Campsie SSP Branch AGM

Saturday 26th October 

Special guest speaker TBA.

For details please email eastdunbartonshiressp@hotmail.co.uk

This is our review/planning meeting for year ahead.  

If you are interested in helping/joining/becoming more involved - please come.  This meeting will also help us plan our engagement in the YES campaign locally as well as our own SSP independence campaigning.  

The SSP, like any union and organisation of the working class, only works with your involvement - we are not an organisation like the Labour Party/ Tories/ Lib Dems with huge resources at our disposal.  We can't afford to as these parties do, pay for huge media campaigns; PR firms or leafleting/canvassing teams.  The SSP is Your party - and needs you to commit to something - no matter how small - to ensure our message of fairness and socialism is heard.

At the meeting we will also be looking at how we engage in local issues as well as wider campaigns such as the bedroom tax etc. 

The SSP are one of the three parties who set up Yes Scotland - we are key to the campaign.  

To read our arguments for an independent Socialist Scotland - please buy our new pamphlet which clearly sets out our case. HERE 

And let the world know about us by buying a badge/ poster! - HERE

Yes Lennoxtown

The Yes campaign had a public meeting tonight in Lennoxtown. About 40 people turned out to question panel members who included an SNP councillor, an economist, a business leader and an SSP member Sonya Scott speaking on the dreadful welfare reforms meted out by the Westminster coalition.

Willie Telfer, SSP member and union official spoke eloquently from the floor on the effect the coalition and the Union are having on jobs and also our want for a Government who doesn't send its young, poor men and women out to other countries to become collatoral in a fight for resources. What was made very clear at the meeting was that Scotland has resources that are being untapped because of greed and avarice of a bloated London/SE England centric political and economic system.

If you are from the area and missed this, Yes Scotland will be having another public meeting this Saturday 9th March starting at 2pm in Milton of Campsie Village Hall.

Finally Getting Hip to the Capitalist Ruse! - SSP Campsie Podcast

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New Banner?

We are currently updating the look of the Campsie blog.  We want your suggestions as to how to change the banner/ background etc!

A comrade from the SSY has created this banner as an example of what we could do.  If you have any suggestions/ advice, please email us on eastdunbartonshiressp@hotmail.co.uk

SAVE OUR SCHOOLS IN EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE - Public Meeting

Public Meeting

Wednesday 9th June at 7.30pm

Campsie Memorial Hall Lennoxtown (Hall opens at 7pm)

Chair:

Willie Telfer – local SSP campaigner

Speakers:

Gerry McTiernan – Lennoxtown Primary Parents Council (in a personal capacity)
Richie Venton – Glasgow Save Our Schools organiser
Charles Kennedy – Campsie independent Councillor

Unite and stop all school closures!

Demand smaller class sizes- not fewer schools – 20’s plenty in any class!
Unite and campaign for the funds from Holyrood and Westminster to invest in our schools and other community services!

Attend the meeting to hear a report of what is happening. Help set up a campaign- to make sure we are ready for the next attempt at making our children pay for the bankers bailout.

See below for reports

CAUTIOUS VICTORY TO THE SCHOOLS CAMPAIGNERS

The Labour/Tory coalition has been rattled by real people power.

After the SSP’s call for a demo outside the council chamber at tonight’s planned butchery of our children’s schools and our call for a public meeting next Wednesday (see HERE), over 150 members of the public crammed into the council chamber and overflow annexe. The outpouring of disgust at the planned school closures crossed the constituency as PTA’s, parents and independent councillors joined with us and made sure those who had planned using our children to pay for the bankers cuts knew we were not going to stand for it. The council, because of people power, kicked their own report and planned closures, temporarily, into the long grass rather than risk a split vote which could have brought down the unholy alliance of Tories and Labour.



Local SSP campaigner, Willie Telfer said, “getting so many people out in such short notice has been a victory for working class people in the East Dunbartonshire area. We will not pay for the casino money making that these millionaires have been doing with our savings and tax money. These schools are a credit and an asset to our communities and must stay open!”

