HONOURING THE SACRIFICE OF THE 1820 MARTYRS

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.