SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 28/08/05
A meeting of the Scottish Socialist Party’s national council made up of delegates from every branch of the party today voted to fully endorse the actions of the 4 suspended SSP MSP’s in disrupting the parliament on June 30th with only 2 votes against from approximately 90 delegates
4 Scottish Socialist Party parliamentary representatives were summarily suspended and stripped of their pay and parliamentary allowances for staging a silent protest in the Scottish Parliament
This unprecedented and draconian penalty was imposed through a process which makes a mockery of natural justice.
The SSP MSPs were tried in their absence, without any kind of due process, right of appeal or any of the basic human rights that are enshrined in law.
The SSP national council, meeting in Glasgow, debated the MSP’s disruption and the legal and political strategy for a full two hours before the vote was taken.
Allan Green, Scottish Socialist Party national secretary, said after the meeting;
“Today’s meeting of the national council shows that the party is overwhelmingly behind the actions of the 4 MSP’s in disrupting parliament over the right to freedom of protest and of the legal and political strategy that the party has taken subsequently.
“With only 2 votes against from a meeting of 90 branch delegates, the party is united behind our suspended MSP’s and determined not to allow this gross miscarriage of justice to stand.”
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