Free School Meals: Universality when it suits them

by Campsie SSP member Neil Scott

Nice to see the Tories taking on a SSP policy we faught for for years. Free School meals, albeit only for infant children, is a decent start in making life better for our kids.  Its  pity they want to take other universal benefits away. Universality, as they seem to be admitting here, is the fairest, most effective way to deliver equality.

On the announcement, opportunist Nick Clegg was ironically shown on TV eating fruit with Glaswegian children.  What the news isn't saying is that coalition cuts led to free school meals & free fruit ending in Glasgow two years ago.  A few years ago, the LibDems  after taking control of free school meal pioneering Hull City Council, took away this benefit from families during "boom times". 

So why the change of heart?

Easy- the Tories and yellow Tories want to ensure their privatisation of the NHS and further destruction of workers rights and working class community, education and solidarity continues.

The Labour Party are reneging on a committment to universality- and it seems in doing so they have fallen in to a trap. A Labour Party casting off principle for power is empty, meaningless, useless. The coalition partners know this.

The Labour Party by accepting neo-liberalist/Thatcherite vicious economics have been wrong footed. This policy was off their national radar (even though some Labour councils have already enacted it). Their fear of the tory propaganda machine calling them looney lefties at any hint of support for universalism has paralized them. The right wing of the one time party of the working class have dragged them down a blind alley. 
The Labour Party should be replaced by the class they have let down.  The Scottish working class can do that with a Yes in next years independence referendum and then by voting for the SSP in 2016.

The Libdems and Tories, it is obvious, have a pact to help each other gain another term as a coalition. The Libdem media briefing paper to MPs during their conference blatently said 'talk down Labour, talk up the positivity of a Tory party that has been tamed by us...'  Tories and Libdems can cast aside 'principles' if those principles are sacrificeable for their selfish class interests. A wee concession to make people feel they have gained something, even though we have been robbed blind since 2010. Universality in this can be justified by Tories in order to hide their most vicious attacks on working class people. The cuddly LibDems can announce policies such as this to hide their support for selling off the NHS; charging students £9000 per year for an education Danny Alexander and Jo Swinson had free of charge and the impoverishing Welfare Bill, including the Bedroom Tax.

These free school meals are to be welcomed, but the robbery of the working poor and those without work to give tax breaks and bonuses to the well off, that drives them to despair, food banks, hunger and suicide need to be resisted. The disgusting bedroom tax and attacks on disability allowances, for example, will add worry beyond the benefit of a meal for their child.

Take up of free school meals in primary schools I have worked in has been as much as 100% when tried out in Glasgow schools. The benefits to learning were immediately tangible and the negative effects felt almost immediately when they were taken away again. Free School meals, free fruit and water fountains were casualties of the LibDem and Tory Westminster Government and  Glasgow Labour Council whose Scottish leaders are saying universality must be "rethought."

Free meals needs to be rolled out across all schools and ages.

Free school meals for all children is and always has been, the aim of the SSP- but as part of a raft of policies supporting universal health care, pensions, child benefts and other policies that will ensure no-one is driven from their homes or to starvation, Wonga or exploitative zero hour contracts.

Frances Curran fighting for Glasgow East

The RIGHT side of the road!

WE STAND TOGETHER!

Well comrades, it's been a brilliant campaign. We've delivered 100,000s of bulletins, and collectively campaigned our socks off! I couldnae be prouder of everyone and every word in our 'People not Profit' manifesto.

So much positive has come out of this campaign. Personally, I've got to know some really amazing people who would walk from here to the end of the earth for other people and the party has really pulled together. We've lots to celebrate!

We are The Party setting the political agenda.

Election Day will come and go but we'll still be here fighting shoulder to shoulder in our communities for a better world. We've done it all in good humour and real 'solidarity'. That, my friends means we're already on the winning side.

We'll be having a get together 'Doon the watter' on the Waverley on the 27th May and a BBQ in Mugdock in June. Be there!

Tuesday

Pam, Wullie and I leafleted Wullie's council ward of Craigton. Our sitting councillor Keith Baldessara's ward has been split in two, but his popularity should help in this new ward and hopefully get Rosie support too. He's easily the hardest working councillor in Glasgow. His record is inspiring. Like Jim Bolan in Renton it really shows what a socialist can do if elected.

It was a scorcher today and we put in a serious shift before heading for a smashing wee Italian cafe for fuel! After lunch the socialist 'gods' were shining on us when we bumped into George McNeilage who joined in our efforts. Halfing our work in the process. Wot a gem that man is!

Monday

Met Pam and Frances at Buchanan street bus station at 8am to campaign on our free public transport policy. We had a stall and leafleted until about 930. Then we headed off to pick up a few things in Stanley street and Wullie McGartland joined us to campaign on free school meals in Cardonald.

