Scottish Socialist Party ‘The Socialist Case for Independence’

Public Meeting, Kirkintilloch Miners Welfare, Kirkintilloch, Wed 30th April

‘Audience React Positively to Case for Independence’

Over 80 members of the public packed into the Miners Welfare on 30th April to take part in the SSP Public Meeting in Kirkintilloch on ‘The Socialist case for Independence’. It was one of the best attended public meetings on Independence in East Dunbartonshire. The Speakers, veteran former MSP/MP Jim Sillars, who has had a major impact on Labour and SNP politics for over 30 years, and SSP Co Convener and former MSP Colin Fox, were given a good reception as they outlined their vision for an Independent Socialist Scotland within a modern democratic republic. They advanced their view that this was a historic chance to elect a government of the left which would pursue policies which would benefit working people such as a living wage, abolition of the bedroom tax, investment in public services, repeal of anti-trade union laws and the removal of Trident. Colin fox made the point that the SSP regards this as only the start, a means to an end, with a Yes vote eventually opening the door to a Socialist government with the powers and political will to tackle poverty and inequality with far reaching redistribution of wealth and power.

Colin Fox outlined the SSP’s support for Scotland’s right to self-determination and that all the evidence shows that the working class majority will be economically, socially and politically better off in an independent Scotland. Referring to the ability of Scotland to run its own affairs, and the negative campaigning of the No Camp on this issue, Colin Fox pointed out;

‘’As a socialist my view is that our most precious asset, worth more than the oil revenue and all the whiskey, is the people of Scotland who are capable of running this country and making a success of it’’

He said it was now the chance to grasp the greatest opportunity in our lifetime, to change the direction of the economy and social policy and in so doing improve the living standards of the Scottish people. It was in his view the greatest debate in 300 years;

‘’The stakes are enormous and the consequences are enormous. This isn’t just a vote for independence but it is a vote to reject neo- liberalism and war mongering. These things have held Scotland back and should not be part of a future Scotland. It’s about creating a new Scotland based on fairness, social justice and social democracy. The British establishment don’t want Scotland to be independent because they gain financially from Scotland.’’

He continued that a Yes vote and the eventual election of a left government would lead to improved working conditions and employee rights, which have been constantly under attack over the last three decades by both Labour and the Conservatives;

‘’We are going through the worst recession in 80 years. A million people are now on zero hours contracts without any security or trade union rights or hope of permanent employment. The working class people in Scotland are held back on employment rights, held back on pensions and held back by another 10 years of austerity. We are rejecting that by voting for Independence.’’

Jim Sillars outlined his view of a socialist case for independence in a deeply thought provoking manner given his involvement over so many years as a socialist and independence campaigner. He emphasised that in his view there is definitely a sense of renewed optimism within working people, with the realisation that they have the capability to run their own affairs and to radically change society for the better, but that it will only come with the powers which independence brings. Jim Sillars reflected the mood within the audience when he made the following observation;

‘’What we can take from this public meeting is that there is now a sense of self confidence within ordinary Scottish working people and that we no longer need to feel inadequate about what we can achieve. One of the great tragedies of the Scottish working class is that we’ve believed what they told us, we’ve believed that were inadequate. We have been caught in a great prison of the myth of our own inadequacies. We need to convince the Scottish working class of their talent and their ability. This referendum is fundamentally about the liberation of the Scottish working class.’’

The audience reacted in wholehearted agreement to this statement!

There were a broad range of questions asked by the audience on a number of issues. A number of people signed up for more information on the SSP and wanted to be kept informed of further meetings, campaigns and activities organised by the SSP Campsie Branch. The meeting could undoubtable be termed a success both in terms of numbers attending and the energy within the audience which was reflected in the quality of the questions to the speakers. What can definitely be taken from the meeting is that there is now a growing sense of self confidence and political consciousness within ordinary working people. As Jim Sillars commented, we no longer need to feel inadequate or lacking in self confidence about what we can achieve.

