SSP calls for solidarity with striking airport staff

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 12/08/05

SSP calls on Sots holidaymakers to show solidarity with striking airport staff

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Carolyn Leckie today called on Scots holidaymakers to show solidarity with workers taking unofficial strike action at Heathrow airport.
Carolyn said;
“The sacking of hundreds of workers by a megaphone announcement is completely unacceptable.
“These workers are defending themselves against a callous employer by the only means at their disposal – industrial action.
“While facing delays going on holiday may be a disappointment for those caught up in the dispute, the workers at Gate Gourmet have lost their livelihood for daring to stand up to an employer that treats them like slaves.
“I would urge Scots holidaymakers to show solidarity with the workers taking strike action in support of the Gate Gourmet workers.”
[ends]

SSP: Scottish Power is a legalised extortion racket

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 11/08/05

SSP: Scottish Power is a legalised extortion racket

Scottish Socialist Party national convenor Colin Fox today accused Scottish Power of being no better than a legalised money extortion business after the company announced that it had made £147 million pounds profit in just three months.

Colin said;
“It is absolutely stomach churning that Scottish Power are raking in massive profits when all across Scotland low paid workers and pensioners struggle every week to pay their energy bills.
We all know that come winter time there will be pensioners who die because they cannot afford to adequately heat their homes.
“Scottish Power is no better than a legalised money extortion business, preying on the most vulnerable members of society in order to line their shareholders pockets.
"The fact that the poorest Scots have to pay more for their energy through pre-payment meters while the better off get discounts by other payment methods is an absolute disgrace.
“Scottish Power must be brought back into public ownership immediately; the continued existence of this privatised utility is an obscenity in the 21st century.”
[ends]

SSP backs Muslim Association of Britain London demonstration

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 11/08/05

The Scottish Socialist Party Executive last night unanimously agreed to support the call by the Muslim Association of Britain for an all Britain demonstration on 24th September in support of civil liberties, support for the victims of the London bombings, the condemnation of terrorism and in solidarity with the Muslim community in Britain.
Two of the SSP’s MSP’s, Colin Fox and Tommy Sheridan will speak at public meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow in the run up to the demonstration.

Colin Fox, SSP national convenor, today highlighted the headlong assault on civil liberties by the New Labour government since the July 7th London bombings and the massive rise in anti Muslim racism that has swept the UK in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
Religious hate crimes, mostly against Muslims, have risen six-fold in London since the bombings, figures show. There were 269 religious hate crimes in the three weeks after 7 July, compared with 40 in the same period of 2004.
Racist attacks in Scotland have risen by almost a quarter since the London bombings, according to police figures. There were 438 incidents reported from 7 July to the end of the month. That was up by 79 on last year, with 64 of those directly linked to the bombings.

Colin said today;
“The SSP unequivocally denounced the terrorist bombs in London immediately after the attacks and we do so again today.
“These were acts of barbarism that have no place in society and the fact that amongst those killed were several devout Muslims shows that the bombers were in no way a part of the Muslim community a whole.
“The headlong rush into repressive legislation by the government must be resisted by all progressive forces in society; repression will never defeat terrorism as 30 years of history in Northern Ireland shows.
“The legislation the government is proposing is absolutely draconian and the SSP will be joining with the Muslim Association of Britain and other organisations in opposing this grave threat to our civil liberties.
“We stand together with the Muslim community in opposing the wave of racism and anti Muslim violence that has swept the country following the bombings in London.
“The SSP calls on all it’s members and supporters to make their voice heard in opposition to racism and Islamophobia and against the draconian measures being put forward by the New Labour government.”
[ends]

Call for rethink of costs to protect nuclear waste sites

Call for rethink of costs to protect nuclear waste sites - The Herald

MSPs get £1m to buy second homes

BBC NEWS: "MSPs have been paid more than £1m by the taxpayer to purchase second homes in Edinburgh, it has emerged.

BBC Scotland has confirmed that the money was claimed by 38 politicians.

Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan has called for an official inquiry into what he calls widespread abuse of the Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance.

But a spokesman said the present scheme was approved by the Scottish Parliament in 2001 and that the regulations had been followed in every case.

The allowance enables MSPs who live more than 90 minutes' journey from the Scottish Parliament to have subsidised mortgages for second homes in the capital.

They can claim up to £10,600 per year towards housing expenses.

Mr Sheridan called for an investigation into three former Scottish National Party MSPs who he said had made more than £100,000 profit after selling their subsidised flats.

They had claimed mortgage allowances of £90,000 before selling up.

Another four MSPs, who have now left the parliament, have kept flats with a current market value of nearly £500,000. They claimed subsidies of almost £130,000.

A parliament spokesman said the regulations had been followed.

However, Mr Sheridan said the rules need to be changed.

The Socialist MSP has already accused Scottish Executive ministers of using the accommodation allowance scheme to cash in on Edinburgh's property price boom.

Since 1999 the taxpayer has paid 11 executive ministers almost £340,000 towards the costs of the second homes they have bought in the capital.

The average house price in the city has almost doubled over that period."

SSP Attacks Ministers Gravy Train

BBC NEWS: "Scottish Executive ministers have been accused of using an accommodation allowance scheme to cash in on Edinburgh's property price boom.
Under the scheme, MSPs can claim up to £10,600 per year towards housing expenses if they live too far from Holyrood to commute.
Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan said at least three ministers used the scheme to subsidise property speculation.
A parliament spokesman said it was a scheme approved by MSPs.
He said all the payments were within the rules and allowed MSPs who lived far from the capital to do their jobs properly.
Under the scheme, MSPs who live further away than a 90-minute train journey from Edinburgh can claim allowances to cover hotel bills, flat rentals or interest on mortgages on property bought for overnight stays.
Since 1999 the taxpayer has paid 11 executive ministers almost £340,000 towards the costs of the second homes they have bought in Edinburgh.
The average house price in the city has almost doubled over that period.
A number of ministers have bought flats, sold them and then used the profits to buy more expensive properties.
Mr Sheridan, a list MSP for Glasgow, said it was an 'outrageous abuse of taxpayers' money'.
He said: 'The Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance was never meant to be a get-rich-quick scheme for any politician, let alone well-paid Cabinet ministers.'
Mr Sheridan highlighted the cases of former deputy first minister Jim Wallace, Transport Minister Tavish Scott and the deputy minister for enterprise, Allan Wilson.
Mr Wilson bought a flat in Edinburgh for £65,000 in 2000.
He sold it last year for £108,000 and has since bought another apartment for £238,000."
The deputy minister has been paid £34,000 towards the costs of his Edinburgh properties.
Mr Sheridan said: "We have got individuals like Mr Wallace, Mr Wilson and Mr Scott who each have received over £30,000 in taxpayer's subsidy and each have made over £30,000 in personal profit.
"That is a disgrace. That is a particular gravy train that has got to be brought to a stop."
The ministers named by Mr Sheridan declined to comment on the accusations.

SSP warns of racist and Islamophobic violence after Tory remarks

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 03/08/05

SSP warns of racist and Islamophobic violence after Tory remarks

Scottish Socialist Party national convenor Colin Fox tonight warned of a tidal wave of Islamophobic and racist violence as a result of comments being made by politicians and inflammatory material published in the press.

Colin was speaking on the eve of a visit by Scottish ministers to Glasgow Central Mosque to meet leaders of the Muslim community in Scotland.
Colin said that comments by Gerald Howarth, the shadow defence minister, were identical to those espoused by the racist British National Party.
The Tory politician was reported as saying that “If they don't like our way of life, there is a simple remedy: go to another country, get out.”

The Scottish Socialist Party has written to Muslim and ethnic minority organisations across Scotland offering support and solidarity and pledging to continue its campaigning efforts against the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, against racism, for the defence of civil rights and for peace and justice.

Colin said;
“Every politician who makes the kind of remarks that Gerald Howarth did must share responsibility for the massive upsurge in racist and Islamophobic violence over the past weeks.
“These kind of remarks are fuelling hatred on our streets and giving racist thugs the respectable cover they need to carry out attacks in broad daylight such as the one on two Asian men in Leith last week.
“It is absolutely outrageous that a Tory shadow minister should be espousing ideas that are identical to the racist British National Party.
“We are also hearing demands that people should swear allegiance to Great Britain to prove that they are loyal citizens.
“This is absolute nonsense.
“Along with hundreds of thousands of Scots, Irish and Welsh, I too do not wish to be associated with ‘Britishness’; does that mean that the Conservative Party want to see us deported ?
“There is a very real danger that the racist and Islamophobic remarks of politicians along with inflammatory material in certain sections of the press will launch a tidal wave of violence against our ethnic minority communities.
“The Scottish Socialist Party pledges to stand alongside Scotland’s Muslim and ethnic minority communities against racism and Islamophobia and to continue our campaigns against the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq and in defence of our civil rights and for peace and justice.”
[ends]

SSP oppose BNP involvement in 'Trafalgar' event

Scotsman

SCOTLAND'S biggest celebration of the Battle of Trafalgar is being organised by an official of the far-right British National Party, it was revealed yesterday.
Kenny Smith, the Scottish regional secretary of the BNP, heads a committee planning "Trafalgar at the Fort", which is to be staged at Fort George, near Inverness, in October.
Fellow organisers were previously unaware of his links to the BNP, but say they support him "100 per cent" and have insisted the event should go ahead.
But his involvement brought strong criticism from the Scottish Socialist Party.
Steve Arnott, the SSP's Highlands and Islands regional organiser, said: "The BNP are trying to pretend they are a serious political party but they avowedly promote racist and religious hatred.
"I'm sure the people of Culloden and Smithton will be horrified to learn that such a senior figure of the BNP also holds an influential role on their community council."

