SSP co-spokesperson Colin Fox will contest the Liberton / Gilmerton ward of the City of Edinburgh council in a by-election to be held on Thursday 9th September.
Colin said; "Voters in Liberton/Gilmerton can send yet another ‘pro cuts’ Labour, SNP or Liberal Councillor to the City Chambers on September 9th or they can elect a representative who will stand up for what South Edinburgh needs most - better schools, more Council houses, improved services, scrapping the Council tax and putting the interests of ordinary people ahead of the corporate elite and the banks".
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scotland. Show all posts
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
St Andrews Stands Against Gender Based Violence
Last Friday, 7 May, about 70 gathered at the University of St Andrews' student union for to protest gender-based violence. The event, called "Reclaim the Night: Unite Against Gender-Based Violence", was organized by the St Andrews Feminist Society.
At 8:30, only about nine students had arrived, but by 9:00 the group had swelled to over seventy. After distributing homemade banners and signs, three speeches about the importance of stopping sexism and gender-based assumptions and violence launched the march. The group marched down Market Street, Largo Road, along the Kinnesburn, and ended on East Sands with a bonfire and informal discussion. The march included chants -- "no means no! yes means yes!" - and drumming by the female troupe SheBoom. The boisterous and colourful protest drew attention from passers-by, who often paused to ask marchers what was going on.
The march was attended by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the University of St Andrews, students from the University of Dundee, and local activists.
According to Miranda Myrberg, at the beach the march was interrupted by a police officer. She said they had received a permit--the march was indeed supervised by two officers--and that the officer's actions infringed on their right to protest.
"We had an interruption at Castle Sands, as the police stopped us there, forcing us to run and get a letter stating our legal rights to have a bonfire there. He also demanded that someone came with him to the police station, and Jonny Wilde, one of our members went," Ms. Myrberg said in an email. According to Ms. Myrberg, after Mr. Wilde went with the officer, the event continued as planned.
The participants greatly enjoyed the time on the beach, she said. VegSoc provided food and Gemma Lawrence and Rollo Hornyold-Strickland were performing acoustic music.
Reporting by Katie Meyer. 7 May 2010.
www.thesaint-online.com
(Source: - The Saint)
At 8:30, only about nine students had arrived, but by 9:00 the group had swelled to over seventy. After distributing homemade banners and signs, three speeches about the importance of stopping sexism and gender-based assumptions and violence launched the march. The group marched down Market Street, Largo Road, along the Kinnesburn, and ended on East Sands with a bonfire and informal discussion. The march included chants -- "no means no! yes means yes!" - and drumming by the female troupe SheBoom. The boisterous and colourful protest drew attention from passers-by, who often paused to ask marchers what was going on.
The march was attended by undergraduate and postgraduate students of the University of St Andrews, students from the University of Dundee, and local activists.
According to Miranda Myrberg, at the beach the march was interrupted by a police officer. She said they had received a permit--the march was indeed supervised by two officers--and that the officer's actions infringed on their right to protest.
"We had an interruption at Castle Sands, as the police stopped us there, forcing us to run and get a letter stating our legal rights to have a bonfire there. He also demanded that someone came with him to the police station, and Jonny Wilde, one of our members went," Ms. Myrberg said in an email. According to Ms. Myrberg, after Mr. Wilde went with the officer, the event continued as planned.
The participants greatly enjoyed the time on the beach, she said. VegSoc provided food and Gemma Lawrence and Rollo Hornyold-Strickland were performing acoustic music.
Reporting by Katie Meyer. 7 May 2010.
www.thesaint-online.com
(Source: - The Saint)
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Nick Clegg’s Cowardly Retreat from Glasgow
On the 4th of May Nick Clegg was hounded out of Glasgow by angry local socialists.
When SSY members in Maryhill heard that Nick Clegg was in our local community centre, we roared into action to try and ask him a few questions about his policies.
The entrances to the community centre were surrounded by cops and Nick Clegg’s personal body guards, and as soon as they caught a whiff of us walkietalkies were buzzing, as they planned his escape from the terrifying sight of people who don’t agree with him.
Despite only finding out about the Lib Dem Love In with half an hour to spare, we rounded up local activists to make our point… in contrast to the Lib Dems, who had clearly bussed in activists from across the country – and across the border!
Before Clegg was scheduled to leave the building, a flood of Liberal Democrat supporters crowded around us with placards in an attempt to stop Clegg or the press from seeing anyone question the Lib Dems, and Clegg’s messiah complex.
Lib Dems attempted to obscure our placards – when they failed, many of them attempted to forcibly remove our placards from us and were aggressive in attempts to hide them from view.
Clegg was ushered into a shiny James Bond car and didn’t bother to address our concerns, only giving us and our placards a disdainful look. I suppose he only cares about what local people think if they’re thinking that they’d like to kiss his arse. He was no doubt terrified of the massed placard waving hordes of Maryhill SSY.
When his car had sped off, we were surrounded by Lib Dem activists who didn’t seem to know their own policies as well as we did. None of them Lib Dems we spoke to knew that their party…
- wanted to stop public sector workers from being able to strike
- are in favour of Britain having weapons of mass destruction
- opposed the introduction of a national minimum wage, and wanted the minimum wage to be lower in poor regions
- want to impose savage cuts
- support fascists in Thailand, through their membership of the Liberal International
and that Nick Clegg is a great admirer of Margaret Thatcher!
Err… maybe you should research your party before you join it?
It’s great that so many people are looking to the Lib Dem for a left-wing alternative to the Tories or New Labour – but they’re looking in the wrong place.
Source: SSY (Leftfeild Blog)
When SSY members in Maryhill heard that Nick Clegg was in our local community centre, we roared into action to try and ask him a few questions about his policies.
The entrances to the community centre were surrounded by cops and Nick Clegg’s personal body guards, and as soon as they caught a whiff of us walkietalkies were buzzing, as they planned his escape from the terrifying sight of people who don’t agree with him.
Despite only finding out about the Lib Dem Love In with half an hour to spare, we rounded up local activists to make our point… in contrast to the Lib Dems, who had clearly bussed in activists from across the country – and across the border!
Before Clegg was scheduled to leave the building, a flood of Liberal Democrat supporters crowded around us with placards in an attempt to stop Clegg or the press from seeing anyone question the Lib Dems, and Clegg’s messiah complex.
Lib Dems attempted to obscure our placards – when they failed, many of them attempted to forcibly remove our placards from us and were aggressive in attempts to hide them from view.
Clegg was ushered into a shiny James Bond car and didn’t bother to address our concerns, only giving us and our placards a disdainful look. I suppose he only cares about what local people think if they’re thinking that they’d like to kiss his arse. He was no doubt terrified of the massed placard waving hordes of Maryhill SSY.