It was clear from speaking to audience members after the event, that most of the people attending had never been to a political meeting before, and these augers well for the chances of a Yes vote come September. The good attendance at this SSP meeting, as well as recent others in Ayrshire, Govan and Pennilee reflect the fact that people are becoming more engaged with the Campaign as it progresses.

The success of the SSP public meeting was also down to the determined hard work of the local SSP and other activists in the weeks leading up to the meeting. A series of activities including door to door leafleting, postering, newsletters and press releases in local newspapers all collectively helped to advertise the meeting. We can take renewed satisfaction that the work of the Campsie Branch of the SSP is making a difference on the ground by engaging with people on the issues that matter to them. We can have confidence that there is definitely public interest out there on what the SSP has to say and we will continue with renewed energy organising further public meetings, campaigns, stalls and newsletters and these will be discussed at future SSP Campsie Branch Meetings.



ANGUS CLARK



SCOTTISH SOCIALIST PARTY

CAMPSIE BRANCH



CampsieSocialists.com

Sillars and Fox in Kirkintilloch

Socialist case for Independence

#indyref

ST JOSEPH’S PRIMARY SCHOOL @KeepStJoes NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT

Please join our protest at Oakburn Park in Milngavie, 1130am on

Saturday April 26th


Parents and pupils at St Joseph’s Primary School, in Milngavie, are
involved in a fight and we need your help.

East Dunbartonshire Council is currently considering the results of a
formal consultation on proposals to close our school and send the
children to a new build in Bearsden. Instead of a local school, they
are offering a bus pass.

Unsurprisingly, the plan has provoked outrage across the community.
You can get a sense of how strongly people feel just by walking
through the town centre.

Colpi’s Ice Cream shop is displaying a huge banner with our pink hand
logo and campaign slogan ‘Keep St Joseph’s in Milngavie’.

St Joseph’s central location, just a few hundred yards from the town
centre, means that many of the children walk to school. On sunny days,
the playground quickly fills up with bikes and scooters.

This generates increased footfall for local businesses. Shopkeepers
say that the school run is the busiest time of their day.

Schools are also vital community assets. St Joseph’s is the site of
Milngavie’s only volunteer nursery and it is well used in the evenings
by local groups, from the Karate Club to the Tuesday Club, which
provides support to adults with learning difficulties. They could also
be forced to shut their doors if the school is closed.

Parents have responded in the best possible way – by getting organised.

One mother remarked in the playground that she had been on more
demonstrations in the past few months than in a lifetime of living in
Belfast.

In October, when the consultation concluded, Milngavie saw its biggest
protest in living memory. The police estimated that over 500 people
marched through the town centre.

A noisy crowd of parents, grandparents, friends and parishioners
banged bongo drums and blew whistles, while children sang at the top
of their voices, “Please don’t make us cry, keep St Joseph’s in
Milngavie.”

We believe this campaign has national implications because it has
highlighted a democratic deficit in Scottish education.

East Dunbartonshire Council will meet to take a final decision in the
next few weeks. They could still save the situation by bringing
forward new proposals, such as a shared campus with a
non-denominational school in Milngavie.

However, the fact that closure is still on the table shows that even
small local authorities can be remote, unresponsive and out of touch.

The primary objective of our campaign is to save our school. But we
also need to start a discussion about how parents and communities can
have a bigger say in education across Scotland.

So please, join us at our protest in Milngavie on Saturday 26th. Help
us to make our voice heard and add your own.

Find out more about our campaign at www.keepstjosephsinmilngavie.com
or follow us on Twitter @KeepStJoes

Save Our Schools!

Keep St. Joseph's in Milngavie...

Opinion: ANGUS CLARK

COUNCIL NEEDS TO MAKE A STAND AGAINST AUSTERITY

All over Scotland this April Councils are beginning the process of closing more libraries, cutting back on social care, closing schools, increasing class sizes, locking the doors on leisure facilities, and making more staff redundant. The worst of these austerity driven cuts are still to come. So far only 40% have been carried out but the rate of implementation will now increase sharply. Since 2008 most of the cuts have been on organisational structures and voluntary jobs losses, but soon it will become impossible to avoid the complete withdrawal of important services to many people, including the vulnerable elderly and disadvantaged.

