The next 4-yearly elections for the Scotish Parliament take elecos
Ist May (4-yearly local elections take place on the same day. These elections take place under a hybrid system where everybody has two votes.
The first vote elects a constituency MSP by first-past-the-post, there are 73 constituencies, the same as for Westminster except that Orkney & Shetland is split into two.
The second vote is for a party list. 56 regional MSPs are elected in 8 regions (which were originally constituencies for European elections) and the 7 regional MSPs for each region are allocated by a system of proportional representation.
The Scottish Socialist Party is hoping to make serious gains at this election: the latest opinion poll predicted that it would win 10 percent of the vote for the regional lists, which would give it ten MSPs (3 in Glasgow and one in each other region). At its conference last month the SSP adopted an election manifesto which put forward its policy of an independent socialist Scotland, and also put forward six pledges:Abolish the council tax in favour of a new Scottish Service Tax, based on income. This means that all income below €10 000 will be exempt, above that would be taxed at banded rates.
• Provide nutritious, free school meals for every state school pupil in Scotland. Scotland has very bad levels of child poverty, poor health, and poor diet: this measure is supported by many children's charities, trade unions, and health groups.
• Introduce a £7.32 per hour minimum wage for all Scottish public service workers. This figure is the European Decency Threshold, and is two thirds of median male earnings.
• Create 24.000 jobs by introducing a 35 hour maximum working week across the public sector. This would be a blow against both the long hours culture increasingly widespread in Britain, and against unemotti ployment, which is still officially above 100,000 in Scotland. • End PFI and clear the profiteers out of Scotland's public services. PFI in the NHS has undermined wages and conditions, and standards hygiene and nutrition, and left a large burden of debt for future generations.
• Oppose and obstruct any war for oil. (The manifesto was adopted before the war actually broke out):
The conference also made it clear that its MSPs will go into the Scottish Parliament, not to engage in coalition deals with procapitalist parties, but to back up the class struggle in the factories, housing estates, fire stations, and colleges.
The SSP adopted guidelines for the accountability of MSPs and councillors, that they should vote in accordance with SSP policy, take part in campaigns and activities on the same basis as any member, and MSPs should only take the average wage of a skilled worker (although there was some dispute about what this is) and donate the rest of their salary to the SSP
Before the conference, the SSP had already selected its candidates for this election. The 2002 conference decided that the candidates for the regional lists would be 50-50 women and men, with women heading the list in four of the eight regions. Readers will note that there is a high proportion of women fighting winnable seats.
The SSP could need around 5-6percent in a region to win a seat. Its highest support is in Glasgow, where the SSP won 6.8percent in 200l. The no. candidate is its convenor, Tommy Sheridan MSP.
No. 2 is Rosie Kane, SSP environment spokesperson. Her political activity began when she was thrown out of the Brownies at the age of 8 for refusing to promise to be loyal to the Queen. She became a campaigner against motorway building, was the Scottish Socialist Alliance's first ever candidate in a council by-election in 1996, and has been a candidate for the SSA/SSP four times since.
No. 3 is Tricia McCleish, a shop steward in Glasgow City Council housing department, who was involved in the campaign against housing privatisation.
No. 4 is Jim McVicar, a former Labour councillor, who was expelled for Militant membership and anti-poll-tax activity, who was re-elected as "Independent Labour" in
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