When his car had sped off, we were surrounded by Lib Dem activists who didn’t seem to know their own policies as well as we did. None of them Lib Dems we spoke to knew that their party…
- wanted to stop public sector workers from being able to strike
- are in favour of Britain having weapons of mass destruction
- opposed the introduction of a national minimum wage, and wanted the minimum wage to be lower in poor regions
- want to impose savage cuts
- support fascists in Thailand, through their membership of the Liberal International
and that Nick Clegg is a great admirer of Margaret Thatcher!
Err… maybe you should research your party before you join it?
It’s great that so many people are looking to the Lib Dem for a left-wing alternative to the Tories or New Labour – but they’re looking in the wrong place.
Source: SSY (Leftfeild Blog)
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Sunday, 18 April 2010
SSP Westminster Battle
The Scottish Socialist Party have announced that they will contest the following ten seats (with the following candidates) in this years general elections: -
Aberdeen North - Ewan Robertson
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintiloch East - Willie O'Neill
Dundee East - Angela Gorrie
Edinburgh South West - Colin Fox
Glasgow Central - James Nesbitt
Glasgow East - Frances Curran
Glasgow North East - Kevin McVey
Livingston - Ally Hendry
Paisley and Renfrewshire North - Chris Rollo
Paisley and Renfrewshire South - Jimmy Kerr
The Party's manifesto is as follows (Source scottishsocialistparty.org): -
For an independent socialist Scotland
No cuts, no wars, for an end to corruption
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On May 6th voters will be offered a dismal choice of cuts, sackings and wars by politicians tainted by corruption, duck houses and other expenses fiddling.
All three Westminster parties are in a race to see who can make the deepest cuts while the SNP wring their hands and blame London.
They all recommend cuts to vital public services which will hit the most vulnerable hardest and directly threaten the jobs of 100,000 Scottish workers.
In contrast the unequivocal message from the Scottish Socialist Party is that there is an alternative which avoids cuts and insists instead that the greedy pay for the disaster they created, that also ends our involvement in the Afghan war and offers jobs and justice not misery and war.
This belief is reflected in our programme for a Scotland which aims to meet peoples’ needs, not pander to the rich, for people not profit.
100,000 jobs Are directly threatened by the cuts promised by the Westminster parties and vital services for our most vulnerable citizens will go.
We say that faced with such a threat words are not enough—action is needed. Scotland needs nothing less than a resistance movement of mass peaceful protest on the scale of that which defeated the poll tax. We will bring all the experience of the SSP to build such a movement.
Jobs for youth
The spectre of mass unemployment has returned twenty years after Margaret Thatcher was ejected from office. Many communities in Scotland are still suffering from the legacy of the 1980s with the poverty, heroin addiction, alcohol abuse and crime that goes with this chronic joblessness.
Today the SSP says: 'Mass unemployment No More'. Instead of slashing Scotland's budget, the SSP will fight for emergency funding to protect our young people from becoming another wasted generation.
Let's Get Out of Afghanistan
This is a senseless military occupation which damages Britain's international reputation and does nothing to make the world a safer place. We are occupying a country that doesn't want us to be there. More than 50,000 innocent Afghan civilians have been killed. Some 280 British soldiers have also died. All the polling evidence suggests that 70% of the population here want our armed services withdrawn. The Scottish Socialist Party gives voice to that majority.
Clean up the Westminster 'midden'
In just 12 months Westminster has gone from 'the mother of parliaments' to 'the mother of all corruption'.
The public has watched open mouthed as MPs attempt to justify obscene expenses claims which would get an ordinary worker sacked. MP's have repeatedly shown how they are all out of touch with the people they pretend to represent.
For the SSP the answer is simple and it is to end the circumstances where becoming an MP brings a huge salary and expenses. We have long argued that MP's should live on the wage of those they represent. Our MSPs did just that at Holyrood thus keeping them in touch with the real lives of voters.
For a Green, Socialist Republic
The Scottish Socialist Party is a pro-independence party - no ifs, buts or maybes. We say Yes to an independence referendum and Yes to independence
We will work with other pro-independence parties to deliver a resounding referendum YES vote.
Beyond that, we stand for an independent socialist republic where the wealth is fairly distributed; where protection of the environment is paramount.
Such a republic would prioritise the needs of people over profit and our environment over the greed of profiteers.
The development of our colossal natural resources would be publicly owned to ensure the skilled jobs required are based in Scotland and the profits generated used to provide services not multinational profit
All citizens would be equal irrespective of gender, race, religion or sexuality in a country where the economy is no longer driven by greed and profit.
Aberdeen North - Ewan Robertson
Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintiloch East - Willie O'Neill
Dundee East - Angela Gorrie
Edinburgh South West - Colin Fox
Glasgow Central - James Nesbitt
Glasgow East - Frances Curran
Glasgow North East - Kevin McVey
Livingston - Ally Hendry
Paisley and Renfrewshire North - Chris Rollo
Paisley and Renfrewshire South - Jimmy Kerr
The Party's manifesto is as follows (Source scottishsocialistparty.org): -
For an independent socialist Scotland
No cuts, no wars, for an end to corruption
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On May 6th voters will be offered a dismal choice of cuts, sackings and wars by politicians tainted by corruption, duck houses and other expenses fiddling.
All three Westminster parties are in a race to see who can make the deepest cuts while the SNP wring their hands and blame London.
They all recommend cuts to vital public services which will hit the most vulnerable hardest and directly threaten the jobs of 100,000 Scottish workers.
In contrast the unequivocal message from the Scottish Socialist Party is that there is an alternative which avoids cuts and insists instead that the greedy pay for the disaster they created, that also ends our involvement in the Afghan war and offers jobs and justice not misery and war.
This belief is reflected in our programme for a Scotland which aims to meet peoples’ needs, not pander to the rich, for people not profit.
100,000 jobs Are directly threatened by the cuts promised by the Westminster parties and vital services for our most vulnerable citizens will go.
We say that faced with such a threat words are not enough—action is needed. Scotland needs nothing less than a resistance movement of mass peaceful protest on the scale of that which defeated the poll tax. We will bring all the experience of the SSP to build such a movement.
Jobs for youth
The spectre of mass unemployment has returned twenty years after Margaret Thatcher was ejected from office. Many communities in Scotland are still suffering from the legacy of the 1980s with the poverty, heroin addiction, alcohol abuse and crime that goes with this chronic joblessness.
Today the SSP says: 'Mass unemployment No More'. Instead of slashing Scotland's budget, the SSP will fight for emergency funding to protect our young people from becoming another wasted generation.