One example of how this austerity has squeezed Councils is in our own East Dunbartonshire. The ruling Coalition is about to implement £ 54.1 million in service cuts for 2014/15. The reductions will become more difficult to achieve with £20 million being required over the next 3 years. The measures for the coming year will include increased class sizes from 18 to 25 pupils, a decrease in classroom assistants and an increase in school meals charges. The Council’s policy is simply to ‘try to make the best of it’ and hold off the worst cuts for as long as possible, but accepting that damage will be done to the community.

So what are Councils such as East Dunbartonshire to do, and do they have any alternative options? They are in a sense exposed for what they are; carrying out the Con Dem Governments ‘dirty work’. Councils would respond that they are the unwilling participants in the Con Dem Governments implementation of its neo liberal agenda and roll back of the State. However there is simply no convincing argument for austerity as there are hundreds of billions of pounds available for illegal wars in the Middle East and North Africa, for being part of an immoral nuclear arms race and for bailing out a corrupt and degenerated financial system. We are fundamentally a rich country but an exceptionally unequal and divided one!

 The opposing argument is that if Councils don’t implement the cuts or set a ‘no cuts budget’ then this will be illegal and the Government will impose unelected ‘Commissioners’. In other words they should give way to blackmail. The flaw in this argument is, firstly, that it will be the Councils which will be blamed for the cuts and not the Government, with the likelihood that the electors will vote them out at the next election. Secondly, there are alternatives which although having no guarantee of success, are politically achievable given a coherent strategy and strong political leadership.

 All ‘anti Austerity’ Councils need to unite together, regionally or nationally, with a view to preparing a united strategy on how they are going to oppose the austerity measures with the backing of local government trade unions, community organisations, and other like-minded ‘progressive ‘ groups. It should take the form of a mass Campaign along the lines of the successful ‘anti poll tax’ but even bigger and it needs to involve the whole community. Also, make no mistake, even if there is a ‘Yes Vote’ for Independence in 6 months’ time, the austerity drive will continue apace due to the global nature of the economic forces driving this economic crisis.

A possible mechanism to put pressure on Councils would be the recently formed ‘The Peoples Assembly’, a political grouping which recently had its Glasgow launch. The aim would be to reach a situation where the community would have confidence to back their Councils in defiance of the cuts agenda and against the Government.  

  Confidence should be high from the success of the ‘bedroom tax campaign’ however even more determination is needed to increase the pressure on Councils. The strength of expression of the community will dictate whether Councils take notice and whether the Government would be unwise enough to attempt to take action against them. This is how social progress works, by challenging the system. Councillors need to play their part; after all they didn’t become involved in local government in order to decimate public services, or did they?

Campsie Socialist Voice

Campsie Socialist Voice's are being delivered across the Campsie area from Moodiesburn, Twechar, Kirkintilloch, Bishopbriggs, Milton of Campsie, Lennoxtown through to Bearsden/ Milngavie and Torrance.

You can read a copy online HERE

The national version of the Scottish socialist Voice, available fortnightly, can be downloaded HERE

Invitation: Remember September 18th 1959. Remember Thatcher's Attacks. Vote Yes in #indyref

As we move rapidly towards September 18th 2014 and a hugely historical day for Scotland, SSP Campsie remember another hugely significant September 18, that of 1959.

It was a day carved into the collective memory of Scots, and in particular those of us who live in the Campsie mining villages. It was on a shift down the mine outside Moodiesburn that a fire claimed the lives of 47 miners. 41 women were widowed and 76 children lost their fathers. Just one miner survived.

The death toll from the underground fire in Auchengeich Colliery, was the worst in the history of mining in Scotland.

SSP members, Willie Telfer and Mark Callaghan paying tribute to the miners who lost their lives in 1959


Next Sunday, 30th March at 2pm in Milton of Campsie Village Hall, the SSP will be showing solidarity with hard working miners across Scotland and the UK who were attacked and sold down the river by successive Governments and of course, Thatcher's Westminster's Tories. An independent Scotland could have nurtured and transformed coal into a clean industry and fair and safe employment for thousands of people was smashed by successive neo-liberal Tory and New Labour Governments.