Health chiefs back scrapping prescription charges

HEALTH chiefs in Lothian have thrown their weight behind moves to ditch prescription charges.
NHS Lothian has written to the Scottish Parliament's health committee saying it supports the Bill being promoted by Scottish Socialist leader and Lothians MSP Colin Fox to abolish the £6.40 charge.

Edinburgh Evening News

MSP calls on Holyrood to back cleaners' strike

POLITICIANS at Holyrood are being urged to give their backing to cleaners set to go on strike at Westminster.
Scottish Socialist MSP Rose Kane has tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament offering "wholehearted support" for the staff employed at the Houses of Parliament who are to stage a 24-hour stoppage tomorrow over pay and conditions.

Edinburgh Evening News

Muslims and anti-war voices hold vigils and point to Iraq

Public gatherings also took place at Glasgow's George Square and on The Mound in Edinburgh. Before a gathering of nearly 200 people in Glasgow, Osama Saeed, an MAB Scottish spokesman, accused Mr Blair of attempting to shift blame for the attacks onto the Muslim community.
Rosie Kane, the Scottish Socialist Glasgow MSP, and Robina Qureshi, director of Positive Action in Housing, were among the other speakers.
They were joined by Maxine Gentle, the teenage sister of Gordon, the British soldier killed in Basra last year, and the Rev John Mann, who spoke at his funeral, in blaming Mr Blair and the war on Iraq for the London bombings.
Ms Kane said it was vital that communities stood shoulder to shoulder to oppose any Islamophobia triggered by the attacks.

The Scotsman

SSP instructs QC over Parliament penalties 41 MEP's protest to George Reid

BBC Newsonline: SSP begins legal action over ban

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit Press Release:
14/07/05

SSP instructs QC over Parliament penalties 41 MEP's protest to George Reid

The human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar has instructed two QC's on behalf of the Scottish Socialist Party to begin proceedings in the Court of Session over the penalties imposed by the Scottish Parliament after a protest by four of the SSP's six MSP's on Thursday 30th June.

Following a preliminary meeting with legal advisors, the SSP has been told that it's MSP's have a very strong legal case and that the first moves seeking a judicial review will be taken shortly.

SSP national convenor Colin Fox today had a meeting with Paul Grice, Clerk and Chief Executive of the Scottish Parliament, at which the implementation of the sanctions were outlined.

Colin also revealed that 41 members of the European Parliament have written to George Reid to protest at the severity of the sanctions imposed by Parliament as have 8 Portuguese MP's.

The 41 MEP's are members of the European United Left Nordic Green Left. European Parliamentary Group.

Speaking after the meeting with Paul Grice Colin said;

"The sanctions outlined to me today by Paul Grice are utterly unacceptable and disproportionate to the protest that was made in Parliament.
"We have been denied any semblance of natural justice; we were tried in our absence without any kind of due process, right of appeal or any other of the basic human rights enshrined in law.
"I have met with our legal team and we are advised that we have a very strong case which will be taken to the Court of Session when we seek a judicial review of these draconian penalties.
"Socialist parliamentarians from across Europe have rallied to our defence with 41 members of the European Parliament and 8 members of the Portuguese Parliament writing to George Reid to protest at the severity of the sanctions imposed by Parliament.
"We are confident that by September the Scottish Parliament will have the full compliment of six SSP MSP's sitting in their rightful place in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament."

G8 police accused of hiding identities

G8 police accused of hiding identities - The Herald

SSP demands an enquiry into G8 policing

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit Press Release: 09/07/05

SSP demands an enquiry into G8 policing

The Scottish Socialist Party today demanded an enquiry into the policing of G8 protests across Scotland, in particular of the role that police forces from outside Scotland had played.

The SSP accused police of deliberately attempting to sabotage the demonstration at Auchterarder on Wednesday 6th July by announcing that it had been cancelled, resulting in nearly a thousand people taking to the streets of Edinburgh instead of making their way to Gleneagles. The SSP also accused police of preventing friends and family of those appearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of attending the hearings without any authority to do so.

SSP MSP for Central Scotland Carolyn Leckie said today; "There must now be an enquiry into the policing of G8 protests across Scotland. "The conduct of the police must be examined, in particular the role of forces that came from outside Scotland who appeared to act in a completely uncontrolled manner on a number of occasions. "Did police officers cover their numbers to prevent complaints being made about their behaviour? "By what authority did police prevent friends and family of those appearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court attending the hearings? "The police must also be called to account for events in Edinburgh on Wednesday which they precipitated by falsely announcing that the Auchterarder demonstration had been cancelled. "It looks to us very much like the announcement by the police that the Auchterarder demonstration was cancelled was a deliberate attempt to sabotage an event which the police had given permission for. "The style of policing adopted by officers on the streets of Scotland over the past week appears to have been deliberately provocative and heavy handed with a cavalier attitude to basic civil liberties."

Further detail: Buses going to the demonstration at Auchterarder were stopped by police who then refused to identify a senior officer with whom the bus organisers could communicate with, telling people on the buses that anarchists were attacking buses with scaffolding poles and that an overturned bus was blocking the way. SSP members and MSP's repeatedly came into contact with police officers with their numbers covered up or missing altogether. Officers repeatedly refused to identify themselves and would not identify a senior officer. This happened all over Scotland, in Edinburgh and at the protestor's eco-camp in Stirling. Colin Fox MSP and SSP national convenor has already written to the Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson complaining in the strongest possible terms about the practice. When protesters tried to lodge official complaints about the actions of officers, the police would not take the complaint without the numbers of the officers involved.

The activities of Metropolitan Police officers in Edinburgh in particular were highlighted by the SSP. From Monday 4th July onwards Metropolitan Police officers and those from other forces outside Scotland behaved in an entirely disproportionate way to what had begun as peaceful protests around the 'Carnival For Full Enjoyment'. From Monday morning groups of officers were stopping all young people in the street, demanding ID, searching them and then filming them. Police hemmed in protestors along with media representatives in Canning Street for close on 4 hours, refusing to let them leave or to gain access to toilets or water on a day of scorching sunshine. Riot police were then deployed in Canning Street when there had been little more than pushing and shoving at the police line hemming in the demonstrators. Later in the day on the Monday police tactics brought about a situation in which violence escalated when Edinburgh locals were confronted with riot police rampaging through Princes Street Gardens and riot police on horses moved through crowds of bystanders.

SSP Youth Organiser Donnie Nicolson was arrested by police while attempting to negotiate with them in Edinburgh on Wednesday following the cancellation of buses to Auchterarder when police officers boarded the buses, falsely saying that the demonstration had been cancelled. After his release from court on Thursday Donnie was immediately targeted by members of the Metropolitan Police and re-arrested. The SSP contacted Lothian and Borders Police on Thursday night expressing concern that any of our members attending court the following day would be targeted by police and on Friday officers from Lothian and Borders ensured the safety of our members in Chambers Street.

SSP Statement on London bombings

The Scottish Socialist Party today sends it's condolences to the families of those killed and injured in today's bombings in London.
The SSP condemns outright the bombings which were targeted at working class Londoners going about their daily lives. Many of those dead and injured would have participated in anti-war protests and would have taken part in the Make Poverty History protests over the past week.

Meanwhile, the men responsible for the war on Iraq and the massacre of 100,000 civilians were safely cocooned behind fortified walls 500 miles away, protected by thousands of police and armed forces.

Today's horrific events further expose the falsity of the claims by Tony Blair and George Bush that the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq have turned the world into a safer place. Exactly the opposite: the world is now darker and more dangerous than ever before.

Today's wave of destruction also underlines the futility of trying to defeat terror by ever more repressive legislation. As the escalating violence in Iraq and Afghanistan illustrates, even the most ferocious repression cannot quell violence and terror.

The most effective action Tony Blair could now take to make the UK a safer place is to pull all British troops out of Iraq.

We note that neo-Nazi extremists are already trying to exploit today's tragedy to whip up fear and hatred towards the Muslim population, the vast majority of whom completely reject acts of violence carried out against innocent civilians.

The SSP pledges to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Muslim community against all forms of racism and Islamosphobia.

Today's horrific events are a further indictment of the world that the G8 leaders have created.

Until the swamps of poverty, war and injustice are drained, countless thousands more innocent people will die needlessly in the months and years to come.

SSP Youth Organiser Arrested

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit Press Release: 05/07/05

SSP Youth Organiser Arrested

The Scottish Socialist Party tonight announced that the party's Youth Organiser Donnie Nicolson (26) and two other members of the SSP, Nick Eardley (17) and John Wight (30) were arrested in Edinburgh on Wednesday 6th July.

Tonight the SSP accused the police of being solely responsible for the events in Edinburgh after falsely informing coach drivers that the demonstration in Auchterarder was cancelled in a clear attempt to prevent protestors attending.

The SSP members were arrested following impromptu demonstrations that took place in the streets of the capital after police officers boarded buses and announced that the demonstration in Auchterarder was cancelled. A Superintendent from Lothian and Borders boarded buses from Edinburgh and announced that anarchists were attacking buses going to Auchterarder with scaffolding poles. This was completely untrue.