Let's Get Out of Afghanistan
This is a senseless military occupation which damages Britain's international reputation and does nothing to make the world a safer place. We are occupying a country that doesn't want us to be there. More than 50,000 innocent Afghan civilians have been killed. Some 280 British soldiers have also died. All the polling evidence suggests that 70% of the population here want our armed services withdrawn. The Scottish Socialist Party gives voice to that majority.
Clean up the Westminster 'midden'
In just 12 months Westminster has gone from 'the mother of parliaments' to 'the mother of all corruption'.
The public has watched open mouthed as MPs attempt to justify obscene expenses claims which would get an ordinary worker sacked. MP's have repeatedly shown how they are all out of touch with the people they pretend to represent.
For the SSP the answer is simple and it is to end the circumstances where becoming an MP brings a huge salary and expenses. We have long argued that MP's should live on the wage of those they represent. Our MSPs did just that at Holyrood thus keeping them in touch with the real lives of voters.
For a Green, Socialist Republic
The Scottish Socialist Party is a pro-independence party - no ifs, buts or maybes. We say Yes to an independence referendum and Yes to independence
We will work with other pro-independence parties to deliver a resounding referendum YES vote.
Beyond that, we stand for an independent socialist republic where the wealth is fairly distributed; where protection of the environment is paramount.
Such a republic would prioritise the needs of people over profit and our environment over the greed of profiteers.
The development of our colossal natural resources would be publicly owned to ensure the skilled jobs required are based in Scotland and the profits generated used to provide services not multinational profit
All citizens would be equal irrespective of gender, race, religion or sexuality in a country where the economy is no longer driven by greed and profit.
Monday, 22 March 2010
Green protestors set up camp near Oakley - Dunfermline Press
A GROUP of activists have climbed trees and started a protest camp on the Blair House open cast coal site near Oakley.
Around 20 campaigners are involved in the protest and say they are acting in solidarity with local opponents of the development.
UK Coal were given permission to mine 720,000 tonnes of fuel on the site despite 150 objections.
The activists say trees have been chopped down as part of preparatory work and they are acting to prevent any more being lost.
Fiona Richards, one of the protestors, said, "This new coal mine is only one of 20 such others to have recently been given planning permission in Scotland.
"If we are to have any chance of limting dangerous climate change and protecting communities from carbon intensive industries direct action must be taken as councillors, mining companies and the Government have shown their unwillingness to solve the problems we face."
West Fife villages councillor Gerry McMullan was planning to visit the protestors this afternoon (Monday).
He said, "I was one of the few councillors to vote against this development especially given the site's close proximity to homes in the area.
"However, during that democratic decision making process we heard nothing from this group who are Johnny Come Latelys on this issue.
"They're not interested in health or the environment. All they're interested in is causing disruption."
For Fife police, Chief Superintendant Brian Plastow said, "This appears to be a peaceful protest and there has been no impact on the local roads or public, We will continue to liaise with the protestors and monitor their actions."
Around 20 campaigners are involved in the protest and say they are acting in solidarity with local opponents of the development.
UK Coal were given permission to mine 720,000 tonnes of fuel on the site despite 150 objections.
The activists say trees have been chopped down as part of preparatory work and they are acting to prevent any more being lost.
Fiona Richards, one of the protestors, said, "This new coal mine is only one of 20 such others to have recently been given planning permission in Scotland.
"If we are to have any chance of limting dangerous climate change and protecting communities from carbon intensive industries direct action must be taken as councillors, mining companies and the Government have shown their unwillingness to solve the problems we face."
West Fife villages councillor Gerry McMullan was planning to visit the protestors this afternoon (Monday).
He said, "I was one of the few councillors to vote against this development especially given the site's close proximity to homes in the area.
"However, during that democratic decision making process we heard nothing from this group who are Johnny Come Latelys on this issue.
"They're not interested in health or the environment. All they're interested in is causing disruption."
For Fife police, Chief Superintendant Brian Plastow said, "This appears to be a peaceful protest and there has been no impact on the local roads or public, We will continue to liaise with the protestors and monitor their actions."
Friday, 5 March 2010
The Yes Men Fix The World, Plus a Discussion with Mike Bonanno!
Tuesday, 9 March, the Centre for Film Studies (the University of St Andrews) will host a screening of THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD, a documentary by political pranksters and culture jammers, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno-- possibly best known for their recent hijacking of the BBC when they pretended to be Dow Chemical and took responsibility for the industrial tragedy in Bhopal.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with Yes Man and co-director,
Mike Bonanno.
Date and Time: Tuesday, 9 March starting at 5.15pm
Place: School V (North Street)
The screening will be followed by a discussion with Yes Man and co-director,
Mike Bonanno.
Date and Time: Tuesday, 9 March starting at 5.15pm
Place: School V (North Street)
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Independence and Socialism
By John McAllion
THE class struggle in Scotland has always been both nationalist and socialist.
The 1787 massacre of striking Calton weavers by British soldiers near what was then Glasgow is generally recognised as marking the beginning of an organised, effective Scottish labour movement.
The weavers’ banner on that day, and subsequently on many other days up to its seizure by Tory magistrates in 1819, showed Scotland’s national hero William Wallace striking down the beast of tyranny.
Scots Wha Hae, Scotland’s unofficial national anthem penned by Robert Burns in 1793, deliberately sided with early working class struggles against the reactionary Pitt government in London and its despotic manager in Scotland
Henry Dundas.
The Scottish radical uprising and general strike of 1820 united behind the slogan “Scotland Free or a Desert”. So, from the very beginnings of the labour movement in Scotland, there has existed a radical tradition that consistently connected the struggles for workers’ rights with the demand for Scottish independence.
That tradition was carried into the 20th century by the likes of Keir Hardie who throughout a parliamentary career in which he represented only English constituencies remained a passionate believer in the cause of Scottish home rule.
Most notably, of course, it was upheld by the great internationalist John Maclean who was calling for an independent Scottish Socialist Workers’ Republic at a time when Ramsay MacDonald was priming the British Labour Party for its historic role as a safe and respectable alternative to Tory government trapped within a capitalist, imperialist and constitutional monarchy.
Today Scottish socialists like Jimmy Reid, one of the leaders of the 1970’s UCS workers’ struggle, continue to campaign for socialist change from within the SNP, while the bulk of the Scottish nationalist Left carry on the fight for Maclean’s socialist republic as part of the SSP.
They represent a continuing tradition of libertarian and democratic struggle from below that stands in stark contrast to the Westminster model of a parliamentary elite making change happen from above.
Breaking free from the stranglehold of that Westminster model remains one of the key challenges facing the Left across Britain today.
Genuine popular control over state institutions and the economic levers of power cannot happen in a British state in which the people are designated as subjects and political sovereignty rests with the Crown-in-Parliament.
The radical participatory politics that characterise revolutions in Venezuela and other Latin American countries are ruled out here by a British two-party electoral system that effectively blocks radical change and restricts political choice to voting for either of the two big pro-business parties committed to defending the neo-liberal status quo.
