standing against Keith Hill, there is no better NEW! example of this than on the rail and tube. Hill used to This ISG work for the NUR, forerunner of the RMT, and the pamphlet is a constituency Labour party contribution to remains sponsored by the the debate But despite his historic within the links Hill has done nothing whatsoever to defend rail workers. Rather he has Alliance on the been at the forefront of the government's campaign to to challenge Without the RMT Hill would we aim to and unite a remino nim of this tact every day of the campaign. broad It is clear that Londoners movement of remain overwhelmingly against any idea of privatis- the left.
Now available And the case for renationalisation of the railways is for just £2.00 including post utter chaos caused by Railtrack and the train oper. & packaging from ISG, be pressing home our sup- In contrast to Hill, we will c/o PO Box 1109, London tube and rail workers in N4 2UU.
defence of safety."
€2 ISG Policies for change John Lister
Gordon Morgan T he second conferHence of the Scottish Socialist Party took place in Glasgow roranty av-ii atenaca Dy around 250 people. Its main focus was launch the party's ambitious General Election plans Yet again the conference demonstrated that the SSP is Parlament. score in the Irvine by-election ringing in participant's cars.
As the Executive motion DOlHECE OUtA score for the SSP since the Scottish Partiament elections is just under 7%, they have beaten the Liberal Democrats every time, BaHU can now realistcally claim to be the fourth political party in 2003. in Scotland.
The Party's National Council way back last August tion, should be to stand in cach of Scotland's 72 seats - as has been stated many times since give every Scottish voter opportunity vote time The only constraint on SiCH a project, they said, the should be if it seemed that within the required finances could Socialist Outlook supporters the right approach at this the stage of the party's development. In some arcas of the country, especially in some large where the SSP bas no effective branch, this will lead to a token campaign.
positions thers at the conif the organisaPCIC UrCE battle over the Westminster clections and ended up with conduct major debts this would cut across mounting an effective WONie cac onslor the Scortisb Parlament due Cominined to fighting eorry seat: Sheridan ference by Supporters of the Scottish Republican Socialist Move- SOCCE mcat wno arguca tnis posialso claimed that "actual membership of the Parlament debate would be inimical to the gramme on which aims" of the SSP.
the party will stand In this debate for the first visitor from delivered to every WitCh breadth VO e Country in the form of an 4 the page newspaper. Scottish national question. The These range from the supwas in general nonporters ot this position who contentious - it is a locate themselves strongly in tradition John which is very well thought the Campaign for a Federal and Republic, of which supportaccessible. ers of the CPGB seem to form a sizeable proportion. DOMNIS in England would The leadership and most certainly members of the party have somewhere bet- only discrete It was also healthy to see this document that in practice the existence but its language. Some within the party allow it to were agreed. attract broader forces and to platform seriqus political debates without this all welcome operation on the citber in campaigns or elecScrap the Совкі! Tax the manifesto should include a section on reland dealine with the way Friday entrenched setan There were some drafting changes to other sections ac occi Cos oce in the context of two major developments on the far left in Scotland.
T tional organisation Socialist Party in England and Wales, the for a Workers international tions. (CWI).
effect the There had been long stand.
debate on how most of the Scottish people should be con- SCuiS and the Thaffe leadership in tested the London which had finally culminated in a break by the General Election| was pre-empted for most mem- These disagreements bers. back at least as far as the forThe target had which the Socialist Party been publicly announced leadership opposed.
including ( that They had become increasingly bitter very morning in radio interviews with MSP supporters, organised as the International Tommy Sheridan and accept the line majority felt it London the would be Alliances as well as the SSP -that building the broader defeat to back off at this stage. political formation was counEven the terposed to conference itself this debate fol- It was clearly no accident that the decision to finalise owed e Ooct ing of the con- advance of the SSP con this took Sheridan in moti- ence -vated the leadership's position, calling for 100,000 votes its rather impressive maga.
zine Frontline and hold its went on own fringe meeting..
proWill be prokramac extremely benefit KUUROHS The Tommy Sheridan and Alan Green accepted the he resulfing tension was evident during the conferEngland and Wales, and that ence, particularly in the session which discussed the Council Tax question of tendency rights the Good On other questions has debate seemed polarisca - party Decause of skilful handling by the ISM. for example when the CWI comrades put a series of essentially nit-picking amenthe response was to accept most of them. The other main context for the conference was the disWCIC CUSTOHE merly members of taking place berween the SSP the same interna- and the SWP The SWP had increasingly recognised that there was litCommittee political logic Witted to playing a role in the Socialist Alliance in England and Wales. However. entering a parts is a more complicated issuc than tust being a curren within an alliance. gO The fact that this has been difficult for the SWP to fully convince their membership in Scotland may be indi CC OV negotiations have been con. the dected by Julie Waterson and Los bery wno wate they are Scottish have both lived in borland for many years. peddled by At the conference itself it Was celt ace was Sote suspicion from the base of the SP as to the extent to which the SWP bas broken building their from its sectarian past.
• as l could tell the leadership does not really share this concern - acceptwk tac pomt that toc capenconfer- ence in England has been leaving the ISM free overwhelmingly but that it will be a process in Scotland that both H owever rosen hard and unforon the question of paper sales, in which they this suspicion to ensure that Socialisi lorker, along with not be sold publicly but only within SSP events. This debate was definitely the low point of the conferExecutive's position was carried despite opposition from The top table tried to insist that their oponents over-reacting: no one would disciplined was just a question of setting out what was expected of They assisted ridiculous speeches in oppoloyalists who made comparisons between the sP leadership and the witch hunters of the Labour Party. Of course the leadership is the right about one thing: there less not be acceptable for sales of orker to continue a uci orcs way Douse they would completely dominate the SSP'S own paper, The conference heard any. WaY that a distribution deal had been done for Scottish Voice which would enable the paper to go weekly (though probably the SWP's participation actua.s) equally important in making chis a reality.) but this in itsel! would not solve the problem.
T he experience of England and Wales demonstrates that the swP are becoming more prepared to put the need to build comaDove their However the fact that the SWP's entry was a done deal became from discussions in the corndors - with it becoming clear that one of the SWP's full-timers was to work on Scottish Socialist Voice. The leadership must find ways to become more incluhealthy that the overwbelming majority of officers are supporters of the International Socialist Movement. Conference took a lengthy discussion on constitutional changes that woul i deal with positive: this question. No immediate measures were agreed a com. "sides" mission was established Europe and bring back pro. they posals to next year's conferHence It certainly seemed that the leadershin were genuine in their wish to change the current situation. Only time will C HOW eroTOT stranglehold of Party dormatısm will take the ISM current. The challenge facing them and all socialists in Scotland Is to build of a dynamic, broad, truly democratic party desperately needs. Party faces many challenges WOT andycats ahead. There can be little going doubt that the party will conits in defence of working people's rigats ana tarouga lis ciccby tion campaign.
It is on the right track, and all socialists should support its endeavours to depen its
Outlook
gear up to every seat