Although it was sunny, it was freezing in the wind and Frances and myself used that as the excuse for how ravenous we were all day. Though how she managed to sneak a gigantic yum yum out of greggs without me seeing i'll never know! We also leafleted the college before doing a stall in a different area of the Cardonald in the afternoon. We were really well received and a few folk said that they would like to rejoin the party. Brilliant!


Sunday

In the evening it was the hustings at st mary's church on home turf in Kirkintilloch. About 100 folk came along with the constituency candidates, ourselves and UKIP.

I was chuffed that a few of my students and their parents turned up in support.

I was chatting, as you do, with the other candidates before it and Stephanie from the Tories said that she had been interviewed about the election. She apparently said that she had learned from the most 'surprising of people' and name checked me! Then went on to say how she admired the fact that I was able to speak without fear or notes in some quite middle class environments. It was nice of her to say and she's a decent enough wumman but i'll let her intae a secret..... It's easy when you believe in what you're saying.

SSP candidates are not in this as a career move. We've the small matter of the world to change and will do so whether we're inside or outside the parley! Millions of people around the world agree and share this passion for justice and equality.

It's a shame for the other candidates, they may have paid agency workers to wear their garb and do the canvassing for them, but we have real comrades who make huge sacrifices for each other in a shared belief in humanity and the fight for a better world. That gives you amazing confidence.


In the morning I met with some of the other women SSP candidates to highlight the invisible nature of women and women's oppression in this election and politics generally. The SSP aims to take this seriously. We have a 50/50 policy in terms of our candidates, we are also working towards more inclusive methods of organising. We also have real demands. Listed below are some of our commitments. I am particularly proud of our progressive policy on prostitution. The Herald covered the story on Monday. Makes a change from constantly judging women politicians by their appearance. ( Though it must be said i'm on a mercy dash to the hairdressers on Thursday to get my roots done!)

We agreed to hold event at the Sandyford Initiative, 2-6 Sandyford Place, Sauchiehall St., in Glasgow at 12 midday. We want to highlight the demands below but also campaign for more and better non judgemental and supportive services for women.

We will have purpose made banners and a giant women's symbol and boards with our agreed priorities taken and and adapted from the manifesto in this order:

1. The decriminalisation of women involved in prostitution
2. Increased resources to enable a clamp down on kerb crawlers, teh closure of saunas, massage parlours and lap dancing clubs which operate as legalised brothels.
3. Free emergency contraception available across the NHS and pharmacies and women's centres regardless of where women live and equal access to women's health services, including non judgemental support, information and services for women who want terminations.
4. Greater funding for women's aid and other agencies which provide services for women who experience men's violence, abuse, rape and child sexual abuse.
5. Equal access for all women to fertility and insemination services.
6. A minimum of 12 months maternity leave, on full pay for public sector workersd, with the right to return part time. (with full powers over employment that should apply to all workers)
7. Free, publicly funded nursery places for all pre school children.
8. After school weekend and holiday clubs in every locality for school age children
9. Full implemenatation of equal pay in the public sector by levelling up, not down, including full settlement of back money owed. Equal pay is a right not a negotiation.
10. Free environmentally friendly sanitary protection for all women.

HOW TO MAKE SURE THE SSP REPRESENT YOU AFTER MAY 3rd

HOW TO VOTE ON THURSDAY

Paper ONE - SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

1.Voters use the first ballot paper to elect members of the Scottish Parliament. Your MSP's. This is where we vote to get Pamela Page into the Parliament as a representative of the Working Class - the other parties all represent the world of business and the millionaires.

2. The left side of the ballot paper is peach, the right side is lilac

3. You get two votes on this ballot paper

4. The peach side is where you choose your regional MSPs. This is where you will find Pamela Page - put your X beside Scottish Socialist Party - Pamela Page.

5. The lilac side is where you choose your constituency MSP.

6. If you do not want to vote for any of the constituency choices (the SSP are not standing in the constituency vote) - leave it blank. IF YOU SPOIL ANY PART OF YOUR PAPER IT INVALIDATES BOTH BITS!!

7. Do not fold the ballot paper when you put it into the appropriate box

Paper TWO - COUNCIL

1. Voters use the second ballot to elect their local councillor. In EAST Dunbartonshire, your SSP Choices are in Bearsden North, Neil Scott; In Milngavie, Bill Newman; in East Kirkintilloch and Twechar, Willie Telfer and in Lenzie and South Kirkintilloch, Moira Brown.

2. This is the white ballot paper

3. You do not use a cross for this vote

4. You number the candidates in order of preference 1 for SSP candidate and 2,3 etc for any other candidates you feel will promote social justice. You can only place the number 1 on the ballot paper if you like.