A democratic revolution cannot happen in a Britain in which an hereditary monarchy and an unelected House of Lords keep a tight political rein on a Commons majority elected last time with the support of less than a quarter of those entitled to vote.
It cannot happen either in a Britain without a Bill of Rights and where citizens can be arrested and held without hard evidence or charge for up to 6 weeks.
It is time to recognise that the breakup of the authoritarian British state is now a precondition of securing progressive socialist change for the peoples of this island.
The national struggles that will follow the break-up of Britain open up opportunities for the Left to force a radical political agenda that otherwise remains excluded from mainstream politics and forever stymied under the ancient regime of the British constitution.
The ending of the British warfare state, constitutional guarantees of civil liberties, republican citizenship, participatory democracy, genuinely popular control of public services, an economy run for the people rather than for profit - these and many other important areas of policy will be thrown into the melting pot from which people’s republics in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland will emerge.
The alternative is to remain ensnared within the carefully contrived limits of a constitution that for more than 300 years has been successfully blocking all threats of radical change in order to preserve the stability of the oldest capitalist state form in the world. Socialists owe no kind of loyalty to that Britain.
We do have a responsibility to help its peoples escape from the chains of British history.
THE class struggle in Scotland has always been both nationalist and socialist.
The 1787 massacre of striking Calton weavers by British soldiers near what was then Glasgow is generally recognised as marking the beginning of an organised, effective Scottish labour movement.
The weavers’ banner on that day, and subsequently on many other days up to its seizure by Tory magistrates in 1819, showed Scotland’s national hero William Wallace striking down the beast of tyranny.
Scots Wha Hae, Scotland’s unofficial national anthem penned by Robert Burns in 1793, deliberately sided with early working class struggles against the reactionary Pitt government in London and its despotic manager in Scotland
Henry Dundas.
The Scottish radical uprising and general strike of 1820 united behind the slogan “Scotland Free or a Desert”. So, from the very beginnings of the labour movement in Scotland, there has existed a radical tradition that consistently connected the struggles for workers’ rights with the demand for Scottish independence.
That tradition was carried into the 20th century by the likes of Keir Hardie who throughout a parliamentary career in which he represented only English constituencies remained a passionate believer in the cause of Scottish home rule.
Most notably, of course, it was upheld by the great internationalist John Maclean who was calling for an independent Scottish Socialist Workers’ Republic at a time when Ramsay MacDonald was priming the British Labour Party for its historic role as a safe and respectable alternative to Tory government trapped within a capitalist, imperialist and constitutional monarchy.
Today Scottish socialists like Jimmy Reid, one of the leaders of the 1970’s UCS workers’ struggle, continue to campaign for socialist change from within the SNP, while the bulk of the Scottish nationalist Left carry on the fight for Maclean’s socialist republic as part of the SSP.
They represent a continuing tradition of libertarian and democratic struggle from below that stands in stark contrast to the Westminster model of a parliamentary elite making change happen from above.
Breaking free from the stranglehold of that Westminster model remains one of the key challenges facing the Left across Britain today.
Genuine popular control over state institutions and the economic levers of power cannot happen in a British state in which the people are designated as subjects and political sovereignty rests with the Crown-in-Parliament.
The radical participatory politics that characterise revolutions in Venezuela and other Latin American countries are ruled out here by a British two-party electoral system that effectively blocks radical change and restricts political choice to voting for either of the two big pro-business parties committed to defending the neo-liberal status quo.
A democratic revolution cannot happen in a Britain in which an hereditary monarchy and an unelected House of Lords keep a tight political rein on a Commons majority elected last time with the support of less than a quarter of those entitled to vote.
It cannot happen either in a Britain without a Bill of Rights and where citizens can be arrested and held without hard evidence or charge for up to 6 weeks.
It is time to recognise that the breakup of the authoritarian British state is now a precondition of securing progressive socialist change for the peoples of this island.
The national struggles that will follow the break-up of Britain open up opportunities for the Left to force a radical political agenda that otherwise remains excluded from mainstream politics and forever stymied under the ancient regime of the British constitution.
The ending of the British warfare state, constitutional guarantees of civil liberties, republican citizenship, participatory democracy, genuinely popular control of public services, an economy run for the people rather than for profit - these and many other important areas of policy will be thrown into the melting pot from which people’s republics in Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland will emerge.
The alternative is to remain ensnared within the carefully contrived limits of a constitution that for more than 300 years has been successfully blocking all threats of radical change in order to preserve the stability of the oldest capitalist state form in the world. Socialists owe no kind of loyalty to that Britain.
We do have a responsibility to help its peoples escape from the chains of British history.
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Colin Fox takes on Chancellor Darling in General Election Challenge
Colin Fox takes on Chancellor Darling in General Election challenge - Source www.scottishsocialistparty.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSP joint national spokesman Colin Fox will challenge Chancellor Alistair Darling in the General Election and the party will look to target 10 key seats across Scotland in the poll.
Colin Fox said :
"The SSP will fight the General Election on two key battlegrounds, the economy and Afghanistan.
"We will take the fight to Alastair Darling in his own constituency on his stewardship of the economy, the fact that he took this country into the deepest and worst recession in 80 years and because he now intends to slaughter the jobs and services of working people to pay for his incompetence and his banker’s greed.
"Equally, we will be the only party in this election opposed to the ongoing occupation of Afghanistan and calling for an immediete withdrawal of British troops.
“Despite the undemocratic voting system and exorbitant cost of standing candidates the Scottish Socialist Party will offer a bright alternative to the 4 neo-liberal, warmongering parties in Scotland—Labour, Lib Dem, Tories and SNP—who are shamefully trying to outdo one another to see who can make the most savage cuts in jobs and essential services.
“Our message is clear therefore—those who caused the banking crisis should pay for it. That means higher taxes and sacrifices by those enjoying their luxury lifestyles. Working people like nurses, teachers, firefighters and postalworkers didn’t cause the crisis and they shouldn’t be expected to pick up the bill for it with pay cuts and sackings. That's the social justice we believe millions of Scots expect to see.
“In what will be an unsavoury 'doom and gloom' election contest about which party can best satisfy the City of London's demands for slashed public services and cuts jobs the SSP will stand out as a bright alternative, a welcome light of optimism, with our message that there is no way we will accept cuts and hardship for working people. There is an alternative, the SSP say another way is possible.”
“I particularly relish the prospect of challenging Alastair Darling the former revolutionary socialist and now arch conservative neo-liberal Chancellor justifying his plans for feather bedding the rich and assaulting the pay and conditions of those who used to be Labour’s key supporters in Edinburgh South West.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SSP joint national spokesman Colin Fox will challenge Chancellor Alistair Darling in the General Election and the party will look to target 10 key seats across Scotland in the poll.
