminster’s failure. Keir Starmer’s weakness in challenging Trump on his stance on Palestine, Ukraine, and on his trade wars has contributed significantly to the steep decline in his popularity; only 23% of the public now view him favorably—a historic low even for a Prime Minister with the weakest democratic legitimacy in Britain’s democratic history. For those who hoped the change of government would usher in a more principled or progressive era across the UK, the reality is proving bitterly disappointing.
But it is not just austerity or economic woes dragging the government’s reputation into the mire. Across the UK, the government has unleashed a sweeping crackdown on peaceful protest, notably proscribing under terrorism laws the peaceful campaign group Palestine Action and arresting supporters who dare to voice opposition to the UK government’s complicity with Israel’s long list of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
At recent demonstrations, police detained scores for displaying placards or voicing support for the banned organisation —a stark signal of shrinking democratic space and an abuse of power, as argued by Palestine Action’s lawyers before the High Court. The popular anti-Brexit UK campaign group Led by Donkeys has struck a chord, unveiling in front of the Labour headquarters the banner below.
Led By Donkeys’ banner in front of Labour’s headquarters in London
In such a swirl of global headlines dominated by tragedies and the ineptitude of US and UK leaderships, our friends in Europe will not be surprised to learn that Scotland is still demanding a different future.
Last week, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney launched a renewed strategy for independence aimed at building “the broadest and most robust consensus yet for Scotland’s right to decide”, increasing democratic pressure on Westminster by framing the refusal to permit another referendum as a democratic scandal and calling for a renewed mandate for independence in the 2026 Scottish Parliamentary election.
We remain convinced that Scotland’s democratic will cannot be ignored forever. It is surely fast approaching an inflection point, poised between Westminster’s bleak accommodation of global authoritarian drift and forging its own path with democratic purpose and autonomy.
In the days ahead, as the world’s eyes fall on Aberdeen and beyond, we stand by all Scots who will defend their rights to protest, to dissent, and to dream of a different future.
With this spirit we invite you to join and amplify the protests that will happen in the next few days.
In European solidarity,
EfS team