former convenor (effectively party leader) lommy Sheridan. He has the support of MSP Rosemary Byrne, the SWP and CWI platforms as well as a section of the membership.
On the other side are those around long-time SSP central Header Alan McCoombes. This includes MSPs Frances Curran, Rosie Kane and Carolyn Leckie and a majority of the recently disbanded
Socialist Movement platform. It also includes the bulk of the SSP youth organisation, Scottish Socialist Youth.
Although tensions have existed since the SSP made its electoral breakthrough in 2003 winning six MSPs, the cument cuss oroke our al a
Executive Committee (EC) meeting on November 9 2004. It was convened to discuss the expectation that the Sunday scandal rag, the News of the World, was planning to publish scurrilous allegations about Sheridan's private life in its forthcoming edition.
Sheridan insisted that if this happened he would take the News of the World to Court. This, apparently, was strongly opposed as potentially damaging, or even disastrous, for the SSP and for Sheridan himself, and he was urged to reconsider.
He refused and the meeting voted unanimously (including the SWP platform) that he should be asked to resign in order to limit the upheaval of a court case, which would be more severe if he remained national convenor of the SSP.
Whether his resignation would in fact provide much protection for the SSP was another matter. Going to the courts was a reckless strategy ana was likely to nave Impllcations for the SSP whether Sheridan was national convenor or not.
In any case there was an alternative. and that was to tell the News of the World to mind its own business, and stop telling lies. What happens amongst consenting adults is their own business and no one else's.
Sheridan resigned, however, the following day, quoting family Issues The consequences of this were always going to be dramatic, given his centrality to the SSP. The News of the World did indeed publish allegations about him the following Sunday, claiming that he had had a lengthy extra-marital affair.
Three weeks later November 27 the decisions of the EC including Sheridan's resignation was put to a full
-convenor or not. meeting of the SSP's delegate body the National Council (NC) by National Secretary Allan Green. His report was and endorsed with 93 for and 10 against. Sheridan himself voted for it.
According to Green (SSV 269) the NC also endorsed the decision to keep the EC minutes confidential.
Eighteen months later, in May 2006, with relationships further deteriorated, the issue exploded again. The court action was under way and News of the World lawyers were asking for the minutes of the November 2004 EC and any other documents relating to the meeting to be handed over as evidence.
An EC on May 15 discussed this request and agreed unanimously that the SSP had the right to keep its minutes confidential and they should not be surrendered to the court. The CWI platform was present but the SWP were not.
The meeting also adopted the following resolution: "As Going to the courts was a reckless strategy and was likely to have implications for the SSP whether Sheridan was national Tommy Sheridan's court action has negatively impacted on the party, its MSPs and office bearers the EC calls on Tommy Sheridan to withdraw from the court action". This was also agreed unanimously.
The EC met again on May 21 to arrange a meeting of the NC for May 28. The resolution from the EC to the NC would be to the effect that the minutes of November 9 2004 should be kept confidential and not handed to the court. This was agreed overwhelmingly - 19 for 0 against and 3 abstentions.
Allan McCoombes, who held the minutes, was soon ordered to hand them over or be jailed. He refused and was sentenced to 12 days in jail and ordered to appear again. At the same time the SSP offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh were searched by the Sheriff's officers, with crippling financial implicafor SSP. Alan DONS Une McCombes's house was also searched.
On May 28, an emergency meeting of the NC was called to consider what was now a major crisis. The only proposal from the EC to the meetthe was mallllall refusal to hand over the minutes. It was an untenable position. Alan McCoombes would stay in jail, and it could lead to long prison sentences for individuals and financial bankruptcy for the SSP.
Tommy Sheridan arrived at the NC - in a highly charged atmosphere - with an Open Letter from himself, which he distributed simultaneously to ana lne meala Dy an unnamed member of the SSP leadership. An emergency resolution was adopted calling for the immediate resignation anyone responsible for this or who had knowledge of it.
The Sheridan Open Letter was a bid for a new majority and it was successful, at least at that NC. The EC resolution was defeated and a resolution reflecting the Sheridan letter was carried. The entire strategy which the EC had been pursuing (keep out of the courts) had been overturned and the NC gave full support to Tommy Sheridan in his case against the News of the
Events at the NC have brought about a sharp realignment of forces within the SSP, not least given the decisions of the SW and CWI platforms to throw their weight behind the Sheridan munauve Sheridan has called for a new leadership to be elected on the basis of what he is putting forward. His letter concludes: "The battle to reclaim the SSP to class politics begins today".
Recently a group from the NC minority have launched a new platform in the SSP called the SSP United Left. In our opinion this represents the best opportunity on offer to rebuild the SSP on principled lines.
we urged our comrades within the SSP to support this
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Chinese immigrants, € (WP) and Highly Work Permit
Skilled Migrant
Programme (HSMP) visa
holders marched
to Parliament in