Colin Fox said :
"The SSP will fight the General Election on two key battlegrounds, the economy and Afghanistan.
"We will take the fight to Alastair Darling in his own constituency on his stewardship of the economy, the fact that he took this country into the deepest and worst recession in 80 years and because he now intends to slaughter the jobs and services of working people to pay for his incompetence and his banker’s greed.
"Equally, we will be the only party in this election opposed to the ongoing occupation of Afghanistan and calling for an immediete withdrawal of British troops.
“Despite the undemocratic voting system and exorbitant cost of standing candidates the Scottish Socialist Party will offer a bright alternative to the 4 neo-liberal, warmongering parties in Scotland—Labour, Lib Dem, Tories and SNP—who are shamefully trying to outdo one another to see who can make the most savage cuts in jobs and essential services.
“Our message is clear therefore—those who caused the banking crisis should pay for it. That means higher taxes and sacrifices by those enjoying their luxury lifestyles. Working people like nurses, teachers, firefighters and postalworkers didn’t cause the crisis and they shouldn’t be expected to pick up the bill for it with pay cuts and sackings. That's the social justice we believe millions of Scots expect to see.
“In what will be an unsavoury 'doom and gloom' election contest about which party can best satisfy the City of London's demands for slashed public services and cuts jobs the SSP will stand out as a bright alternative, a welcome light of optimism, with our message that there is no way we will accept cuts and hardship for working people. There is an alternative, the SSP say another way is possible.”
“I particularly relish the prospect of challenging Alastair Darling the former revolutionary socialist and now arch conservative neo-liberal Chancellor justifying his plans for feather bedding the rich and assaulting the pay and conditions of those who used to be Labour’s key supporters in Edinburgh South West.”
Monday, 17 August 2009
Appeal for support from Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign activists on trial for ‘racism’
An arrest warrant was issued at Friday’s court hearing against Sofiah MacLeod, Scottish PSC Secretary currently in Palestine witnessing Israel’s racist dispossesion of Palestinians. The warrant was cancelled shortly afterwards, however. Sofiah will bring her recent experiences of Israeli state-driven racism when she goes on trial accused of ‘racism’. Three of the other four accused will similarly produce evidence from first-hand experience of Israel’s programme of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
On trial for ‘racially aggravated conduct’ are five Scots who responded to the Palestinian appeal for boycott of Israel. We protested a visit by the Israeli state-sponsored Jerusalem Quartet to the 2008 Edinburgh International Festival. Next appearance in Edinburgh Sherriff Court is on Thursday October 1st, when our lawyers will argue to dismiss the case against us .
The Scottish legal authorities will attempt to prove that shouting ‘End the siege of Gaza’, and ‘Boycott Israel’ equals ‘racism’. We five will argue that boycott of Israel is a duty while that State violates every canon of international law.
This is a political show-trial, encouraged by the stated positions of the British Government, and is aimed at intimidating Palestine supporters. We shall certainly not be intimdated: last year we saw off some Zionist rascals from SCoJeC (Scottish Council of Jewish Communities) who were unwise enough to claim in print that Scottish PSC is anti-Semitic. They then had to pulp 6,000 copies of a book, Scotland’s Jews, in open admission that the claim was without foundation and libellous.
We will show in our defence/attack that
1.we are bound to oppose grave Israeli crimes and British Government complicity in those crimes, including political, diplomatic, economic and military support for Israeli Governments
2.the nearest domestic political equivalent in Britain to the factions in the Isaeli Government is the neo-Nazi British National Party (BNP)
3.Israel is an apartheid state as defined in international law
the Palestinian-inspired BDS campaign is a duty for consistent supporters of human rights, i.e. those who repudiate a racist attitude that Palestinians, Iraqis, Afghans and others have a lesser entitlement than others
4. the Jerusalem Quartet are indeed, as we claim, institutionally linked to the Israeli Army and its State, and thus to be boycotted by human rights supporters
Expert witnesses - Palestinians, Israelis and others - will show that the growing support for the Palestinian BDS appeal is
justified by
1. the history of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Zionist movement and its State from 1948 to the present
2. the conscious determination of the Israeli State to continue with further criminal acts of ethnic cleansing
3. the failure of the British Government to honour its international legal obligations to opppose Israeli apartheid, specifically the illegal Wall and settlement building
Witnesses who have agreed to give expert evidence or personal testimonies for the defence include:
Leila Khaled, Palestinian refugee and resistance fighter, Member of Palestinian National Council
Dr. Ghada Karmi, Palestinian writer and academic
Omar Barghouti PACBI (Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott)
Dr. Hisham Genayem, Palestinian refugee and surgeon
Dr. Moshe Machover, Israeli academic and anti-Zionist political activist
Dr. Michael Kearney, University of York (t.b.c)
Dr. Keith Hammond, University of Glasgow
Yael Kahn, Israeli human rights activist
Marion Woolfson, Hon. President of Scottish PSC
Liz Elkind, ex-President of the STUC, moved successful report and recommendation for BDS at STUC 2009 Perth Conference
Tony Greenstein, (JBIG) Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods
Rt. Hon. Peter Hain MP, veteran anti-apartheid campaigner in the 70’s, Chair of Stop All Racist Tours (awaiting reply)
Members of the public who witnessed the protest during the performance
BBC sound technicians who recorded the entire event (awaiting reply)
We are asking supporters to
1. send letters of support to campaign@scottishpsc.org.uk
2. invite one of the accused to speak and explain the background and aims of the campaign to your trade union, political party branch, mosque, church or campaign group
3. turn up outside, and inside, the Court on October 1st and later sessions
make a donation to the campaign (Judge Horseburgh criticised the Legal Aid board severely for refusal to provide legal aid to one of the accused.)
4. boycott everything Israeli, except those Israelis supporting Palestinian human and national rights
5. join the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign to help us build this campaign
On trial for ‘racially aggravated conduct’ are five Scots who responded to the Palestinian appeal for boycott of Israel. We protested a visit by the Israeli state-sponsored Jerusalem Quartet to the 2008 Edinburgh International Festival. Next appearance in Edinburgh Sherriff Court is on Thursday October 1st, when our lawyers will argue to dismiss the case against us .
The Scottish legal authorities will attempt to prove that shouting ‘End the siege of Gaza’, and ‘Boycott Israel’ equals ‘racism’. We five will argue that boycott of Israel is a duty while that State violates every canon of international law.
This is a political show-trial, encouraged by the stated positions of the British Government, and is aimed at intimidating Palestine supporters. We shall certainly not be intimdated: last year we saw off some Zionist rascals from SCoJeC (Scottish Council of Jewish Communities) who were unwise enough to claim in print that Scottish PSC is anti-Semitic. They then had to pulp 6,000 copies of a book, Scotland’s Jews, in open admission that the claim was without foundation and libellous.