Eye witnesses have said that two of the three arrested, Nick Eardley and John Wight, had been involved in negotiations that involved the police, Edinburgh council leader Donald Anderson and the protestors. Donnie Nicolson was targeted later by a police snatch squad.

The three will be appearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Chambers Street on Thursday 7th July from 2pm.

Colin Fox, SSP national convenor and party justice spokesperson said; "The events in Edinburgh on Wednesday were solely the responsibility of the police. "Why did they tell demonstrators and coach drivers that the demonstration in Auchterarder was cancelled ? "It was this deliberate attempt to stop people attending the demonstration that the police had agreed only days ago that resulted in the protests in Edinburgh. "If the police had not intervened in this way the 600 - 1,000 people who took to the streets of Edinburgh would have been safely on their way to Auchterarder. "There must now be an inquiry into the policing of the G8 protests across Scotland. "The deployment of large numbers of police officers with shields and wielding batons from forces that Scots would never normally come into contact with has been extremely provocative and has resulted in unnecessary violence."

SSP MSP charged at Dungavel Protest

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 05/07/05

SSP MSP charged at Dungavel Protest

SSP MSP Carolyn Leckie has been charged after refusing to allow police to
search her handbag as she travelled to Dungavel to take part in protests
there.

Police informed Carolyn that they were invoking Section 60 of the Police and
Crime Prevention Act 1994 and insisted on searching her handbag.
Carolyn said afterwards;

“Yet again we see totally over the top and heavy handed policing.
“Quite what they expected to find in the way of weapons in my handbag I
don’t know.
“I regard it as an infringement of my civil liberties and of all those who
the police searched without a shred of evidence that we were anything other
than entirely peaceful demonstrators.”

Press Round-Up

Faslane

Picnicking for Peace at Faslane - BBC

Hundreds Protest at Nuclear Base - The Guardian

Former Scottish Socialist party leader and MSP Tommy Sheridan was at the protest. He said: "Faslane is a carbuncle on the face of Scotland. It despoils our landscape, and represents all that's wrong with the G8 meeting in Gleneagles, spending billions on destruction, when we are standing here today for peace and solidarity." Declaring the protest a success, he added: "We've closed down Faslane for one day - I want to close it down for the other 364."

Telegraph

Mr Sheridan, former leader of the SSP, called for the UK's nuclear weapons, which he described as "barbarian pieces of scrap metal", to be abandoned.

"The G8 leaders say they are concerned about poverty but I do not believe that," he said. "If they are concerned, then their $646 billion annual arms expenditure between the G8 nations would go on food and medicine and water."

Edinburgh

SCOTTISH SOCIALIST MSP CONDEMNS “OUTRAGEOUS” POLICE TACTICS IN EDINBURGH

SSP MSP Frances Curran tonight (JULY 4th) angrily condemned police tactics in dealing with anti G8 protesters in Edinburgh as “outrageous and inflammatory^.

Ms Curran said that she had repeatedly tried to gain access to protesters hemmed in by police lines in an attempt to mediate but had been barred by police.

As some of the worst disorders seen in Edinburgh for years raged in the city centre Ms Curran laid the blame squarely at the door of police many of whom, she said appeared to from England be ignorant of Scottish law.

She said:

“The behaviour of the police has been provocative and a total overreaction. They seem to be spoiling for a fight and this ‘take us on if you think your hard enough’ approach has no place in policing a democracy.”

“I have made several attempts to gain access to protesters to try and calm the situation but this has simply been brushed aside”

“There needs to be an urgent review of police tactics and I am demanding that First Minister McConnell accepts his responsibilities and intervene immediately to halt what is a situation rapidly getting out of control.”

SSP National Convenor Colin Fox said:

“I have witnessed some of the most violent policing of my entire life. I witnessed squads of riot police clear Princes Street Gardens by charging and attacking anyone who got in their way including innocent Edinburgh people sunbathing after work.”

“The day started with a carnival atmosphere which was completely destroyed by heavy handed and violent policing”

Daily Record

G8 Protests




Make Poverty History demo pictures of SSP contingent.

Scottish City Besieged for G-8 Summit - Prensa Latina Cuba

Pravda Russia

Colin Fox, the leader of the Scottish Socialist Party, said that Gleneagles was turning into an unassailable fortress because of the police measures.

MSP critical of ‘heavy-handed’ treatment of Socialist protestors

The Herald: "Margo MacDonald, the Independent MSP, has written to Holyrood's presiding officer criticising the handling of the case of the four socialist members who staged a protest in the chamber and the severity of the their punishment.
Colin Fox, Scottish Socialist party leader, and his colleagues Carolyn Leckie, Rosie Kane and Frances Curran, were banned from the parliament for a month, without salaries, staff allowances or expenses, for their 30-minute protest in the chamber after claiming Holyrood had failed to recognise the right of people to protest at the G8 summit.
The Lothian MSP speaks of her 'serious reservations concerning the appropriateness of the disciplinary measures decided on by the standards committee and the process adopted by parliament' caused by a rush to judgment last week that did not result in 'best practice'.
She said in her letter to George Reid: 'We created a precedent and I fear that a great many, perhaps most, of us made the decision to exclude four SSP MSPs without having taken enough time to consider the matter fully.
'I am unsure as to how the penalty imposed regarding the loss of MSPs' allowances will impact on the staff employed by the four SSP members concerned. This is only one example of where a longer cooling-off period might have yielded a more considered decision. It was a heavy-handed way to deal with an incident in which no business was lost, there was no violence and no foul language.'
At yesterday's G8 Alternatives summit in Edinburgh's Usher Hall, Mr Fox launched a public fund-raising appeal to help the party pay for the loss of wages. He said the month outside the parliament would be used to campaign across the country."

An act of vengeance

Letter to The ScotsmanAn act of vengeance

As a sceptic of the whole G8 business, I was neither impressed nor depressed by the SSP stunt in the Scottish Parliament last Thursday. But I am concerned at the outrage it seemed to provoke among other MSPs, leading to the sentence of a month's suspension from parliament, including loss of allowances, which punishes employees because of employer behaviour - a strange principle for Labour MSPs to support.

I am a former "stunt" man, who disrupted a Budget in the House of Commons, as did Alex Salmond before me (to SNP applause). We are not alone. Tam Dalyell, rightly praised as a magnificent parliamentarian, also has the distinction of being evicted from the Chamber of the Commons.

There are others with a record of disruptive stunts. John Prescott helped bring the Commons to suspension when he and I were members of the Tribune Group; and Gordon Brown, along with members of the present government, was instrumental in bringing another suspension via a demonstration against the tax policy of Margaret Thatcher's government.

On those occasions, the sheer numbers meant no individual punishments. But individuals, like me, Alex Salmond, and Tam Dalyell, suffered the due and proper punishment of banishment from the Commons for a short period. I emphasise a short period.

Disruption in democratic parliaments is not an exceptional event, but a fairly usual one, and the confidence and maturity of the parliamentary institution concerned is demonstrated by the way it is dealt with. At Westminster, it is seen as a tiresome chore, dealt with in a few minutes, requiring a proportionate short sentence of banishment, then resumption of business as if nothing much had happened.

The Scottish Parliament institution failed the tests of confidence and maturity on Thursday, became hysterical, and went over the top in an act of vengeance which, in respect of denying allowances to pay staff as per employment contract, is possibly unlawful. I am beginning to wonder if these people can be trusted with the rational conduct of public affairs.

JIM SILLARS, Grange Loan, Edinburgh

Socialists call for an end to the system that creates poverty

The SSP joined the hundreds of thousands who marched through Edinburgh calling for an end to world poverty and hunger. Join us on Wednesday when we take the message to the gates of Gleneagles.

Holyrood disrupted by G8 protest

BBC NEWS: "Holyrood disrupted by G8 protest

Socialist MSPs disrupted business at Holyrood with a G8 protest
Scottish Socialist MSPs have disrupted business at Holyrood by staging a protest over the G8 summit.

They marched to the front of the chamber brandishing placards reading Defend Democracy, demanding the right to protest at Gleneagles.

Presiding Officer George Reid suspended the sitting and warned the MSPs they would face penalties for what he said was 'a repeat performance'."

Welcome to Radical Edinburgh

'Radical history of Edinburgh' - Socialist Worker: "The city hosting many of the G8 protests has a long tradition of resistance, says Colin Fox MSP, national convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party"

SSP targets Royal Bank Of Scotland in G8 direct action

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit Press Release

SSP targets Royal Bank Of Scotland in G8 direct action


Edinburgh RBOS HQ

The Scottish Socialist Party today targeted the Royal Bank Of Scotland in simultaneous direct actions in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The action was taken to highlight the profits of RBOS in contrast to the crushing poverty that results in 625 children dying of poverty every 30 minutes across the world.

6 protesters entered the headquarters of the Royal Bank Of Scotland in St Andrews Square at 12 noon while SSP members accompanied by Frances Curran MSP staged a sit down protest in a branch of RBOS in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

The protests lasted for 30 minutes during which time 625 children across the world died of poverty while RBOS made £465,000 profit.

Frances Curran MSP said today;

"In the week leading up to the G8 Summit at Gleneagles we are absolutely determined to focus on the obscene profits being made by companies in Scotland, particularly in the financial services sector.
"These companies are making profits which could themselves go a long way to ending poverty and hunger in the world today.
"A child could be saved from hunger for as little as a dollar a day, 30 minutes of RBOS profits could have saved the lives of 2,325 children.
"In order to make poverty history we need to make capitalism history."