5. You can mark as many or as few as you like, but you must use numbers not an x

7. Do not fold the ballot paper when you put it into the appropriate box

Red Greenock, the Beach and the Workers Wage...

SSP Women Candidates...

PAMELA ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL (AND THE SHOWS!)

Tuesday 16th
Twechar Beach invasion!
As you already know we called a public meeting on housing in the village.
200 council houses are due to be demolished by the council, despite them
refusing the tenants a vote on the issue! Only 80 houses for social rent
will replace them, as well as another 40 that will be partly privatised at
more expensive rents. This is not a housing solution for the people, this is
for private profit.

The meeting was great. 60 people attended despite Man U being on the telly!
We made it clear that, in true Freire style, that we were there to listen and
offer our assitance to their campaign. It is a credit to the SSP that we
have arranged a housing surgery and another meeting for the Saturday and
Tuesday AFTER the election. We are in this for the long haul, because we are
part of these communities not parachuted in at election times.


Thursday 19th
Bearsden Churches hustings

This was the same day that the Poverty Alliance launched their manifesto and
I made it clear that our People not Profit manifesto is the only solution to
poverty and inequality. Other parties think cutting poverty by X% is
laudable, whereas we refuse to accept poverty at all in an oil rich nation!

Linda and I turned up to what was a very well attended (about 250 people)
hustings at kessington hall. It had a kinda dynasty ring to it and I was
disappointed to find that Blake and Crystal didnae appear....

There was the constituency candidates, including my first brush with the
Christian party as well as ourselves and the greens from the list.

Linda felt that I was well received on most issues. Questions ranged from
the state of the NHS, including the junior doctors' contract fiasco, to
which I responded by saying that it is indicative of what happens when we
allow Pirate Privateers who know the cost of everything but the value of
nothing to run our services.

I also trumpeted our free public transport policy in response to a question
on climate change but was surprised to find the green candidate rubbishing
our policy. From what I can gather their alternative is to install solar
panels on their four by fours!! Less than half of carbon emissions are
caused by individuals and it is a falacy to think that capitalism can have a
caring side that will save our environment. They talk the talk but don't
walk the walk. It seems they are sacred of offending business interests.
Everyone knows Radical Action is needed. I want to live in a Scotland that
has the guts to stand against the corporate greed that is destroying the
planet and take positive action to save it, not rely on the goodwill of
giant multinationals. But hey ho that's why I'm in the SSP not the Green
party.

Least said about our Christian candidate the better suffice to say he thinks
that the crisis in the NHS is due to moral decline, abortion rates and
teachers handing out condoms willy nilly. He was given short shrift by the
audience. It takes aw sorts right enough.

One man directly asked the New Labour candidate about the illegal war in Iraq.
To which he waffled that it wasn't illegal but said he knew it was 'a bit of
a mess'. I asked to be able to respond and got great applause when I said
that the 600,000 dead Iraqis and the over 100 British soldiers wouldn't
think it was a bit of a mess! And that it was sheer hypocrisy to have a
pre-emptive strike on a country under the guise of them having weapons of
mass destruction when our very own weapons of mass destruction are lurking
on the Clyde.

The night didn't finish till well after ten and I was feeling a bit jiggered
with working this week but managed to rouse myself to make a few points in
my closing remarks. Namely that I was delighted to see the other parties
falling over themselves during the election to support the SSP's demand for
the scrapping of the hated council tax but wondered why when they had the
opportunity to get rid of it in the Parley they refused. It's just another
example of how the SSP have been the conscience of the parliament, shaping
the agenda on free prescriptions, free nutritious school meals and asylum to
mention a few issues that we have campaigned for week in week out. Not just
in the few weeks in the run up to an election.

I ended by saying that if elected I wouldn't disappear into the cosy parley
atmosphere. I would follow Frances before me on the streets, picket lines,
taking direct action at Faslane and wherever else, fighting injustice,
shoulder to shoulder with working class people in our communities. Refusing
to take the 53,000 salary that Msps and 5% of the population earn.

Vote Pamela Page on a worker's wage!

At the end of the hustings a young man came up to the platform to shake my
hand and say hello. I got a tremendous boost when he said that he was
thinking of voting for Sheridan but had changed his mind during the hustings
and was voting for us! Integrity Indeed.


Saturday 28th

Greenock

Pam, Davy and I campaigned in Greenock today, which has become the Petrograd
of the West in recent weeks. We did a stall on the council tax and were well
received. I was delighted that three people asked about joining. One woman
asked who we were and said " Brilliant I was asked earlier on by another
'socialist' party and said No I want to join the SSP!' Welcome comrade!