We will show in our defence/attack that
1.we are bound to oppose grave Israeli crimes and British Government complicity in those crimes, including political, diplomatic, economic and military support for Israeli Governments
2.the nearest domestic political equivalent in Britain to the factions in the Isaeli Government is the neo-Nazi British National Party (BNP)
3.Israel is an apartheid state as defined in international law
the Palestinian-inspired BDS campaign is a duty for consistent supporters of human rights, i.e. those who repudiate a racist attitude that Palestinians, Iraqis, Afghans and others have a lesser entitlement than others
4. the Jerusalem Quartet are indeed, as we claim, institutionally linked to the Israeli Army and its State, and thus to be boycotted by human rights supporters
Expert witnesses - Palestinians, Israelis and others - will show that the growing support for the Palestinian BDS appeal is
justified by
1. the history of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Zionist movement and its State from 1948 to the present
2. the conscious determination of the Israeli State to continue with further criminal acts of ethnic cleansing
3. the failure of the British Government to honour its international legal obligations to opppose Israeli apartheid, specifically the illegal Wall and settlement building
Witnesses who have agreed to give expert evidence or personal testimonies for the defence include:
Leila Khaled, Palestinian refugee and resistance fighter, Member of Palestinian National Council
Dr. Ghada Karmi, Palestinian writer and academic
Omar Barghouti PACBI (Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott)
Dr. Hisham Genayem, Palestinian refugee and surgeon
Dr. Moshe Machover, Israeli academic and anti-Zionist political activist
Dr. Michael Kearney, University of York (t.b.c)
Dr. Keith Hammond, University of Glasgow
Yael Kahn, Israeli human rights activist
Marion Woolfson, Hon. President of Scottish PSC
Liz Elkind, ex-President of the STUC, moved successful report and recommendation for BDS at STUC 2009 Perth Conference
Tony Greenstein, (JBIG) Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods
Rt. Hon. Peter Hain MP, veteran anti-apartheid campaigner in the 70’s, Chair of Stop All Racist Tours (awaiting reply)
Members of the public who witnessed the protest during the performance
BBC sound technicians who recorded the entire event (awaiting reply)
We are asking supporters to
1. send letters of support to campaign@scottishpsc.org.uk
2. invite one of the accused to speak and explain the background and aims of the campaign to your trade union, political party branch, mosque, church or campaign group
3. turn up outside, and inside, the Court on October 1st and later sessions
make a donation to the campaign (Judge Horseburgh criticised the Legal Aid board severely for refusal to provide legal aid to one of the accused.)
4. boycott everything Israeli, except those Israelis supporting Palestinian human and national rights
5. join the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign to help us build this campaign
Saturday, 8 August 2009
Monday, 13 July 2009
Wyndford Occupation Ends!
'The group of courageous parents who have occupied Wyndford primary school since Friday 26th June have decided to end their sit-in, but to fight on against the injustices and education cuts by the Glasgow Labour council, more angry and determined than ever.
They left the building in tears – sad to have to leave the building to the tender mercies of the Labour council vandals, angry at what the council is inflicting on their kids and community.'
Quoting (Glasgow SOS Blog) where the rest of the article can be found.
They left the building in tears – sad to have to leave the building to the tender mercies of the Labour council vandals, angry at what the council is inflicting on their kids and community.'
Quoting (Glasgow SOS Blog) where the rest of the article can be found.
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Wyndford Primary School Occupation – The Fascist Microcosm
2009 has been a year of turmoil, the crisis in capitalism has caused unemployment to sore, with both families and individuals striving to survive. Society has been transmogrified with a spate of protests, and the voting in of extreme-right parties in the European Elections. Yet the difficulties in Glasgow have been manifold with 13 Primary Schools and 12 Nurseries being considered for closure. Whilst capitalism struggles on, the parents of Glasgow school children have been acting, re-occupying Wyndford Primary School on the 29th of June.
Whenever an organisation decides to occupy a building as a means of protest it is never long before a private security firm and the police are called in to ‘deal’ with the situation, their ‘objective’ to protect the public, the occupants and the building. Despite this the police are likely to leave, hassling the protesters to only a small extent, allowing the security firm to begin running operations. The firm has one objective; to wear down the occupants thus making it more likely for them to abandon their protest; this will aid the company by giving it a reputation for its effectiveness helping it to amass a greater amount of work. At no point are the interests of the public, the building or the occupants taken into mind.
This scenario is no different to the current occupation at Wyndford Primary School, where the security’s tactics have led to the creation of a Fascist Microcosm, in which the occupants’ basic human rights have been stripped away. What has manifested is the antithesis of our governments’ so called liberal ethos. The Security has ensured that geographic mobility is a thing of the past, nobody can enter the school grounds and once one has left there is no return, the only movement being for the collection of food parcels or to have a quiet cigarette. The ability to move around freely allows us to indulge in our basic rights, to practice a religion, to work, to see our children and so on, without freedom of movement the people within the occupation are stripped (though maybe willingly) of these rights. The occupants have become pseudo-slaves.
Surveillance is also being used at the occupation, so that criminal activity can be caught on film. Yet the public’s money is ill spent, as any damage done to the building is merely superficial for the council plans to demolish it. There is also little risk to public or occupant safety as the general feeling in the Maryhill area is one of support for a justified occupation. Surveillance instead acts to remove any sense of privacy the occupants may have, preventing any escalation in the protest in an attempt to criminalise it.
The limited access to the occupation means that one can only speculate on the other tactics that security is using, but from personal experience (occupying a building at the University of St Andrews in an attempt to stop the University’s discriminative policies towards Palestine), it will not be mere guess-work. It is likely that the security will be carrying out ‘safety checks’ where they will inspect the building during hours of sleep, checking that no property is being damaged regardless of the fact that the property is being demolished by the council. This disrupts the protesters sleep patterns making morale easier to destroy. In the St Andrews Occupation they even resorted to an early morning fire drill. They may also attempt to instate other useless rules, such as keeping the building clean with the removal of footwear, as well as constant reminders that the floor needs to be vacuumed etc. Yet these rules only act to motivate the occupiers further and compliance with them would do very little to distort or crush the occupants aims.
Nonetheless it is easy to forget that the security firm’s draconian ruling within the Wyndford Occupation stems directly from the council, in fact it seems that the Security are held quite highly in the minds of the occupants, probably because they offer extra company and on the basis that they are ‘only doing their jobs’. The St Andrews Occupation had a similar feeling; rightly we blamed the University for the Policies the security employed, as the Wyndford Occupiers rightly blame the council. The council has even pursued its folly without the use of puppets, cutting the water supply on the fourth day of the occupation, council workers deceived the occupants by stating they were there to ‘check out a gas leak’. Water is inherent to human survival and therefore this is the most outrageous step so far and a blatant attempt to force the occupiers out. The occupants will now need to rely on a greater amount of handouts and the lack of running water will cause hygiene levels to decrease.