Glasgow, Sauchiehall Street

G8 Scare Story Exposed As Bogus

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 24/06/05

G8 Scare Story Exposed As Bogus

A G8 scare story run by the Edinburgh based 'Scotland On Sunday' newspaper has been exposed as bogus after the Scottish Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) issued a statement condemning the report as "misrepresentation". On Sunday 12th July SOS ran a front page story suggesting that G8 protests were likely to cause a "blood crisis"

A member of the public wrote to SNBTS querying the veracity of the story. The Scottish Socialist Party has been given a copy of the correspondence.

Lynne C Kidd of SNBTS replied;

"Thank you for your enquiry regarding the article which appeared in the Scotland on Sunday Newspaper.
"Contrary to the headline in the newspaper last weekend, SNBTS is not expecting a 'blood crisis' to coincide with the G8 Summit and is not expecting a blood shortage as a result of G8. "Unfortunately, we believe there was a misrepresentation of the conversation which our spokesperson had with the journalist.
"However, what we did actually say was that the demand for blood never stops and that we were more concerned about the blood stocks over the entire summer period.
"Summer is always a challenging time for SNBTS, as donations can drop by up to 10 per cent. This is because blood donors can be busy during the holiday period with annual leave, outdoor activities and generally enjoying the nicer weather.
"One thousand units of blood per day are needed to meet the Scottish hospital demand, therefore, a new target has been set by SNBTS which will require a large number of new or lapsed blood donors to come forward and help us to support Scottish healthcare.
"I do hope this clarifies the point you have raised and if I can be of any further help, please do not hesitate to contact me."

Scottish Socialist Party national convenor Colin Fox today commented, saying;

"Over the past months the Edinburgh newspapers owned by the Barclay brothers and controlled by Andrew Neil have run a constant stream of stories deliberately designed to whip up fear and panic around protests against the G8 Summit at Gleneagles next week.
"This Scotland On Sunday front page story has now been exposed as bogus by SNBTS.
"I urge every Scot who wishes to peacefully demonstrate their opposition to the policies of the leaders of the G8 to disregard the scare stories of the hostile Edinburgh press and join us in peaceful demonstration across Scotland at every opportunity available.

Call to scrap prescription charge

BBC News Online
An attempt is being made at Holyrood to abolish prescription charges.
Scottish Socialist Party leader Colin Fox introduced a member's bill earlier this year, claiming the charges amount to a "tax on the sick".
The SSP wants MSPs to follow the Welsh Assembly, which will phase out charges by 2007.
The bill has moved to the health committee for discussion by MSPs and is being backed by the public services union Unison.
Unison health organiser Jim Devine said cost was a factor in 75,000 prescriptions not being picked up every year in Scotland.

SCRAP website

We Will Not Be Silenced

Supporters of G8 Alternatives again lobbied the Scottish Parliament demanding the right to demonstrate at Gleneagles when the G8 leaders visit.
Tariq Ali (pictured above with Rosie Kane MSP) was among the speakers at the protest.

Perth and Kinross council, controlled by the Scottish National Party, have refused permission for a rally unless insurance cover of £5 million is provided.

Frances Curran MSP pledged that she, and fellow MSP's, would join other protestors in defying the ban.

BBC Report

Call to lift ban on Gleneagles march

The Guardian:'We regard this as a denial of the basic right of free speech and assembly,' they said in a letter delivered to the home secretary, Charles Clarke, yesterday. 'It is simply unacceptable that no march has been allowed where the G8 is meeting.'
Mr Benn said that a political exclusion zone 'confirms our worst fears about the state of civil liberties in Britain at the moment'

Bid to give all kids free school meals

Evening Times: "A NEW campaign to give free school meals to all Scottish children was launched today.
It is the second time the Scottish Socialist Party has lodged a free school meals bill.
If passed, the bill would require councils to provide every school child with a free school meal which meets strict nutritional standards.
In 2002 party leader Tommy Sheridan submitted a similar bill.
Although it received widespread public support and some cross party backing, the bill was defeated.
The SSP say they decided the time was right to try again after seeing the public reaction to Jamie Oliver's Channel 4 TV series Jamie's School Dinners, which exposed the low nutritional value of many school meals.
MSP Frances Curran lodged the bill today, backed by the Free School Meals Campaign, which includes One Parent Families Scotland, the Scottish Churches Social Inclusion Network and the EIS."

Free School Meals launch

EducationGuardian: "'The Scottish Socialist party's campaign for free school meals continued today with the launch of a consultation document seeking views from children as well as teachers and health professionals,' Frances Curran MSP, in whose name the bill will be lodged, said today. 'There has been a revolution in people's attitudes to the need to provide our school children with nutritional school meals over the past year.'"

Why we must have free school meals

I WRITE to offer unreserved support for Frances Curran's Free School Meals Bill. Apart from the obvious benefit this would have in helping to combat the increasing problem of obesity in our children (and consequently improving the health of our society for generations to come), this would be one of the most positive and effective steps that could be taken to reduce poverty. The following incident should illustrate the absolute necessity for such a measure, if indeed proof were needed.
SNP Councillor Jim Towers writes in The Scotsman

Rosie Kane in Cuba

Sunday Mail

Rosie Kane

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR

WELL, I'm back on Terra McFirma after one of the most amazing weeks of my life.

The flights to Cuba took 18 hours. It was the longest journey I've made - but not just in hours and miles.

Socialism, Cuba, and Fidel Castro may not be everyone's cup of tea - but I'm a coffee drinker and savoured every drop and enjoyed the buzz.

Being in the same room and speaking from the same platform as Fidel Castro was bizarre. But it was the other people I met who made the trip so memorable.

The presiding officer from the New South Wales Parliament, a senator from Trinidad and Tobago and a leading American lawyer, were some of the representatives from 63 countries at the event focussing on the US and their war on terror.

But my encounters with the people of Cuba were the ones that mattered.

My first was with a hotel cleaner who greeted me by saying 'Hello comrade'.

I liked that. Right away I could see there was no 'them and us' between guest and the worker - exactly as it should be.

I met many schoolkids. Most of them were around 12 years old and all spoke excellent English.

I have never seen such confident and gentle young people. They have a thirst for knowledge and did not stop asking about Britain They wanted to know my thoughts on war, poverty and justice. I told them one in four children in Scotland is born into poverty. They were stunned and asked how they could help.

After the conference we were taken to the Karl Marx Theatre where we were treated to music and poetry from all over Latin America and Cuba.

It was a great evening in one of the most amazing buildings I have seen.

Cuba is no utopia. Nowhere is. For instance, prostitution in Havana is typical of any big capital city and every bit as degrading and dangerous.

I took a wee stroll through the streets of downtown Havana, found a bar and popped in for a drink.

Over a rum and ice, I got chatting with the locals. They wanted to know about Scotland, the parliament and Rabbie Burns.

We started talking about 'freedom' and the debate gathered a crowd of about 20people - it was amazing. And everyone had something to say.

Some loved Fidel others did not - and were not afraid to say so.

One man loved Cuba and Socialism but was critical of Castro. I asked if he was free to speak up like this and he assured me the days of silence were long gone.

I chirped up: 'Raise your hand if you have been imprisoned for publicly objecting to your government's policy?'

The only hand that went up was my ownI went to the market the next day and a little boy ran up and pointed at my bag. He was trying hard to tell me something.

I assumed he wanted money and handed him some change.

But he handed it right back and pointed at a pen sticking out of my handbag.

'Stylo?' he said. The wee lamb wanted my pen.

Turns out they are in short supply, thanks to the blockade.

It was a lesson. Never assume anything about Cuba without speaking - and listening - to the people

Imported police cause problems

Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Long arm of the law grasps challenge with caution: "Aamer Anwar, a human rights lawyer representing the G8 protesters, feared legal niceties would be thrown out of the window if a riot erupted, and that it could prove difficult and costly to call English and Welsh officers to account.

Many Scots are uneasy about the long arm of the law reaching several hundred miles further north.

'It's about the style of policing as well as the legal differences,' said Frances Curran, a Scottish Socialist party MSP and organiser of a protest rally against the G8.

'Met officers and the like running about Perthshire will create huge tensions. We're told they'll receive full training in Scots law but we think any protester arrested by an English or Welsh officer will have grounds to question that arrest.'"

SSP pledge to exercise democratic rights, accuse SNP; "Bravehearts become Fainthearts"

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 10/06/05

SSP pledge to exercise democratic rights, accuse SNP; "Bravehearts become Fainthearts"

The Scottish Socialist Party today confirmed the pledge made by West of Scotland MSP Frances Curran to exercise the right to protest at Gleneagles. Appearing on Newsnight Scotland, Frances said that no matter what she will be exercising her right to peacefully protest against the policies of the G8 governments who are meeting at the Gleneagles hotel.

All 6 of the SSP's MSP's are committed to exercising their right to peacefully demonstrate at Gleneagles.

There will be a meeting of G8 Alternatives, the organisation which the SSP is a part of, to decide a national strategy on Tuesday 14th June with a lobby and press conference at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 16th.

Frances said today;

"The movement that demands the right to demonstrate our opposition to the policies of the G8 countries does not recognise the right of a local authority to charge a price for the right to demonstrate.
"We do not accept that democracy can be charged for and we will be exercising our right to demonstrate at Gleneagles no matter what.
"This is our country and the Scottish Parliament has already passed a vote upholding the right of peaceful demonstration at Gleneagles.
"It is now up to Perth and Kinross Council to recognise their mistake and reverse their decision not to allow the right of lawful demonstration.
"If we accept the idea that there is a price on demonstrating a precedent will have been set which will allow the crushing of democratic rights for generations to come.