We made a wee trip to the shows by the shore... long story photeez to
follow... but needless to say our national secretary is certainly a risk
taker. Don't know if Al Green would have went on some of those rides. I
stuck to the tame waltser type extravaganza but think i'm a land lubber to
be honest.

Greenock is the business though, my nana is from there and Davy Landels is
no bad either! the Mighty Morton have won the league too so lots to
celebrate!

Our Campsie comrades were out campaigning locally. Busy week ahead but i've
taken a weeks unpaid leave so dying to get stuck in!

Pamela's Diary! Part 1

99's in Saltcoats, Benny Hill and the Red Flag in Milngavie...

it is a holiday, isn't it...?

Follow Pamela the length and breadth of the West of Scotland...

Saturday 24th March

Giffnock Question and Answer session with West of Scotland community councillors.

This was attended by about 60 community councillors from all over the region. The parties represented were Tory, SNP, Labour and ourselves.

Questions were wide ranging and local in focus, however the thread was obvious and that was people's concerns with how their communities are being privatised. Whether it be schools, hospital services, losing public land to developers protected by confidentiality agreements and the lack of democratic accountability/ transparency in decision making. There was real anger directed at the labour MSP in attendance.

The first question asked was what we thought was the most important issue facing humanity today. The poor wee disorientated Tory thought it was political correctness?! Perhaps more people than I had thought are worried about the repeats of Benny Hill on telly...

I said Climate change and explained how the SSP's radical Free Public transport policy would help tackle poverty and global warming. This was very well received and the man who asked the question spoke to me at the end to say that he had been given our leaflet by activists in Milngavie (hotbed of radical socialism, let me tell you!) on this issue and was very impressed with the policy.

Sunday 25th

Allan, Wullie and I leafleted Twechar with West of Scotland Bulletins. Much to the delight of my students the next day at school!


Monday 26th

I was interviewed by Strathclyde University's paper 'Strathclyde Telegraph'.

They were particularly interested in the SSP's policies on Education, namely scrapping tuition fees, reintroducing the student grant and truly making higher/ further education accessible. We also discussed wealth redistribution in terms of our Scottish service tax policy and national minimum wage of eight pounds an hour. Housing is a major issue for students and we discussed our policy commitment to providing quality social housing as a solution to the housing crisis. I was really impressed by their questioning and thought their questioning was much better than some of the mainstream press I have been in contact with recently.

Saturday 31st

Sunny Saltcoats for a stall on 'Axing the Tax'. People were very supportive and it wasn't lost on them that we have been consistent on this issue of sharing out the wealth. Other parties had the chance to vote for our proposal of a progressive scottish service tax in parliament but refused to do so whatever they may claim now. But hey - I guess they are going to copy innovative,progressive ideas when they huvnae a scooby themselves.

We had a 99 and managed to avoid the puggy machines in “Nonsuch…”

Monday 2nd

Clydebank to campaign on free school meals. the support we got from the bankies was brilliant. We were very warmly received both on the stall and when we were bulletening in the afternoon.

The lack of support we received at the Parliament for this was appalling. I sometimes wonder do the other parties think by supporting our policy on feeding we'ans does it mean we are one step further to the gulag or something? Or are things ok to go ahead only when the billionaires have said so (when they are sure their accountant has made sure they don't have to pay any tax....)?

It's time that lot of self serving bananas were shook up and stopped handing our money to the billionaires and the money was used for the good of Scotland's people.

The free school meals campaign was wholeheartedly supported by parents with children off on school holidays as well as a dinner lady who agreed that nutritious free school meals would have a huge positive impact on our children's health. There might not have been enough support in the parliament for this bill to be passed but it'll be back because people overwhelmingly support it.

Tuesday 3rd

In Greenock we were swamped by locals angry at the council for a multitude of reasons. People were literally queuing up to sign our axe the tax petition. We had a lot of positive feedback.

Wednesday 4th

We took our campaign to Paisley High Street where we did a stall on the council tax and getting sunburnt in the process! Who needs Benidorm?

Later I attended a European hustings with Frances at the Caledonian university. Frances was well received and it was obvious that we are the only party campaigning on People Not Profit.

Thursday 5th

Home Territory! We campaigned in Kirkintilloch on free School meals and took advantage of our resident photographer Moira to get some photies taken at various locations with the Free public transport ticket.

In the late afternoon we set off to leaflet the village of Campsie.


Saturday 7th


We set off to join the Renfrewshire branch on their stall on free school meals. We were very well received with Frances and Iain Hogg (our council candidate) on the P.A. and selling out of papers very quickly.


Sunday 8th


We bulletined in Balloch and leafleted hundreds of car windscreens on free public transport.