There will be a screening of the film Happy Lands, based on the highs and lows of a Fife mining community during the 1926 general strike. The strike was called by the TUC for one minute to midnight on 3 May, 1926.

For the previous two days, some one million coal miners had been locked out of their mines after a dispute with the owners who wanted them to work longer hours for less money.

In solidarity, huge numbers from other industries stayed off work, including bus, rail and dock workers, as well as people with printing, gas, electricity, building, iron, steel and chemical jobs.

The aim was to force the government to act to prevent mine owners reducing miners' wages by 13% and increasing their shifts from seven to eight hours.

The industrial action came against a backdrop of tough economic times following the First World War and a growing fear of socialism and communism.  The elites had to resort to open class war to stop working men and women being awarded fair pay for a hard graft.

The film will be followed by speakers relating their own experiences of the 1984 fight against Thatcher's Government, who it has been recently revealed, had plans from the off to close over 70 pits serving working class communities across the UK. 

Local man, Tommy Canavan, arrested during the strike, who helped organize local miners in '84 will speak.

Local SSP Strathkelvin organiser,Willie Telfer said, "Many truths about the strike have only recently come to light, these new facts show how many families in the Kirky area were used by a government hell bent on smashing the trades union movement. Although it is 30 years on, many miners are still campaigning for justice and the disclosure of the facts behind the government's actions at that time".

Although ultimately defeated the event will celebrate the Strathkelvin sense of community and the solidarity shown to miners families during the dispute.

The 18th of September, 1959, was one of the saddest days for Strathkelvin folk and indeed, for all miners and the people of Scotland.

Let's hope September 18th 2014 is a day we remember the men and their families and vote to ensure our communities are rebuilt by a democracy and economy centred in Scotland and no longer in the hands of the Westminster Tories and New Labourites who have betrayed Scottish working class people for the past 35, and more, years.

@the_ssp_ #indyref Events in Kirkintilloch and Milton of Campsie

Plus Miners Strike commemoration...

Learn from History - Socialists Unite!

by Ron Mackay

In1941 I'd just started the 2^nd. Year of a science course at Glasgow Uni. when I was called up. WW2 was totally different from WW1. Uncle Alex had been to fight the fascists in Spain. 

I had no hesitation in accepting the need to fight fascism.

I was trained to maintain radar, the new secret weapon and tho' I was in the RN for 4 yrs. I don't recall ever carrying a gun or firing a shot.

In 1946 I was demobbed and like most of the returning service personnel and the population in general were seeking a new way of running things. We'd been horrified at the colossal slaughter of human beings – not just Hiroshima and Nagasaki but also Dresden, Hamburg, London, Coventry, Clydebank etc.

The Labour party sensing the mood of the people put forward a policy of Socialism and were swept to victory all over the country in both national and local elections. It was the Socialists who repaired and rebuilt our towns and cities . In Clydebank 5 Communist councillors were elected Willie Gallagher was elected as an MP by the Fife miners. The main sources of wealth were nationalised – energy, transport, engineering, construction and manufacturing in general. With full employment and a good social atmosphere we thought we were on our way to Socialism.

Alas, the Labour Party was not a Socialist party and betrayed the hopes of the people. The same old bosses were left to run industry. One of the serious mistakes was the failure to tackle the media Lords Beaverbrooke, Kemsley, Astor etc. the press barons, bitter opponents of the welfare state were left to run the media.

At the Nurenburg trials Joseph Goebles, Nazi propaganda minister stated “No matter what type of government – democracy or dictatorship – whoever controls the media controls the state”. Propaganda is now-a-days called public relations. The Windsors have a very powerful PR dept. ensuring they appear on TV and the media in general 2 or 3 times a week.

Leveson totally failed to democratise the media – it ignored the question of ownership. The media is controlled by anti-socialists. I sometimes wonder if it's going to take a world -wide catastrophe with large populations annihilated before enough people realise the absolute necessity of a socialist solution to our problems.