"The idea that there is a danger of disorder from demonstrations is monstrous hypocrisy when on the other side of the fence will sit politicians responsible for the reduction of two countries to rubble in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Turning to the decision of Scottish National Party councillors on Perth and Kinross Council to effectively ban the democratic right of people to demonstrate at Gleneagles Frances said;

"What happened to the Bravehearts ?
"More like Fainthearts.
"You can't take our freedom. unless there's a bill for it.
"The SNP are in favour of independence unless unelected local council officials tell them they can't have it

"It's a disgrace and the SNP must hang their heads in shame that they are colluding with attempts to crush the basic democratic rights of the people of Scotland and those who come here from across the world to demonstrate their opposition to the policies of the G8 countries."

Defend the right to protest

The Herald editorial

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. That memorable statement, attributed to Voltaire, is as relevant today as when the French philosopher is said to have uttered it in the eighteenth century. In today's increasingly litigious climate, a new clause might be added: as long as the appropriate insurance cover is in place. The right to legitimate, peaceful protest is a democratic principle to cherish, but it appears to have become conditional on an ability to provide public liability cover. It is a dangerous, as well as a depressing, development which came to light yesterday when Perth and Kinross councillors agreed to permit a rally in Auchterarder on July 6, the day leaders of the world's wealthiest countries converge on nearby Gleneagles Hotel for the G8 summit... The council has an opportunity to allow Auchterarder to make its own mark on the summit and bring influence to bear on the developed world's most powerful men. Undermining the right to protest would stand in the way of such admirable objectives.

Daily Record

Organisers said they will come back to the council with a revised plan and are considering asking a sheriff to overturn the ban. Scottish Socialist MSP Frances Curran said: 'We will need to discuss an alternative route.

'If that involves closure of the A9 then we will have to discuss that and put an application in.

'It may involve applying for a demonstration on part of the A9.'

Democracy for sale and only the rich can afford it

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 09/06/05

SSP: Democracy for sale and only the rich can afford it

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Frances Curran today said that people wanting
to protest about the fact that the poor of the world didn't have enough
money were being prevented from doing so because they didn't have enough
money.

Speaking after the meeting of Perth and Kinross Council that put a
precondition of £5 million liability insurance that will cost G8
Alternatives up to £30,000, Frances accused the authorities of placing every
possible obstacle in the way of those who wished to exercise their
democratic right to protest against the policies of the G8.

Frances said;
"This is a travesty, a threat to the democratic rights of the people of this
country; it means that democracy is for sale.
"In a civic society it is right that councils and the government waive any
financial constraints on protestors taking action.
"Children in Africa are dying because they don't have enough money to buy
food and we can't protest about it because we don't have enough money for
the liability insurance.
"I'm absolutely appalled.
"In theory we've got the right to protest but they keep putting obstacles in
our way.
"The right to freedom of assembly, of the right to demonstrate and protest
clearly comes at a price.
"Democracy is for sale and it looks like only the rich can afford it."
[ends]

Free Speech?

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Insurance condition on G8 march: "A G8 protest rally near the Gleneagles Hotel will only go ahead if insurance cover for up to ?5m is put in place.

The condition has been imposed by Perth and Kinross councillors who want the executive to pay the cost of the premium, which could be up to ?30,000.

The G8 Alternatives group says it cannot afford the premium for the rally in Auchterarder on 6 July and branded the decision 'democracy for sale'.

Scottish Socialist MSP Frances Curran said it was a 'travesty'.

'It's a threat to the democratic rights of the people of this country,' she added.

'Children in Africa are dying because they don't have enough money to buy food and we can't protest about it because we don't have the money for the liability.'"

Let us march at Gleneagles

Daily Record

PROTESTERS staged a rally at Holyrood yesterday to demand a right to hold a demo near the G8 venue, Gleneagles Hotel.

The group, who were backed by Scottish Socialist leader Colin Fox, gathered outside the parliament to protest at the decision to block them from the roads near the Perthshire hotel during the summit. Police claim a march at Gleneagles would be 'unsafe and unsuitable'.

Eurig Scandrett, from Friends of the Earth, said: 'We are responsible people. It is our democratic right to march

G8 Debate in the Scottish Parliament

"Gordon Brown is not telling the truth about what such policies will mean for Africa. Free trade is a disaster for Africa. Brown says one thing publicly and does another thing privately. How should we describe that behaviour? Is it a financial conjuring trick? Who would play a trick on the starving children of Africa? Is it just two-faced? Who would be so insincere in dealing with famine? Is it just spin? Who would use poverty for public relations? How cynical would that be?"
Frances Curran sums up for the SSP in Parliament debate on G8
Colin Fox moved the SSP's amendment to the Scottish Executive's motion on G8 in the Scottish Parliament.

Anger at Police filming of G8 protest meeting

Press and Journal: "Grampian Police were attacked last night for turning a video camera on delegates arriving for a G8 Alternatives meeting at Aberdeen University.

Aamer Anwar, a human rights lawyer and spokesman for the group, described the incident as 'a serious breach of their human rights' and will be making an official complaint.

Members of the group were arriving for one of their fortnightly meetings at the university when they spotted three police officers with a video camera filming their arrival.

Barry Reid and a friend were on their way to the meeting shortly before 7pm when they approached the officers.

After initially being ignored the 23-year-old Aberdeen College music student asked one of the officers why they were filming. He said: 'I remember his exact words, he said, 'we are compiling evidence'. I turned to the policeman who was holding the camera and he filmed me up and down. It's an invasion of privacy.'

He added: 'We have nothing to hide. If they wanted to send a representative to one of our meetings and find out what we are talking about that would be fine. But to film us without our permission, that's not democracy is it?'

Penny Howard, one of the organisers of G8 Alternatives, said that police officers spent more than an hour outside the meeting.

Members of Grampian Senior Citizens' Forum, university and college students along with teachers made up the 15-strong meeting."

G8 info blackout

Veil of official secrecy imposed on G8 - The Herald: "Frances Curran, Scottish Socialist MSP for West of Scotland and an organiser of the G8 Alternatives protest coalition, said she was shocked at the extent of the move. She said: 'The executive has cancelled people's rights under FoI. They have indefinitely cancelled the process of democracy and accountability because George W Bush is visiting Scotland."

Kane in Cuba invites Castro to G8 Counter Summit

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit Press Release: 04/06/05

Kane in Cuba invites Castro to G8 Counter Summit

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Rosie Kane yesterday raised a rallying call for all those in the world opposed to the terrorism of the US state to descend on Scotland for the G8 summit at Gleneagles, specifically inviting Fidel Castro to join G8 Alternatives Counter Summit in Edinburgh on Sunday 3rd July.

Rosie was speaking at the International Meeting against Terrorism , for Truth and Justice, at the International Conference Centre in the Cuban capital Havana Rosie is the only UK participant in a gathering of more than 300 Cuban and international delegates.

Rosie spoke with Cuban President Fidel Castro in the chair immediately after the former President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega had addressed the conference.

The three day event includes contributions from intellectuals, artists, union leaders, social activists, parliamentarians and politicians from various regions of the world. The gathering in Cuba has been organised to highlight the United States ongoing involvement in terrorist atrocities across the world from the death squads of Argentina and Chile in the 1970's to current plans to assassinate President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

Speaking by phone from Cuba on Saturday evening Rosie said; "I invited Fidel Castro to attend our G8 Alternative summit in Edinburgh and the demonstration at Gleneagles because it will be the first time in decades that he will have the opportunity to be within 5 miles of a US President.

"I believe President Castro has an important message for the people of Scotland and the wider world, a message of peace and co-operation between the peoples of the planet.
"President Bush and the other leaders of the G8 have plunged the world into a nightmare in which vast amounts of money are used to create death and destruction.
"Although a tiny country, Cuba is playing a vital role in Latin America training doctors and medical staff and they have offered to instigate a literacy programme for the Dominican Republic.
"In my remaining time in Cuba I will be visiting hospitals and schools and speaking to Cubans about how their country has successfully defied the might of the United States since that historic day in 1959 when the revolution triumphed."


Sunday Mail June 5, 2005, Sunday

KANE IN CUBA: I'VE ASKED FIDEL TO BE MY GUEST; WORLD WILL HEAR TRUTH ABOUT US 'WAR ON TERROR'

Rosie Kane

HERE I am, all the way from Govanhill, Glasgow, to Havana, Cuba, on my own. I've crossed a timeline for the first time and met a man who is truly awe -inspiring, Fidel Castro. For 50 years, the US have wanted him dead. But when I joined 600 other delegates to see him address a conference against terrorism, there were no burly security guards.

Wherever George W Bush goes, there are five-mile exclusion zones and sea-to -air missiles at the ready. But, in Havana, I didn't even have my handbag searched when I went to listen to Fidel He opened his heart to tell the American people that they should be his biggest allies but they were being kept in the dark about the truth.

Despite being 78, Fidel was razor sharp, talking with raw emotion. I have always believed him to be a hero and when I saw what he and his government have achieved under such adversity, he's even more so. He has been accused by America of being a dictator. But what I saw was exactly the opposite.

