Scottish Socialist Party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article deals with the Scottish Socialist Party that was formed in 1998. For the party that was formed in 1987 see Scottish Socialist Party (1987-1990).
| Scottish Socialist Party | |
|---|---|
| Image:Scotsoc.png | |
| Leader | Colin Fox MSP<ref> Note that the SSP does not have a leader in the traditional sense but a convenor. </ref> |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | 70 Stanley Street Glasgow, G41 1JB |
| Political Ideology | Democratic Socialism, Scottish independence |
| Political Position | Left-wing |
| International Affiliation | none |
| European Affiliation | European Anticapitalist Left |
| European Parliament Group | n/a |
| Colours | Red, Yellow, White |
| Website | www.scottishsocialistparty.org |
| See also | Politics of Scotland |
The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) is a left-wing Scottish political party which campaigns for a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence.
It operates through a branch based structure with additional networks for identity or campaigning groups, as well as accepting open platforms who are allowed to organise within the party.
It currently has four MSPs in the Scottish Parliament and two local councillors, although its main focus is on extra-parliamentary campaigns. Its primary campaigns at the moment are the provision of free nutritious school meals, opposition to the war in Iraq and campaigning against the council tax.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Establishment of the SSP
The Scottish Socialist Party was formed from the Scottish Socialist Alliance (SSA) in 1998. Formed in 1996, the SSA was an alliance of left-wing organisations in Scotland, including Scottish Militant Labour, the Scottish Republican Socialist Party and the Communist Party of Scotland. Following reasonable results in the 1997 General Election, the decision was taken to transform the SSA from an electoral alliance into a single party to contest the first elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament. The SSP polled unexpectedly well in this election (although it received fewer votes than the unionist Socialist Labour Party) and saw National Convenor Tommy Sheridan elected to represent Glasgow.
[edit] Electoral Success
The period following that election saw sustained growth for the SSP, including a boost to membership when the Socialist Workers Party in Scotland joined the SSP, and the Scottish section of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers affiliated to the party. During this period of sustained and rapid growth it recruited extensively from former members of the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party, in addition to trade unionists, environmentalists, and community campaigners.
The 2003 elections to the Scottish Parliament took place following the decision of the UK parliament took invade Iraq. The SSP played a leading role in the resulting anti-war movement and were rewarded with five additional seats across Scotland.
The party has become the foremost left-wing force in Scottish Politics, polling significantly better than the Socialist Labour Party in the 2003 Scottish Parliamentary election. Their success since formation played a major part in the formation of a Socialist Alliance in England. The Socialist Alliance had links with the SSP, but failed to make a significant electoral breakthrough south of the border, largely due to the fact that election to the British Parliament does not use proportional representation, whereas the Scottish Parliament does.
Whilst most SSP members expected to challenge the Labour Party, the SSP's electoral performance has indicated that the SNP vote has been most affected by the emergence of the SSP. It is probably Socialist Labour which has been most hurt electorally by their success.[citation needed] There is also some overlap with the Scottish Green Party vote.[citation needed]
The SSP managed to return six members to the Scottish Parliament in 2003, all of them 'regional list' MSPs rather than constituency MSPs. Not long after the election Lloyd Quinan, a former SNP MSP, defected to the SSP. They have also unsuccessfully courted Campbell Martin (independent, former SNP MSP) and Dennis Canavan (independent, former Labour MSP), but managed to gain John McAllion. At the 2003 parliament election McAllion lost his seat to Shona Robison, the SNP candidate. The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) pulled out of contesting the seat in favour of McAllion, but ironically this may have assisted his defeat.[citation needed] In 2006 McAllion stood for the SSP in the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election of 9 February, gaining only around 500 votes and 1.6% of the vote.
[edit] Crisis and Split
On November 11, 2004 Tommy Sheridan announced his resignation as convener of the party, citing personal reasons as being behind his decision. There were two candidates to replace him: Colin Fox, widely regarded as a favourite, and Alan McCombes. Delegates to the SSP conference voted on February 13, 2005 and Fox was elected with 252 votes to McCombes' 154.
Sheridan sued the News of the World for defamation when, immediately following his controversial resignation, it alleged he'd had an extra marital affair . As a result of his lawsuit (Sheridan v News International), the minutes of the SSP executive meeting held on 9 November 2004 in which the party executive decided, unanimously, to ask for his resignation because he intended to take the News of the World to court for libel over allegations that were in fact true, were subpoenad by the newspaper. The party initially declined to hand them over. A raid was conducted on the SSP's offices in May 2006 and McCombes (who had possession of them) was jailed for 12 days. In response to a call from Sheridan to release the minutes, the party eventually handed them in to the court.
