Study sinks claims about sectarianism in Larkhall

A PROJECT on religious intolerance in Larkhall has found that it does not exist.

Larkhall: Past and Present included a series of weekly workshops involving more than 20 local people of all ages.

Participants were asked to discuss issues they felt best defined the town and then research the issues online in greater depth.

The government-funded study was organised by Community Links and supported by Voluntary Action Fund, which distributes funding to a range of organisations, including those fighting sectarianism.

Paul Hayward, of Community Links (South Lanarkshire), said: “We were explicit this was a community safety project about hate crime and anti-sectarianism.

“We thought that might spark conversation about those issues but it just didn’t come up.

“There are issues that are more important to people in Larkhall and it was not a priority for them.”

Participants were drawn from Larkhall Academy and local youth groups, while older volunteers included members of local lunch clubs and community organisations.

Mr Hayward added: “Each week we had general discussions about what it was like growing up and living in Larkhall. Our aim was to discover young people’s perceptions of Larkhall’s history and to get some of the older people to talk about what it was like living through the area’s sectarian past.

“Even though the town has been perceived as having a strong association with sectarianism, the people who live there don’t identify it as such.

The findings were welcomed by Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.

She said: “The sectarian attitudes that once blighted towns up and down Scotland are slowly seeping away. The tribalism that once divided people – that once blighted entire generations – doesn’t carry the same resonance in 2017.

“This project builds on other several initiatives to change the image of Larkhall, all of which recognise the great strides that have been made in the town.

“While I recognise we all still have some way to go before sectarianism is completely eradicated, we must pause and recognise the real progress taking place.”

Larkhall has traditionally been thought of as a strongly Protestant towns.

Several shops with green branding, including Subway, Moss Pharmacy and Telewest, have had to change the colour of their livery in the Lanarkshire town. Between 2004 and 2007 the local council spent £17,000 repairing green traffic lights believed to have been smashed by bigoted vandals.