Cuba is a country that doesn't know the meaning of the word poverty and I had to explain to them our Make Poverty History campaign. You seein Cuba, everyone is born equal. They can vote and stand for election at 16. And they have elections every two and a half years. Hardly a dictatorship, really. And the make-do-and-mend spirit they have due to the US sanctions imposed on them has made Cuba a first- class example of recycling.

There's hardly a new car in sight. Instead, roads are filled with 1950s vehicles we would stop and stare at in admiration if we saw them in Argyle Street today. And the lack of advertising means young people are not obsessed with McDonald's or designer trainers, all the daft things of our Western world.

Cuba is training 70 US students to be doctors - free of charge. And while I was there, Fidel Castro offered to instigate a literacy programme for the Dominican Republic. He's an impetuous man who examines problems, then gets down to it. That's why I've invited him to Scotland to address the G8 Alternative. I'm hoping he will accept my invitation, not least because it will be the first time in decades that he will be within five miles of a US president.

I believe he will have important things to tell us and it will be an unique opportunity to see just who is the real dictator, who is brutally honest - and who is just brutal. I know who my money is on. When I get home, I'll be letting everyone know Cuba is asking for Bush to keep his word about not sheltering terrorists. If Bush is true to his word, he should be doing all he can to ensure Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles, who openly admit their part in the 1976 plane bombing that killed 73 Cubans, are brought to justice.

If he does not, he must stand down from his so-called war on terror. He can't pick his terrorists. The US government last month rejected Venezuela's request for the provisional arrest of Carriles, a first step that could lead to his extradition, on grounds of insufficient information And, with US help, Bosch escaped imprisonment in Venezuela, entered the US, where he was granted asylum and pardoned by President George Bush on July 18, 1990.

I watched astonished as these men admitted on TV they were responsible for the deaths of so many Cubans - yet they remain free. Are their crimes any less than those of September 11 or different from Bin Laden boasting about the destruction of the Twin Towers? If Fidel accepts my invitation, the world will hear the truth of what has been done to his people

First Minister under fire for dismissing NHS cronyism claim

FIRST Minister Jack McConnell has come under fire for his dismissal of allegations about "corrupt" relations between Lothian health board and Labour politicians.
Scottish Socialist leader and Lothians MSP Colin Fox claimed in parliament there was a "highly questionable and even corrupt relationship" between the health board and the politicians.
Edinburgh Evening News

Colin Fox attacks Labour in the Scottish Parliament

G8 - Don't Stop at Edinburgh

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 01/06/05

MSP invites Bob Geldof to join demonstration at Gleneagles

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Frances Curran has today written to Bob
Geldof inviting him to attend the demonstration at Gleneagles on
Wednesday 6th July organised by G8 Alternatives.
[see notes below]

Frances has also lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament
entitled `Don't stop at Edinburgh' welcoming Bob Geldof's call for a
million people to march against global poverty but calling on them
to continue the journey 40 miles north to Gleneagles.
[see notes below]

Frances will be having a meeting with Tayside police on Thursday 2nd
June as preparations continue for the G8 Alternatives demonstration
at Gleneagles which starts at 12 noon, Wednesday 6th July.

Frances said;
"Wednesday 6th July is an opportunity for millions of people to be a
part of history, to make their voices heard to the leaders of the G8.
"We welcome Bob Geldof's call for a million people to demonstrate
against global poverty but we ask them to continue their journey to
Gleneagles and join us in our mass rally on the doorstep of the G8
conference.
"I call on the people of Scotland to open their hearts and their
homes to protestors who will come from all over the world to protest
against poverty and inequality.
"Together we can change the world."
[ends]


Notes
Letter to Bob Geldof

Dear Bob,

One million people coming to Scotland for the start of the G8 Summit
on Wednesday 6 July! That would be fantastic, and an event that
those taking part would never forget. I think the people of
Scotland will open our doors and our hearts to accommodate those who
want to change the world.

I have taken part in a million person protest on the streets of
Florence and it was an inspiration made all the more memorable by
the warmth of the local people who were passing food and drinks out
of their kitchen windows and by the offer o a bed for the night for
5 of us from a complete stranger.

As one of the organisers of the G8 demonstration at Gleneagles on
Wednesday 6 July, an event that has been months in the planning with
the police and local authorities, I would like to invite you to come
a few miles further North and take part in this peaceful protest. G8
Alternatives is an umbrella of local grass roots organisations
including the Scottish Trades Union Council who have permission for
a mass rally on the doorstep of the world leaders at Gleneagles. Our
voices will be heard on the opening day of the Summit.

If a music event is part of the plan, there is a nearby venue in
Balado which is used for the music festival "T in the Park", which
protestors could make their way to after the rally.

This is once in a lifetime opportunity for ordinary people to make a
difference, to have our voices heard by the 8 leaders of the world,
please don't stop at Edinburgh let's take the message right up to
Gleneagles.

Frances Curran MSP
Scottish Parliament

The following motion has been submitted to the Scottish Parliament by SSP MSP Frances Curran.

Scottish Parliament - Business Bulletin: "*S2M-2897 Frances Curran: Don’t Stop at Edinburgh—That the Parliament welcomes the call by Bob Geldof for a million people to take a day off work or study to come to Edinburgh on Wednesday 6 July 2005, the opening day of the G8 summit in Gleneagles; calls on them, however, not to stop at Edinburgh, but to continue a few miles north to Gleneagles to take part in the mass demonstration called by G8 Alternatives against global poverty, climate change and fair trade; notes that G8 Alternatives is an umbrella for many of the Scottish grassroots organisations protesting at the summit and is already supporting the call for people to take to the streets of Edinburgh on 2 July for the Make Poverty History demonstration, and calls on all those coming to Scotland on 6 July to come to Gleneagles to let their voice be heard and extends that invitation to Bob Geldof and Midge Ure."

SSY Protest 'Hoodies' Ban

Scotsman

A group of youngsters are to hold a protest – over fears of a ban on “hoodies” and baseball caps in a city shopping centre.

Members of the Scottish Socialist Youth (SSY) will meet outside the Eastgate shopping centre in Inverness on Saturday to protest at Tony Blair’s “hats off” policy, which is being backed by Northern Constabulary.

...

Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) leader Colin Fox described the measures as an attack on young people.

He said: “It is time that young people were treated with respect instead of being criminalised.

“The SSP and the SSY have no time for loutish, threatening or anti-social behaviour, but the real solutions to these problems lie in offering a real future to our young people – not exploiting them as workers, ripping them off as consumers, or scapegoating them “en masse” for society’s ills.”

Rosie Kane visits Cuba

The Scotsman

Socialist Kane to give Castro Scots 'support'

SCOTTISH Socialist MSP Rosie Kane will travel to Cuba this week - where she hopes to meet President Fidel Castro "to deliver a message of solidarity and unity from the Scottish Socialist Party to the people of Cuba against the US blockade".

She is to address an international conference urging the US to extradite two men with alleged links to the bombing of a Cuban airliner that claimed 73 lives three decades ago.

"I am going in the spirit of international solidarity for truth and justice," said the Glasgow MSP, "taking the message that the people of Scotland stand alongside the people of Cuba in opposition to the warmongers in the White House.

"The brutality and greed of capitalism can be seen easily with the naked eye. The same speeches can be translated from community to community, from motorway to blockade; same problem and same solution."

Cuba calls for SSP’s Rosie

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 28/05/05

The Scottish Socialist Party is proud to announce that Rosie Kane, an SSP member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow, has been invited to Cuba to speak at an international conference ‘Against terrorism, for truth and justice’, to be held in Havana from 2nd to 3rd June 2005.
The conference has been called to demand justice from the US government in relation to two men accused of being involved in terrorism including the bombing of a Cubana flight in 1976 that claimed the lives of 73 people.

While she is in Cuba Rosie will seek a meeting with Fidel Castro to convey the Scottish Socialist Party’s solidarity greetings in defence of Cuba and against the US blockade.

Rosie said today;
“I am going to Cuba in the spirit of international solidarity for truth and justice and I’ll be taking the message that the people of Scotland stand alongside the people of Cuba in opposition to the warmongers in the White House.
“From Cambuslang to Cuba the brutality and greed of capitalism can be seen easily with the naked eye.
“The same speeches can be translated from community to community; from motorway to blockade, same problem and same solution.
“I will be seeking a meeting with Fidel Castro so that I can deliver a message of solidarity and unity from the Scottish Socialist Party to the people of Cuba against the US blockade.”
[ends]

BBC Strike

Scotsman
Tommy Sheridan, the Scottish Socialist MSP for Glasgow, injected some traditional class-war rhetoric into proceedings.
The BBC, he declared at Richter-scale volume, was "one of the few nationalised treasures left" to Britain, while, periodically, delivery vans and other vehicles turned away amid cheers from the pickets.

SSP: Scottish Power “getting fat on the backs of pensioners living in poverty”

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 23/05/05

SSP: Scottish Power “getting fat on the backs of pensioners living in poverty”

The Scottish Socialist Party today called for Scottish Power to be brought back into public ownership as the company prepares to announce record profits to the Stock Exchange.
SSP national convenor Colin Fox accused Scottish Power of “getting fat on the backs of pensioners living in poverty”.