He went on, “Although this is undoubtedly a temporary victory through pressure placed on the councillors by parents and parent councils, the majority who listened in the annex were left in no doubt a campaign must remain in place in order to keep vigilant as we know they will try to spring this on us again in the next 6 months- year.”


The meeting in Campsie Memorial Hall at 7.00-9.30 on Wednesday night will be going ahead in order to explain to parents and education workers what happened in the council chambers and what it means. We will also be planning a Save Our Schools campaign - making sure we are ready for the next attempt at making our children pay for the cuts.

Speakers will include SSP activist Willie Telfer; Lennoxtown Primary School parent and campaigner Gerry McTiernan; local Independent Councillor Charles Kennedy and Glasgow Save Our Schools coordinator, Richie Venton.

1/4 of Primary Schools to close in East Dunbartonshire

After the extremely flawed survey sent out to all homes in September last year, the Labour/Conservative coalition in Tom Johnston House have decided to close eight Primary Schools in East Dunbartonshire. (Our response to the "review" is HERE)

There will be a demonstration outside Tom Johnstone House, Kirkintilloch tommorrow (Thursday 2nd June) at 5.30pm to meet Councillors who have taken part in this decimation of provision to our children.

A meeting has been called in Campsie Memorial Hall (see below for directions to hall), Lennoxtown next Wednesday 9th June 7pm-9.30pm - representatives from all schools and communities effected(parents, education workers, PTA etc)are welcome. This meeting will be to help set up a Save Our Schools campaign in the area - a non-party campaign. Introducing the meeting will be local campaigner, Willie Telfer and Glasgow Save Our Schools coordinator, Richie Venton, who will be offering advice in building a campaign - and offering facilities to help with the campaign.

All issues will be discussed, including school rolls, travel etc.

Closures announced :

Twechar Primary School
Auchinairn Primary School
Baldernock Primary School
Gartconner P.S.
St Agathas P.S.
Lennoxtown P.S.
Lenzie P.S.
St Josephs P.S.

Directions to Campsie Memorial Hall (click on "view larger map" for road directions)


View Larger Map

Our job as socialists...

Neil Scott, Campsie Branch, gives his view on the coming battles with the right:

The main parties will be vying for places in the Parliament and in councils to defend the neo-liberal capitalist machine in their varying ways. Markets have failed - and it should be the job of socialists to help people understand this. The current economic situation is capitalisms "Berlin Wall" - this is really and truly the end of capitalism. And it is not just the left that are saying this - this is being realised by academics across the world in medicine/ health/education/economics/ecologists etc.

We can allow the existing parties to drag this end of market economies, painfully out, to the detriment of the working class - or we can show people that there are alternatives - viable ones. An economic system is supposed to ensure goods etc are divided out... not a method of squeezing the blood from the poor to support our rich "betters" and "wealth makers" etc. - stuff we know - and stuff we need to get across to people in the simplest, most dynamic, active, interactive, positive, relevant ways.

One thing I have learned from this General Election campaign/ the crisis etc is that people DO want change - they do want an alternative, and our dynamic working class are searching through those. Fascism seems to be being looked at and dropped after people realise exactly what it is. The alternative of the Lib Dems is being seen to be what it always was - no alternative at all... and people are sick of swinging back and forth from the Tories who will quickly shaft us, to Labour who do it a little more slowly...

It is our job to show people we are the alternative to the mainstream parties who have let Scotland and in fact the world, down.

If the Tories get in through whatever mechanisms they make up in the coming hours/days, then there is a real possibility there will be more battles of Orgreave in the coming years. People need alternatives to blind rage - they need solutions - political ones... and we have them!

Willie Telfer - defend our communities and services!

Public Meeting in Lennoxtown Wednesday

Scottish Socialist Party Public meeting this Wednesday 31st March in Campsie Memorial Hall, 7.30pm. Details click HERE

No to War! No to Cuts!

