HONOURING THE SACRIFICE OF THE 1820 MARTYRS

Motion Text

That this House recognises the sacrifice of the 1820 martyrs, who gave their lives in the name of equality and democratic reform at a time when ordinary people were denied the vote; remembers James Wilson of Strathaven who was hanged and beheaded in Glasgow for leading the march from Strathaven to Glasgow under the banner of Scotland Free or a Desert; commemorates John Baird of Condorrat and Andrew Hardie who were executed in Stirling having led the march to the Carron Ironworks and were later reburied at Sighthill Cemetery in Glasgow; recalls Hardie's words on the scaffold that he was a martyr to the cause of truth and justice; congratulates the 1820 Society for honouring the martyrs every September in Sighthill in Glasgow; and believes Wilson, Baird and Hardie should be honoured across the UK for making the ultimate sacrifice for the democratic rights and liberties of ordinary people.