Colin said today;
“Scottish Power’s obscene profits are an absolute disgrace.
“This is a company making itself and its shareholders fat on the backs of Scottish pensioners living in poverty.
“Every winter Scottish pensioners are dying prematurely because they can’t afford to heat their homes adequately.
“Scottish Power must be brought back into public ownership to end the obscenity of pensioners dying through lack of adequate heating while a private company gloats over its profits.”
“The Scottish Socialist Party fights for the establishment of a publicly owned Scottish national energy company.”
[ends]

Notes
Research for the SSP shows that 134,000 (39%) single pensioners and 83,000 (26%) Scottish pensioner couples live in fuel poverty, which means that they must spend 10% or more of their income to adequately heat their homes.
Poverty is the main cause of premature death among the elderly in Scotland according to a study by Energy Action Scotland.
Between 1997-2002, Scotland registered 16,600 more deaths for over-65s between Dec & March than in the rest of the year.
Premature deaths are highest among OAPs in Glasgow with one-in-36 of those aged over 65 dying during the winter months.

SSP defends a womans right to choose

Pro-life extremist to hound top MSPs - [Sunday Herald]: "The Scottish Socialist Party have promised “non-violent direct action” to disrupt Dowson’s campaign by following the trailer around the country, throwing sheets across “offensive” posters and drowning out any high-octane pro-life message"

For a Life Free From Violence

Rosie Kane MSP
Sunday Mail, 15/05/05

WORDS might not come easy when someone dies but they should still be spoken with care and consideration.

The discovery of Emma Caldwell's body last week provoked some predictable but inappropriate words. Emma had been missing for a month - her body was found in a wood near Biggar, Lanarkshire, on the anniversary of her sister's death seven years before.

The trauma of losing her sister, we are told, played a part in how Emma's life unfolded.

Emma has no secrets any more. Her recent past is out there for all to see - she had been a drug addict, lived in a hostel in Govanhill, Glasgow, slept rough and worked as a prostitute.

But drugs and prostitution were only a sad part of her life. They're not what she was or who she was.

She was a beautiful young woman who met a brutal end at the age of 27. Emma was a daughter, a sister, a friend, a real person. To sum up her too-short life with the two-word epitaph 'murdered prostitute' is wrong.

Emma was a woman and she was murdered by a man, killed because she was vulnerable.

They say 104 women are killed in Britain every year by their partner or ex-partner. Let's change the wording on that, too, because the fact is that 104 men kill their female partner or ex-partner every year. It's men who are using their power or strength to take the life of a woman and the way we describe this should reflect that, because the way we describe things in public can shape attitudes.

Another headline last week read 'PC stabbed wife 97 times'. The article went on to describe how PC Graham Jones had stabbed his wife Maria after finding out she was having an affair with a toyboy. The real story is 'man kills woman'. Yes, he was a policeman and, perhaps, she was seeing a younger man. So, split up, see a lawyer, sell the house, arrange access. Don't kill the woman just because you can.

The final and awful tragedy last week was the devastating story about Mary-Ann Leneghan, the 16-year-old who was sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered.

She was young, wilful and 'hanging about with a bad crowd' apparently. There are suspects and, hopefully, there will be convictions... and they will be men.

I only hope that when the men responsible for these three atrocious deaths appear in court we will not have to bear their lawyers making subtle - and not so subtle - references to what their victims wore or who they hung about with No one will say that Emma Caldwell deserved any of the tough blows she received in life. None of these women did or ever could.

Emma experienced loss, drug addiction, homelessness, mental health problems and men's violence - all because she was a vulnerable woman. What she needed was the proper care, resources and support services to mend her fractured life.

The men who attacked and killed these women had a choice - the women did not.

Thankfully, not all men are violent and the decent men are part of the solution.

Men can challenge other men when they are disrespectful in any way towards women. Men must challenge other men they know who are violent towards female partners.

Men should join women in challenging these attitudes in memory of these women and the many more like them.

Women should be able to go where they like, wear what they like and be safe.

So choose your words carefully, pull up those who do not and let us try to ensure these women have dignity in death, even when it was denied in life.

SSP Condemns Labour Attack on PR

Labour trying to ‘destroy’ PR vote

In 2003, the system delivered all seven Green MSPs, all six SSP MSPs and Margo MacDonald, the Independent Lothians MSP. Under plans from the SNP and LibDems, it would disappear, while Labour wants the end of a separate vote for list MSPs. The SSP said Labour wanted to "destroy" proportional representation (PR) at the Scottish Parliament, while the Greens said Labour was "running scared of the new politics".

Letter to Herald

Don't Let Labour Narrow Scottish Democracy

HARD on the heels of obtaining a 67-seat majority at Westminster with only 35% of the vote, New Labour now wants to slash any significant proportionality in the Scottish Parliament. In its submission to the Arbuthnott Commission, New Labour is arguing for three to four members to be elected from new multi-member constituencies under the STV system. This seems precisely designed, at present levels of support, to try to ensure that the four establishment parties of Labour, LibDems, SNP and Conservatives would hold a monopoly on the election of MSPs. At a stroke, the Scottish Green Party and Scottish Socialist Party would be largely excluded from the Scottish Parliament.

That the exclusion of these two parties would produce a democratic deficit is self-evident. In the election just past, the four establishment parties had a near-monopoly of national media coverage in Scotland, partly due to a BBC ruling which boosts incumbents and hobbles aspirants. As a result there was a pitiful lack of public debate on the vital issues of mitigating climate change and redistributing wealth, issues of principle and urgency which these two parties hold dear.

In 1991, at the Labour conference in Aberdeen, I seconded the first-ever successful Labour motion on PR, which stated that "seats gained in a Scottish Parliament should be broadly proportional to votes cast". Labour was not prepared to move to full proportionality at that time. The Scottish Parliament has 129 seats; to be fully proportional, it would need 146.

Now New Labour wants Arbuthnott to bow the knee and diminish proportionality in the Scottish Parliament. The main reason given is the usual pettifogging nonsense about "two classes of MSP". If New Labour gets its way, there will certainly be two new classes of MSP: those who have obtained or retained their place by arguing for a narrowing of democracy; and those who would have been elected for the Green and Socialist parties, but who will instead have to increase their street presence to drive their message home.

John Aberdein, Scottish Socialist Party candidate, Orkney and Shetland, Quoys, Hoy, Orkney.

SSP responds to General Election result

Scottish Socialist Party General Election 2005

SSP responds to General Election result

Scottish Socialist Party national convenor Colin Fox today responded to the SSP's general election results saying that they were disappointing but not unexpected. Colin said; "We were the only party who said from the outset that we had no chance of winning a seat in this election and the Westminster elections are always going to be an away game for us. "As former Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty said; "We got beat four nil and were lucky to get the nil."

Colin continued; "The SSP team is ready for the next game against the leaders of the G8 however. This month we contested 58 out of 59 Scottish Westminster seats, distributing over 3 million election addresses and increasing our membership by ten percent. "In July we will mobilise tens of thousands against the criminal policies of G8 leaders like George Bush and Tony Blair. "In doing that we will link up with all those who used their vote to protest in these elections and explore with them the future of all forces in favour of a collective solution to the future of our planet."

Taking up the question of the voting system Colin said; "The biggest obstacle for smaller parties contesting the Westminster elections is the first past the post system that gives just three establishment parties a monopoly on media coverage and means that not a single Scottish vote for radical minority parties can have any result whatsoever."

Colin went on to thank the candidates, organisers and supporters who had worked hard over the past four weeks to spread the message of socialism across Scotland; "I'd like to pay tribute to all those activists, candidates and supporters who have mobilised more than 42,000 people to come out and vote for the Scottish Socialist Party."

Battle over Pfi demand for £30m extras - The Herald

Battle over Pfi demand for £30m extras - The Herald: "Carolyn Leckie, Scottish Socialist health spokesperson, said she feared other PFI operators would attempt similar price hikes.
'Once you sell schools and hospitals to companies which exist to promote the bottom line, you undermine the whole philosophy of public service, and expose the taxpayer to ever more demands for profit.'"

Vote SSP

The Herald: "The Scottish Socialist Party stressed redistribution and anti-war activism, while attacking LibDems, who are expected to do well out of anti-war votes. Colin Fox, the SSP's new leader, said LibDems were 'phoney radicals. At election time they claim to be radical but when it comes down to it, they are as right- wing as all the other mainstream parties.'"

SSP: Police spying on visitors to Scotland

Scottish Socialist Party General Election 2005

SSP: Police spying on visitors to Scotland

Scottish Socialist Party national convenor Colin Fox today accused Scottish police of spying on visitors to Scotland after it was revealed that hotels, bed and breakfasts, camping and caravan sites in Fife were being asked to provide details of bookings coinciding with the G8 summit between 6-8th July. The request was contained in a form letter, dated 23rd February 2005, from Supt. Ian Hutton to owners of hotels, bed and breakfasts, camping and caravan sites in Fife.

Colin said; "This is a major assault on civil liberties and amounts to nothing less than police spying on visitors to Scotland. "There will be hundreds of thousands of people from across the UK, Europe and the wider world who will come to Scotland to exercise their lawful right to peaceful protest at the G8 summit and yet the police are treating everyone of them as if they were law breakers and troublemakers. "The people of Scotland will be outraged that our reputation as a country that gives a warm welcome to visitors is being tarnished by Big Brother police and security services."

Scottish Socialist Party candidate for Glenrothes Constituency, Morag Balfour, has raised the issue in her campaigning work in the constituency.