The media is a very powerful enemy We need a single Socialist party to provide guidance and leadership if we're ever going to get Socialism. I do appeal to all socialists – get your act together . We must speak with one voice when it comes to elections.

I know that there are many sincere socialists in the Labour party, in the SNP , in the Communist party, in the Green party, the Co-operative party, the Scottish Socialist Party, the Socialists for Independence party and non-party Socialists. If you believe that “ Unity is strength “ is not just an empty aphorism then speak with one voice at elections both local and national.

The independence referendum is an issue that divides some Socialists. Socialists should not hesitate to oppose the warmongers who dominate the Westminster Establishment.

Nuclear weapons, Trident and military research is costing billions and represent a threat to peace on Earth. Capitalism may be in terminal decline but could go out with a bang not a whimper, and so I repeat my dreaded fear that it may take another colossal calamity before enough people realise the absolute necessity of a Socialist solution to our problems.

Can an Socialists get together to prevent a huge human tragedy? It looked like it in the late 1940's.

Today ?

Opinion: Kevin Hattie

Venezuela; The beginning of the end?

There is turmoil in Venezuela. Students have been protesting against the government in nation-wide demonstrations characterised by disorder and violence that have led to the death of three people. Initially organised to protest against economic shortages and insecurity, these demonstrations have been calling for ‘la salida’ – the exit of President Nicolás Maduro. They have been supported by sections of the opposition alliance, Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, led by Leopoldo López and Maria Corina Machado.

 These events mark a rerun of earlier events, when the opposition pushed for the removal of Chávez through a failed coup in 2002, a private sector lock-out in 2002-3 and a recall referendum against Chávez in 2004. Maria Corina Machado, a signatory to the 2002 ‘Carmona Decree’ that temporarily dissolved the Chávez government, was a key protagonist of the recall referendum. Her ‘civil society’ organisation, Súmate, received funding from the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, where she was feted by President George Bush in May 2005.

The Chavistas learned a number of lessons from the events of 2002-2004:  the importance of consolidating grassroots support; the need to build regional solidarity; the capacity of the private sector to paralyse economic activity; and the urgency of countering false reporting on the country. It was this period that was the catalyst for the transformation of an initially centrist Third Way project into Socialism of the Twenty First Century.

The opposition similarly absorbed lessons, after anti-government unions, business associations and the local Roman Catholic Church failed to galvanise public opinion behind regime change in 2002. It adopted an electoral path as the balance of power swung to moderate factions, and radicals associated with unconstitutional tactics were pushed to the margins. This reaped dividends in national and regional elections after 2008 as the MUD focused on bread-and-butter voter concerns and wooed Chavistas alienated by the government’s statist lurch with soothing language of reconciliation and promises to improve, rather than remove, the benefits delivered by the Missions.  At the same time, the protagonist role of the private sector media was gradually tempered by introduction of European-style broadcast regulations.

US-based lobbies antagonistic toward the advance of Chávez’s socialism no longer saw these elements of ‘civil society’ as an effective oppositional vehicle and jettisoned them, deciding that a new tool for regime displacement had to be nurtured.  Students in private sector universities became the new vanguard of ‘democracy promotion’.

In 2008, the US-based Cato Institute awarded the US$500,000 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty to student leader Yon Goicoechea for his role in mobilising protests against the suspension of private broadcaster RCTV’s licence. At the same time, a sizeable amount of the US$45 million in funding provided annually by US institutions to Venezuelan opposition groups was channelled to ‘youth outreach’ programmes.

With financial support and media training, Venezuela’s student and opposition-aligned Juventud Activa Venezuela Unida  became vociferous and mobilised, focusing after 2010 on the alleged censorship by the state of private sector broadcasters and on government legislation intended to democratise the administration of the universities. The latter was portrayed as a threat to university autonomy and some public institutions, such as the Universidad Central de Venezuela, were driven into the opposition camp.

In 2011 JAVU activists staged a hunger strike in support of ‘political prisoners’ and demanded that the Organisation of American States should intervene. Protests in 2012 focused on underfunding in the higher education sector and in 2013 demonstrations were organised outside the Cuban Embassy, first to demand the return of Chávez from chemotherapy in Havana and then to challenge the result of the April presidential election.

