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!