However it would be too simplistic to state that the Wyndford Occupation is doomed due to the council’s onslaught of deception, rotten tactics and their brutal dismissal of human rights. Both the council and the security have not considered the possibility that an occupation is the modern day equivalent of taking up arms or even martyrdom; it indeed seems to be the ultimate manifestation of the occupant’s beliefs. They have also dismissed the fact that the Glasgow Save Our Schools Campaign has been a prime factor in rebuilding the Wyndford community, social cohesion is at an all time high, and this is unlikely to be quelled overnight. When ‘dancing on a volcano’ one finds that the politics of hope are amidst their neighbours, it would take an earth shattering blow to move the parents on the Wyndford Estate from their cause.
By James Morris
Whenever an organisation decides to occupy a building as a means of protest it is never long before a private security firm and the police are called in to ‘deal’ with the situation, their ‘objective’ to protect the public, the occupants and the building. Despite this the police are likely to leave, hassling the protesters to only a small extent, allowing the security firm to begin running operations. The firm has one objective; to wear down the occupants thus making it more likely for them to abandon their protest; this will aid the company by giving it a reputation for its effectiveness helping it to amass a greater amount of work. At no point are the interests of the public, the building or the occupants taken into mind.
This scenario is no different to the current occupation at Wyndford Primary School, where the security’s tactics have led to the creation of a Fascist Microcosm, in which the occupants’ basic human rights have been stripped away. What has manifested is the antithesis of our governments’ so called liberal ethos. The Security has ensured that geographic mobility is a thing of the past, nobody can enter the school grounds and once one has left there is no return, the only movement being for the collection of food parcels or to have a quiet cigarette. The ability to move around freely allows us to indulge in our basic rights, to practice a religion, to work, to see our children and so on, without freedom of movement the people within the occupation are stripped (though maybe willingly) of these rights. The occupants have become pseudo-slaves.
Surveillance is also being used at the occupation, so that criminal activity can be caught on film. Yet the public’s money is ill spent, as any damage done to the building is merely superficial for the council plans to demolish it. There is also little risk to public or occupant safety as the general feeling in the Maryhill area is one of support for a justified occupation. Surveillance instead acts to remove any sense of privacy the occupants may have, preventing any escalation in the protest in an attempt to criminalise it.
The limited access to the occupation means that one can only speculate on the other tactics that security is using, but from personal experience (occupying a building at the University of St Andrews in an attempt to stop the University’s discriminative policies towards Palestine), it will not be mere guess-work. It is likely that the security will be carrying out ‘safety checks’ where they will inspect the building during hours of sleep, checking that no property is being damaged regardless of the fact that the property is being demolished by the council. This disrupts the protesters sleep patterns making morale easier to destroy. In the St Andrews Occupation they even resorted to an early morning fire drill. They may also attempt to instate other useless rules, such as keeping the building clean with the removal of footwear, as well as constant reminders that the floor needs to be vacuumed etc. Yet these rules only act to motivate the occupiers further and compliance with them would do very little to distort or crush the occupants aims.
Nonetheless it is easy to forget that the security firm’s draconian ruling within the Wyndford Occupation stems directly from the council, in fact it seems that the Security are held quite highly in the minds of the occupants, probably because they offer extra company and on the basis that they are ‘only doing their jobs’. The St Andrews Occupation had a similar feeling; rightly we blamed the University for the Policies the security employed, as the Wyndford Occupiers rightly blame the council. The council has even pursued its folly without the use of puppets, cutting the water supply on the fourth day of the occupation, council workers deceived the occupants by stating they were there to ‘check out a gas leak’. Water is inherent to human survival and therefore this is the most outrageous step so far and a blatant attempt to force the occupiers out. The occupants will now need to rely on a greater amount of handouts and the lack of running water will cause hygiene levels to decrease.
However it would be too simplistic to state that the Wyndford Occupation is doomed due to the council’s onslaught of deception, rotten tactics and their brutal dismissal of human rights. Both the council and the security have not considered the possibility that an occupation is the modern day equivalent of taking up arms or even martyrdom; it indeed seems to be the ultimate manifestation of the occupant’s beliefs. They have also dismissed the fact that the Glasgow Save Our Schools Campaign has been a prime factor in rebuilding the Wyndford community, social cohesion is at an all time high, and this is unlikely to be quelled overnight. When ‘dancing on a volcano’ one finds that the politics of hope are amidst their neighbours, it would take an earth shattering blow to move the parents on the Wyndford Estate from their cause.
By James Morris
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Crunch Time for Trident - Sing Out For Peace - 20th June
'Join with us (CND) to march and sing for peace and against the Government's plan to spend billions of pounds on nuclear weapons.
Saturday, 20 June 2009, 11:00am - 2:00pm
11 am Assemble George Square Glasgow
11.30 am March Off from city centre to Kelvingrove Park
12.30 pm Sing Out for Peace, Kelvingrove Park
Compere Dave Anderson. Choirs including Protest in Harmony and Euradyce.
Organised by Scotland's for Peace'
Quoting Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Saturday, 20 June 2009, 11:00am - 2:00pm
11 am Assemble George Square Glasgow
11.30 am March Off from city centre to Kelvingrove Park
12.30 pm Sing Out for Peace, Kelvingrove Park
Compere Dave Anderson. Choirs including Protest in Harmony and Euradyce.
Organised by Scotland's for Peace'
Quoting Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Scottish Socialist Party to Stand Candidate in Glasgow North East by-election
'A well-attended meeting of Scottish Socialist Party members last night voted to stand a candidate in the forthcoming Glasgow North East Westminster by-election, triggered by the resignation of Michael Martin.
The Scottish Socialist Party has consistently fought elections since our formation nearly 11 years ago. We are determined to give the people of Glasgow North East a socialist alternative to all the parties of greed and profiteering.
With daily bulletins on the stench of greed and corruption rising from Westminster, we will stand a socialist candidate pledged to remain on a skilled worker’s wage, nothing more, to stay in touch with working class people who suffer some of the worst levels of poverty in Europe.
With New Labour and the Tories competing in an obscene auction of job losses, pay cuts and the slaughter of public services, the SSP will demand a 10 per cent wealth tax on the millionaires to help fund jobs and services.
We will demand the Scottish government stand up for Scotland, mobilise the Scottish people and defy £500m of Westminster public sector cuts, instead of playing pass-the-blame at the expense of workers’ jobs and community services.