Sheridan claimed in the presss that a cabal within the party's Executive Committee were out to destroy him, <ref>"SSP votes to hand over documents", BBC News, 29 May 2006 (retrieved 10 September 2006).</ref> and expanded on this statement in an open letter to party members on 28 May 2006, claiming there had been a long-standing slander campaign conducted against him by senior party figures and MSP's.
At his court case eleven SSP members testified that Sheridan admitted during the 9 November meeting to having attended a swingers club, a admission which is noted in the disputed minutes, was repeated to Charlie McCarthy <ref> "text of letter from Charlie McCarthy, SSP Health Spokesperson" </ref> and five other leading comrades in the SSP<ref>"Guardian Article about open letter from Glasgow activists" </ref>, as well as recorded on a videotape which surfaced in October 2006.<ref>[http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/sheridanscript.shtml Sheridan's Confession Tape</ref> Sheridan eventually won his court case however perjury charges associated with it are proceeding, with computers from both the SSP and Sheridan's Parliamentary offices seized for forensic examination.
On 29 August, Sheridan announced his intention to leave the SSP and found a new socialist political party called Solidarity.<ref>"New socialist party for Sheridan", BBC News, 29 August 2006, (retrieved 10 September 2006)</ref>His move was supported by the International Socialists in Scotland, the Socialist Worker Platform, Rosemary Byrne MSP, and apparently most of the South of Scotland and Highlands and Islands regions.<ref>"SSP executive says Sheridan is on the road to oblivion", The Herald, 21 August 2006 (retrieved 10 September 2006).</ref>
The SSP formally split in September 2006. The Socialist Unity Network Archive contains a selection of published articles published by both sides<ref>The SSP crisis archive contains all the relevant materials from all sides.</ref>
[edit] Post Split SSP
The SSP first met at a national rally following the split in early September 2006, and again at a national conference in mid October 2006, where all of the postitions of the party were re-elected; including the re-election of the national convenor, Colin Fox, the election of Pam Currie as national secretary and the re-election of Alison Kane as National Treasurer.
A decision was also taken to review all of the party's structures including the role of the national convenor, the staffing arrangements of the party and the role of elected representatives with a view to adapting the structures to further strengthen members' participation and the party's internal democracy.
[edit] Campaigns
[edit] National Liberation
The SSP strongly supports autonomy for Scotland and national self determination through Scottish independence.
It co-ordinated the rally for independence at Calton Hill in October 2004 and wrote the Declaration of Calton Hill , which sets out a vision of an inclusive and outward looking Scottish republic, based on the key principles of liberty, equality, diversity and solidarity. A follow up event to mark the initial declaration was held in October 2005.
It also supports the Independence First campaign which demands an immediate referendum on Independence for Scotland. In 2006, it participated in the "Rally for Independence" together with the other political parties who campaign for independence as part of a broad based campaign to demand the right of self-determination for Scotland.
The national self-determination sought by the SSP is driven by internationalist rather than nationalist concerns. It seeks to build an inclusive republican state which is run by and for the benefit of all who live in Scotland. As such, it supports the rights of asylum seekers to settle there, without fear of detention or deportation; opposes the expansion of the UK state, for example through ID cards; and seeks the abolition of the monarchy.
Through prioritising national liberation as a key component in its political philosophy, it stands in the tradition of John MacLean who set up the Scottish Workers Republican Party in the early part of the 20th century, combining socialist economics with national self determination.
[edit] Reform of Local Government Taxation
The Scottish Socialist party has been at the forefront of the campaign to reform local government taxation.
Prior to the establishment of the SSP, a number of SSP members, along with many others, were subject to warrant sales after refusing to pay the Poll Tax, a flat tax, in which no account was taken of either wealth or ability to pay. One of the first bills that the SSP put forward once elected to Holyrood was to abolish of warrant sales, an immensely popular action, which successfully transformed debt recovery systems in Scotland.
The SSP propose a Scottish Service Tax, a form of local income tax, based on the ability to pay to replace the current Council Tax, brought in after mass public non-payment made the Poll Tax non-viable. A bill proposing such a system was presented in 2005, however it was overwhelmingly defeated. The two other parties in the Scottish Parliament who also claim to support such a reform, the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party opposed its introduction.
[edit] Free Prescription Charges
Colin Fox MSP proposed a bill to abolish prescription charges similar to that which allows Welsh citizens free prescriptions on the NHS, in response to the bill and the publicity that it generated, the Scottish Executive announced a review of the impact that the charges had on the chronically sick and full time students as a means of warding off the popular support that the campaign was receiving.