Bill and Willie, two of the leafletting team today.
1800 leaflets advertising the Public Meetings were delivered to households in Lennoxtown.
(see leaflet HERE)

PRESS RELEASE FROM CAMPSIE BRANCH SCOTTISH SOCIALIST PARTY

Public Meetings in Lennoxtown and Kirkintilloch

The Campsie Branch of the Scottish Socialist Party is holding two public meetings to highlight the futility of the war in Afghanistan and in opposition to the local and national cuts planned by all the major political parties.

The first meeting will be in Campsie Memorial Lesser Hall in Lennoxtown on Wednesday, 31 March at 7.30. Speakers will include Colin Fox (spokesperson for the Scottish Socialist Party and a former MSP), a member of the Afghan community in Scotland and local Party members. This will be followed by a further meeting in the Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre at 7.30 on 21 April. The SSP believes that neither the truth about our economic crisis nor the real reason for the conflict in Afghanistan is being told and the meetings will encourage discussion on these crucial issues.

Colin Fox said, “After 8 years of occupying Afghanistan, 50,000 civilian and 270 British deaths, it is time to support our troops and bring them home. Our politicians at Westminster ignore the polls showing 70% of Britons want our soldiers brought back home and have themselves shown, just as they did whilst they were fiddling their expenses, that they are completely out of touch with public opinion in this country.”

Two new articles from Richie Venton and Raphie de Santos

Cuts in Services, Jobs, Wages and Pensions to Pay for Their Crisis by Raphie de Santos

Landslide for National Postal Strikes By Richie Venton SSP national workplace organiser

Green Left Weekly has reached it's 800th issue. Campsie ranch sent a message of solidarity (see HERE).

Campsie Branch Minutes 13 July 2009

Our strategy breakfast in the Kirkie Puffer was great - really positive and frank.

11 Campsie members came along.



Congratulations and thanks were expressed to Mark for standing in Bishopbriggs South and also to Brian Pollitt for placarding our branch area.

We had a long conversation about the positive aspects of the election. Our focussed campaign meant six people have asked for membership forms.

The branch is going to have a 10th anniversary of Campsie Branch BBQ in Mugdock on Saturday 1st August - all branches and members welcome (and bring friends!).

We also plan a 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution information/celebration morning in Kirkintilloch - and will hopefully have invited speakers etc.

Next Saturday, members of the branch will go along to the CND demo in George Square... the Campsie banner will be raised against Trident.

Also - in October there is a Suffragettes memorial march in Edinburgh and the branch hope to be represented at it.

Our branch AGM will be on Weds 23 September in Milton of Campsie Village Hall.

A Newsletter will be going out next weekend to ex and present members of the Campsie branch on all of the positive things we plan and have been involved in over the past few months.

The Puffer was a great venue for this meeting - it was free and it was quiet and we had a wee nook all to ourselves.

Next meeting Weds 24th June, Milton of Campsie Village Hall.

Neil Scott
Branch Organiser

The Scottish Socialist Party are the only socialist party organising in East Dunbartonshire

Campsie Branch SSP Meeting this Saturday

This Saturday we are changing venues (for this month only). Rather than going to Kirkintilloch Leisure Centre, we are having our "second Saturday of the month" meeting in Milton of Campsie Village Hall at 10am. The meeting will welcome Eddie Truman from Edinburgh SSP, who will be facilitating a discussion/educational on Palestine/Israel.

We will also be hoping to go on to Glasgow to help out with a "Save Our Schools" stall - helping build the demonstration on the 21st in Drumchapel (see below for details).

If you have any questions about any of thies, don't hesitate to email eastdunbartonshiressp@hotmail.co.uk

Branch Meeting!

Next Campsie meeting - Milton of Campsie Village Hall - Wednesday night (26th November) at 7.30pm. Meeting should be finished by 9pm. If you are interested in coming along - please do! Contact us on eastdunbartonshiressp@hotmail.co.uk.

FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT

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FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT

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NEXT CAMPSIE MEETING

Our next branch meeting will be held in Milton of Campsie Village Hall and is on Wednesday 26th March at 7.30pm. There will be a discussion, led by Ritchie Venton. This will encompass Ritchie's work in Liverpool in the eighties and '90's and he will also be talking about the Militant Tendency and Entryism.Further reading:http://www.liverpool47.org/