Morag said; "This is a shocking development. "First we get fortress Gleneagles to protect political leaders responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, now Big Brother invades Fife. "The message this gives out is that if you are visiting Fife in early July then you are a possible troublemaker, hardly the traditional Fife welcome." [ends]

Morag Balfour (31) is the SSP's Peace and Disarmament spokesperson, Regional Chair of Mid-Scotland & Fife SSP and a member of the Iona Community. She is on the Executive of Scottish CND and is actively involved in Trident Ploughshares. She has taken part in numerous high profile demonstrations against the illegal Iraq war.

SSP calls for radical action to tackle crime at the roots

Scottish Socialist Party General Election 2005

SSP calls for radical action to tackle crime at the roots

As Labour turn the election focus to weapons misuse and crime, the Scottish Socialist Party today called for an end to the war on young people, and action to tackle the real causes of crime - poverty, alcohol abuse and hard drug addiction.

Scottish Socialist Party convenor Colin Fox MSP said: "Labour and the Tories both like to say that they're tough on crime. "Cheered on by the media, Labour have declared all-out war on young people - blaming the youth for the problems our communities face. "Scotland's prison population has hit record highs under Labour, yet people still live in fear of crime. "Labour's policies just aren't working. We need to tackle crime at the roots - poverty, alcohol abuse and hard drug addiction. "It costs far more to keep a single young person behind bars than it does to fund an apprenticeship or keep a community centre open. "Yet Labour Councils have presided over the closure of community facilities in some of Scotland's poorest areas - then turned around and blamed young people for having nothing to do. "The SSP would start by reversing this trend, giving young people more to do than hang about outside off licences and empty shops. "The SSP would put more police on the beat, with democratic community control of local policing."

Fox takes SSP message to Scotland's countryside

Scottish Socialist Party General Election 2005

Scottish Socialist Party national convenor will this week focus attention on the SSP's support in rural areas as the election campaign moves into its final week. Colin will be highlighting the fact that the SSP's election manifesto contains a detailed section on SSP policy over rural issues entitled `For a new rural revolution'. On Monday night Colin will speak at an election rally in Lochgilphead with Argyll and Bute SSP candidate Deirdre Henderson and on Tuesday night he'll be in Galashiels alongside SSP candidate for Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk, Graeme McIver.

Colin said today; "The traditional, rosy-cheeked image of country life is in sharp contrast to the reality. "Farm and rural workers are amongst the lowest paid sectors in the Scottish workforce. "The Borders and Galloway are the low pay capitals of Scotland. "Rural communities are being run down: local shops driven out of business by giant, predatory retailers; village schools shut down because PPP investors see no profit margin in small-scale construction and maintenance; health services centralised and deregulated by remote NHS bureaucrats; and private bus services abandoning the quieter routes where money cannot be made. "All of this leaves the rural population increasingly stranded, and increasingly alienated from urban dominated politics. "The SSP offers solutions to this rural crisis and our active membership in areas as far apart as the Western Isles and the Borders illustrates the growing influence of socialism in the Scottish countryside."

SSP manifesto rural policies

The SSP stands for:
* Full trade union rights and protection for farm workers.
* Stiff penalties and substantial compensation pay-outs for employers who sack agricultural workers because of the new minimum wage.
* Subsidies, where justified by an independent audit, to support employers upon the introduction of the new minimum wage.
* Public and community ownership of Scotland's vast landed estates and corporately-controlled farms.
* An elected accountable body to safeguard wilderness, natural habitats and other landscape of special interest.
* A construction programme of at least 10,000 affordable new rural homes for rent or part purchase by 2008.
* An end to the right-to-buy policy to preserve remaining rural council housing. * Reinstatement of the full Borders rail link.
* A Road Equivalent Tariff scheme to aid Scotland's island communities, with a special Shetland weighting to compensate for the vast distance between Shetland and mainland Scotland
* Immediate withdrawal from the Common Fisheries Policy with a 25 mile offshore limit, within which only Scottish fishermen can fish.
* Local management of fishing policy, based on the Faroes model, where fishermen, representatives of the local community and environmental scientists work together to fashion a fishing industry that sustains both people and marine life.

SSP: Report shows Labour the party of the millionaires

Scottish Socialist Party General Election 2005

SSP: Report shows Labour the party of the millionaires.

Scottish Socialist Party national convenor Colin Fox said today that the paper published in the British Medical Journal showing life expectancy in Glasgow is ten years less than that in Kensington and Chelsea in London was shocking proof that New Labour was the party of the millionaires. The paper also showed that the poorest 10% in society now receive 3% of the nation's total income, whereas the richest tenth get more than a 25%. Colin said;

"This election campaign has seen New Labour boasting about its success managing the economy. "That may be true if you are one of the richest ten percent living in Kensington or Chelsea but if you are low waged or unemployed living in Glasgow it is fiction. "For the people that the Scottish Socialist Party represents there is a cost to the wealth that is accumulating nicely for the richest ten percent and it is ten years off your life. "This is an absolute disgrace and proof that New Labour is carrying on the work that Margaret Thatcher started on behalf of the millionaires. "New Labour is very clearly the party of the millionaires, not the millions."

Scottish Socialist Party call for £8 an hour minimum wage

Scottish Socialist Party General Election 2005

Scottish Socialist Party call for £8 an hour minimum wage

As Labour highlight the minimum wage as a key achievement of the Blair government, Scottish Socialist Party convenor Colin Fox MSP called for the minimum wage to be raised to £8 an hour to lift thousands of Scots out of poverty.

Colin Fox said:

"Low pay and long hours are Scotland's national disgrace. "The UK has the longest working hours in Europe and a mountain of personal debt - unsurprising when you consider than 1 in 3 Scots earns less than £6.50 an hour.

"An £8 an hour minimum wage, equivalent to two-thirds of male median earnings, would lift thousands of families out of poverty, and would actually save money in benefits such as Working Families Tax Credit.

"It is a disgrace that a quarter of low paid workers are found in the public sector, including vital hospital workers, school caterers, and the civil servants paid to administer benefits such as WFTC who end up claiming the benefits themselves.

"Perhaps Tony Blair should reflect on the human price of low pay and long hours when he's relaxing with the G8 leaders in Gleneagles, surrounded by an invisible army of housekeeping staff who work a 48 hour week for £4.85 an hour."

SSP attack two faced Lib Dems over Iraq

Scottish Socialist Party General Election 2005

SSP attack two faced Lib Dems over Iraq

Scottish Socialist Party national convenor Colin Fox today attacked the Liberal Democrats over the Iraq war as another example of their "two faced" politics; saying one thing on a UK wide basis and doing another in the Scottish Parliament.

Colin said;

"The Liberal Democrats are at it again.

"On a UK basis they say they want to abolish the Council Tax but won't support the SSP's bill in the Scottish Parliament to do just that.

"They say they want to abolish prescription charges but won't support the SSP's bill in the Scottish Parliament to do just that.

"Now they are calling for troops to be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year but in the Scottish Parliament debate on Iraq on 9th December last year the Liberal Democrats attacked the SSP's demand for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq as "utterly irresponsible".

"The Scottish Socialist Party is the only party standing in this election in Scotland which has consistently and fearlessly called for the withdrawal of all troops from Iraq.

"The Liberal Democrats are nothing but two faced opportunists who deserve contempt from the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets to oppose the illegal war on Iraq."

Voters’ concern over poverty triggers promises of more aid

The Herald
The Scottish Socialists said the sudden focus on world poverty was largely cynical tokenism.
Colin Fox, SSP leader, said: "For one day of the year Scotland's establishment political parties are paying lip service to the fight against poverty. Every other day of the year they attack those who make the fight against poverty the central plank of policy as being extremists and troublemakers. The only way to make poverty history is to make capitalism history."
He added: "Labour may promise more spending on aid but we are all used to Tony Blair's Labour manifesto promises being broken."

SSP Calls for 12 Months Maternity Leave with Full Pay

School Gate Mum has power to swing biggest election issue - The Herald: "'There's not a massive difference between the parties on maternity leave and pay, except the Scottish Socialist Party's proposal of 12 months' maternity leave with full pay would be fantastic. I have a friend – a male friend – in Sweden, who has 12 months on full pay.'"

Scottish Socialist Party Election Broadcast

Scottish Socialist Party Election Broadcast

The SSP Election broadcast will be shown tonight at the following times:

* 5.55pm BBC 2

* 6.55 pm BBC 1

* 11.10 pm STV

SSP convenor brands Nationalist campaign 'two faced'

Scottish Socialist Party General Election 2005

SSP convenor brands Nationalist campaign 'two faced'

Scottish Socialist Party convenor Colin Fox MSP today branded the SNP's campaign 'two faced', as the Nationalist leader Alex Salmond outlined SNP plans for North Sea oil.

Colin Fox said: "On Tuesday, the SNP are the party of business. They want to slash corporate taxes, boost profit and ape Ireland's Celtic Tiger economy, fuelled by multinationals and low wages. "On Wednesday, the SNP are the party of the trade unions, laying claim to the socialist principles of Labour abandoned by Blair and Brown. "The SNP want to be all things to all people. "Their proposal to create a Scottish Oil Fund would keep billions of pounds in the Scottish economy, but billions more would continue to pour into the coffers of Shell, BP and the oil conglomerates reaping profits from the North Sea. "The SNP would even boost these profits by giving businesses even bigger tax breaks. "The Scottish Socialist Party are 100% committed to our principles. "Our proposals for the public ownership of North Sea oil would see all of the revenue from North Sea oil used for the benefit of the people of Scotland. "We would also ring-fence a proportion of the revenue for research into alternative energy sources, ensuring jobs and energy resources for future generations."