[edit] Free Nutritious School Meals
Image:Fsmposter.jpg Frances Curran MSP is leading a broad campaign with widespread support through many children's and anti-poverty organisations to provide free nutritious meals for all Scottish schoolchildren to tackle the twinned problems of poor diet and rising obesity amongst children. <ref>Campaign for Free School Meals</ref>. This would have eradicated the stigma associated with the current means tested system and also ensured that meals provided in school conformed to minimal nutritional standards.
A bill to this effect was proposed in parliament in 2002 but was defeated, however there is an increasing awareness of the role of diet on childrens health and a subsequent Scottish Executive consultation found that 96% of respondents were in favour of free school meals
A redrafted bill was launched in October 2006 is currently being resubmitted
[edit] People not Profit
People not Profit is a wide ranging campaign which seeks to ensure that public services are run in the interests of the public and not sold off to shareholders for profit.
[edit] Fuck Abstinence
Fuck Abstinence is a campaign of the Women's Group within Scottish Socialist Youth, which seeks to educate young women denied adequate sex education, through the distribution of information on reproductive rights. Young women involved with the campaign have been targeted by an anti-abortion group who have sent them intimidatory graphic material.
[edit] Reform of Drug Laws
The party has proposed the legalisation of cannabis and the provision of free synthetic heroin on the NHS, under medical supervision to combat the problems of drugs in working class communities, as well as calling for a massive expansion in residential rehabilitation and detoxification facilities for addicts.
[edit] Anti-war campaigns
The SSP has campaigned extensively against the Iraq War. The SSP was one of the founding members of the Scottish Coalition for Justice not War[1] at its establishment in September 2001. The February 2003 march in Glasgow was widely attended by SSP members, and later that year SSP MSPs were threatened with disciplinary action after one of their activists staged a protest in the Scottish Parliament[2]. In 2004, STV and Grampian threatened to pull a party political broadcast by the on the Iraq War which accused Tony Blair over the pretext for the war.
It works closely with Military Families Against the War, particularly in the Justice 4 Gordon Gentle campaign, standing down in the 2005 general election for Rose Gentle in the East Kilbride constituency [3].
It has also led campaigns against rendition flights, including introducing a debate in Holyroodover the issue[4], and against the tacit support of the UK government in Israel's war on Lebanon.
It has supported the blockades at Faslane nuclear base and strongly opposes Trident replacement. A number of SSP members have been fined and/or jailed after blockading the naval base at the annual Big Blockade. In 2005, Rosie Kane locked herself on to a 25 foot Trident replica outside the Scottish Parliament, saying "We’re here to have Trident dismantled, so we’ll stay until Trident is dismantled — that would be this Trident or the actual Trident. The Executive have turned their back on the issue and yet the biggest majority of the Scottish people, over 70 per cent, are opposed to Trident. This is an issue for the Scottish Parliament and our presence here today is making that clear." The replica was dismantled after 14 hours. Later that year she was fined £150 for the demonstration and in October 2006, she was jailed for 14 days after refusing to pay the fine.
[edit] Make Capitalism History
The party was highly active in the protests against the G8, joining the Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh and participating in the G8 Alternatives Summit.
After the public were denied the right to march in Gleneagles despite prior agreement by the executive that peaceful protest would be facilitated, the SSP MSPs made a silent protest in the chamber at Holyrood. They were debarred from the parliament for a month, their correspondence was deleted and they were fined £30,000.
[edit] Platforms
The party (unlike most others) allows for the organisation of internal factions (which it describes as platforms), the intention is to ensure that socialists can work together on the issues on which they agree, however to respect the opinions of other socialists on the issues on which there is dispute.
[edit] Current Platforms
- The Republican Communist Network was a founding member of the SSP. Although numerically small, it is considerably influential within the party, printing an internal journal "Emancipation and Liberation".
- The Workers Unity Platform is an amalgam of members from small left groups including the Communist Party of Great Britain who came together to form a platform within the SSP.
- The United Left is not currently officially incorporated as a platform within the SSP, however it operates in a similar manner and is largely regarded as such. It was formed in 2006.
- The Solidarity Tendency consists of supporters of the Alliance for Workers Liberty.
[edit] Former Platforms
- The supporters in Scotland of the Socialist Workers Party joined the SSP in 2002 becoming the Socialist Workers Platform. In 2006 they left the party.
- The Scottish Republican Socialist Movement whose major focus is independence and republicanism for Scotland. It emerged from the Scottish Republican Socialist Party which was one of the founding platforms of the SSP. The SRSM officially disaffilated from the SSP in November 2006, although some individual members remain in the SSP.