With Glasgow Labour council ripping the hearts out of several local communities through closure of schools and nurseries, and the SNP government standing silent in the shadows whilst class sizes increase and education worsens, the SSP will demand class sizes of 20 or less for all age-groups, and investment in local community schools, as part of our vision of an independent socialist Scotland that puts kids before cash, people before profit.
By Richie Venton - 17th June 2009'
Quoting www.scottishsocialistparty.org
The Scottish Socialist Party has consistently fought elections since our formation nearly 11 years ago. We are determined to give the people of Glasgow North East a socialist alternative to all the parties of greed and profiteering.
With daily bulletins on the stench of greed and corruption rising from Westminster, we will stand a socialist candidate pledged to remain on a skilled worker’s wage, nothing more, to stay in touch with working class people who suffer some of the worst levels of poverty in Europe.
With New Labour and the Tories competing in an obscene auction of job losses, pay cuts and the slaughter of public services, the SSP will demand a 10 per cent wealth tax on the millionaires to help fund jobs and services.
We will demand the Scottish government stand up for Scotland, mobilise the Scottish people and defy £500m of Westminster public sector cuts, instead of playing pass-the-blame at the expense of workers’ jobs and community services.
With Glasgow Labour council ripping the hearts out of several local communities through closure of schools and nurseries, and the SNP government standing silent in the shadows whilst class sizes increase and education worsens, the SSP will demand class sizes of 20 or less for all age-groups, and investment in local community schools, as part of our vision of an independent socialist Scotland that puts kids before cash, people before profit.
By Richie Venton - 17th June 2009'
Quoting www.scottishsocialistparty.org
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Fife and Dundee European Election Results
Fife: -
Electorate: 278,380
Turnout: 28.6%
Valid Votes: 79,239
Rejected papers: 322
Votes for SSP: 587
Dundee: -
Turnout: 26.9%
Votes for SSP: 372
Electorate: 278,380
Turnout: 28.6%
Valid Votes: 79,239
Rejected papers: 322
Votes for SSP: 587
Dundee: -
Turnout: 26.9%
Votes for SSP: 372
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Recent News
(Sorry for Lack of Posting - Internet has been 'Down')
Taycoast SSP members have been highly active these past few weeks in preparation for the European Elections (last Thusday) with stalls having been held in Perth, Cupar and St Andrews. As well as the extensive leafletting of St Andrews before and during election day.
Results for the European Elections are out tomorrow, thanks for everyone's support for the Make Greed History Campaign.
Taycoast SSP members have been highly active these past few weeks in preparation for the European Elections (last Thusday) with stalls having been held in Perth, Cupar and St Andrews. As well as the extensive leafletting of St Andrews before and during election day.
Results for the European Elections are out tomorrow, thanks for everyone's support for the Make Greed History Campaign.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
SSP's European Election Rallies
The SSP's European Election Rallies will be taking place as follows:
Glasgow: Tuesday 26th May, 7.30pm
Piper In The Square, George Square
Scottish Socialist Party candidate Nick McKerrell will be speaking alongside a Glasgow Save Our Schools Campaigner and a member of the New Anti-Capitalist Party (France).
Dundee: Wednesday 27th May, 7.30pm
Queens Hotel, 160 Nethergate
Angela Gorrie SSP Candidate will be joined by John McAllion and a member of the New Anti-Capitalist Party.
Edinburgh: Thursday 28th May, 7.30pm
The Melting Pot, 5 Rose Street
SSP Candidates Colin Fox and Raphie de Santos will be accompanied by post office worker Willie Marshall and a member of the New Anti-Capitalist Party.
Friends and comrades are encouraged to attend, all are welcome...
Remember to visit the Make Greed History Hompage
Glasgow: Tuesday 26th May, 7.30pm
Piper In The Square, George Square
Scottish Socialist Party candidate Nick McKerrell will be speaking alongside a Glasgow Save Our Schools Campaigner and a member of the New Anti-Capitalist Party (France).
Dundee: Wednesday 27th May, 7.30pm
Queens Hotel, 160 Nethergate
Angela Gorrie SSP Candidate will be joined by John McAllion and a member of the New Anti-Capitalist Party.
Edinburgh: Thursday 28th May, 7.30pm
The Melting Pot, 5 Rose Street
SSP Candidates Colin Fox and Raphie de Santos will be accompanied by post office worker Willie Marshall and a member of the New Anti-Capitalist Party.
Friends and comrades are encouraged to attend, all are welcome...
Remember to visit the Make Greed History Hompage
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Make Greed History Update
The Make Greed History (SSP European Elections Campaign) was officially launched on the 13th of May in Dynamic Earth Edinburgh attended by former MSP for the Lothians Colin Fox (top of the SSP EU Election List), the SSP’s youngest candidate Angela Gorrie and Willie Marshall Secretary of Scotland No.2 Branch CWU (Postal).The campaign is now well under way with the party being featured in the BBC's Politics Today and by an array of news sources. Our Election Broadcast will take place on the 21st of May on BBC 2 at 17:55 and BBC 1 at 18:55.
However the SSP need to raise £15,000 to pay for the election campaign. To date we have raised £11,500 from our members, supporter and friends for the campaign fund.
If you wish to help the SSP in the Euro Elections you can make a financial contribution* to the fund by texting Jim McVicar your donation details to 07810205747 with your e mail address, he willl get back to you with the details of how to pay your donation to the SSP Euro Election Fund.
*The SSP can only accept financial donations from UK registered voters
Pictures from the Campaighn Launch (taken by Eddie Truman and Craig Maclean):
However the SSP need to raise £15,000 to pay for the election campaign. To date we have raised £11,500 from our members, supporter and friends for the campaign fund.
If you wish to help the SSP in the Euro Elections you can make a financial contribution* to the fund by texting Jim McVicar your donation details to 07810205747 with your e mail address, he willl get back to you with the details of how to pay your donation to the SSP Euro Election Fund.
*The SSP can only accept financial donations from UK registered voters
Pictures from the Campaighn Launch (taken by Eddie Truman and Craig Maclean):
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
St Andrews Make Greed History Stall Success
Three Taycoast Branch SSP members along with two members of the University of St Andrews' Left Society ran a successful Make Greed History stall this Monday to help gain local interest in the campaign.
It was recieved generally well by the public with the group gaining a few hundred signatures for a 'Say No to Privatising the Post Office' petition, as well as handing out numerous campaign leaflets.
It is hoped that the five will meet again prior to election day (details will be left on this blog for anyone else interested in attending).
It was recieved generally well by the public with the group gaining a few hundred signatures for a 'Say No to Privatising the Post Office' petition, as well as handing out numerous campaign leaflets.
It is hoped that the five will meet again prior to election day (details will be left on this blog for anyone else interested in attending).
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