The current protests are important on two counts. First, they mark a coming together of the student movement and radical elements of the MUD. López and Machado have been organising with the student leadership, in particular in relation to the February 12th demonstrations on Venezuela’s Day of the Youth, which commemorates the role of young people in the 1814 independence battle of la Victoria.

Frustrated by the slow dividends of the electoral route, López and Machado are challenging the position of Henrique Capriles as MUD leader, even though he defeated them both in the MUD’s 2012 primaries. As Capriles in recent weeks has nudged closer toward dialogue with President Maduro on the issue of public security, following January’s murder of former Miss Venezuela Monica Spear, the uncompromising López and Machado have sought to open a chasm between Capriles and grassroots anti-government sentiment.

In turn, the student movement has embraced the ‘salida’ demand of López and Machado, threatening to stay on the streets until Maduro leaves office. This is against a backdrop of  growing tension, with ongoing raids by security forces on private sector warehouse facilities, where food and goods are allegedly being hoarded to create artificial shortages, and with the interception of a recorded conversation between a former Venezuelan ambassador and a vice-admiral where plans for violence and ‘something similar to April 11th’ were being discussed.

The second distinctive aspect relates to the role of social media. Although mobilisations and related violence have been on-going, with two student deaths in 2010, they have not received the same level of attention as the protests earlier this month. One indication of an orchestrated campaign has been the frenzied activity by opposition youth on Twitter, which seems to be substituting for the once vociferous but now calmer private sector media that could traditionally be relied upon to galvanise international attention.

Despite claims that social media ‘democratises’ the media, it is clear that in Venezuela it has had the opposite effect, exacerbating  the trend towards disinformation and misrepresentation, with overseas media groups and bloggers reproducing – without verification – opposition claims and images of student injuries allegedly caused by police brutality and attacks by government supporters. In its reporting, the Guardian newspaper cited tweets by opposition activists claiming pro-government gangs had been let loose on protestors. No evidence to substantiate this extremely serious allegation was provided. It also reported on the arrest of 30 students on 12th February, following serious disorder, including barricade building, tire burning and Molotov cocktail attacks, as if it were an egregious assault on human rights. The report was subsequently tweeted by Machado. By way of context, 153 students were arrested in the UK during the 2010 protests against tuition fees.

The images disseminated, for example, to a Green Movement activist in Iran and then circulated to her thousands of followers with the tag line ‘pray for Venezuela’s students’, and to other democracy movements around the world show Egyptian and not Venezuelan police beating demonstrators. This same image was carried by the Spanish newspaper ABC. Photographs and video clips of Chilean, Argentinian and Bulgarian police suppressing demonstrators and carrying out arrests (in their home countries) have been circulated and published as of they were assaults in Venezuela, and one widely reproduced image shows Venezuela’s Policia Metropolitana corralling student protestors. The Policia Metropolitana was disbanded in 2011. Twitter has additionally been used to harangue commentators, including this author, who checked the accounts of her abusive critics to find most had only been tweeting for a day and in that space of time had accumulated around 40,000 followers.

Capriles has been steering the opposition down the electoral path in recognition of the fact that ordinary voters are alienated by violent protest and disorder. It has been widely acknowledged that such a strategy will take time to produce results, but it allows the MUD to build an electoral base and credibility as a political alternative. This hard work will be undone by a return to unconstitutional activities. The students and MUD radicals offer no governance plan, with ‘salida’ serving as a hash tag, not a strategy, according to one opposition blogger.

Just as in 2002, radicals have forgotten that the people they must convince are Venezuelan voters, not international opinion. There can be no short cut to replacing a movement and government that is genuinely popular. Attempting to induce regime overthrow is unnecessary when the option of a recall referendum is available, and it is irresponsible when the outcome of violent change will only be a cycle of violent revenge. Finally, journalists have yet to learn that authoritative reporting requires fact-based accounts, not recycled and unchecked tweets from Twitter – a mechanism that can be used to promote delusion as well as democracy.