Two of the platforms in the SSP both emerged from British Section of the Committee for a Workers International, following the "Open Turn" Debate of the early 90s, which was largely led by Scottish comrades. In 1998, the "Scottish Debate" led to the establishment of the SSP, however within the UK movement this was not widely welcomed. Tensions between many leading Scottish comrades including Alan McCombes and Catriona Grant and the UK leadership led to a split within the CWI into two separate platforms:
- The International Socialist Movement was a breakaway organisation from the CWI, formed in 2001 and made up primarily of former CWI members. It published the journal "Frontline" until its dissolution in 2006, where upon Frontline became an independent Marxist journal.
- The International Socialists consisted of a small number of individuals who remained affiliated to the CWI when the ISM was formed in 2001. In 2006 the platform left the party [5].
[edit] Criticism
The Socialist Workers Party and others on the left have criticised the SSP for having sectarian tendencies and no longer being a broad and open mass party of the left, and cited this as one of their reasons for splitting from the SSP to form Solidarity. The SWP and others on the left have also argued that the SSP has not responded adequately to wide public anger at recent wars.<ref>Socialist Worker Platform statement on Scottish Socialist Party, Socialist Worker Online, 21 August 2006 (retrieved 5 October 2006).</ref>
[edit] Other Information
The SSP distributes a weekly newspaper, the Scottish Socialist Voice.
The SSP is a founding member of the European Anticapitalist Left.
The SSP has an active youth wing, Scottish Socialist Youth.
The SSP has an active womens network, Socialist Womens Network
[edit] Elected Representatives
[edit] SSP MSPs
- Frances Curran (West of Scotland)
- Colin Fox (Lothians)
- Rosie Kane (Glasgow)
- Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland)
[edit] SSP Local Councillors
- Keith Baldassara, (Pollok Ward, Glasgow City Council)
- Jim Bollan (Renton and Alexandria South Ward, West Dumbartonshire Council)
[edit] References
<references />
[edit] External links
- The Scottish Socialist Party's Home Page
- The SSP's weekly newspaper
- International Socialist Movement The International Socialist Movement was a platform within the SSP descended from Scottish Militant Labour
- Republican Communist Network The RCN is a platform within the SSP
- SSP United Left a platform within the SSP
- SSP merchandise
- Sheridan's Confession tape
| Political parties in the United Kingdom | |
|---|---|
| Represented in the House of Commons (646) : |
Labour (354) | Conservatives (198) | Liberal Democrats (63) | DUP (9) | SNP (6) | Sinn Féin (0#) | Plaid Cymru (3) | SDLP (3) | Ind KHHC (1) | Independent (1) | Independent Labour (1) | Respect (1) | UUP (1) |
| Represented in the House of Lords (741) : |
Labour (213) | Conservatives (210) | Cross-bencher (196) | Liberal Democrats (79) | Greens (E&W) (1) | Bishops (26) | Non affiliated (13) | Conservative Independent (1) | Independent Labour (1) | Independent (1) |
| Represented in the Scottish Parliament (129): |
Labour (50) | SNP (27) | Conservative and Unionists (17) | Liberal Democrats (17) | Scottish Greens (7) | SSP (4) | Solidarity (2) | SSCUP (1) | Independent (5) |
| Represented in the National Assembly for Wales (60): |
Labour (29) | Plaid Cymru (12) | Conservatives (11) | Liberal Democrats (6) | Forward Wales (1) | Independent (1) |
| Represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly (108) [Suspended] |
DUP (32) | UUP (24) | Sinn Féin (24) | SDLP (18) | Alliance (6) | PUP (1) | UKUP (1) | Independent (2) |
| Represented in the London Assembly (25): |
Conservatives (9) | Labour (7) | Liberal Democrats (5) | Greens (E&W) (2) | One London (2) |
| Represented in the European Parliament (72 out of 732): |
Conservatives (ED, 26) | Labour (PES, 19) | Liberal Democrats (ELDR, 12) | UKIP (ID, 10) | Greens (E&W) (EGP, 2) | SNP (EFA, 2) | DUP (ED, 1) | Plaid Cymru (EFA, 1) | Sinn Féin (EUL, 2†) | UUP (ED, 1) | Independent (NA, 2) |
| Notes | #Sinn Féin have six elected members, but as abstentionist have no representation † Sinn Féin's second seat is held in the Republic of Ireland |
| Minor parties: | |
gd:Pàrtaidh Shòisealach na h-Alba nn:Scottish Socialist Party sco:Scots Socialist Pairty simple:Scottish Socialist Party
