SSP. ...
Even those of us who were most optimistic about the potential for a new party have been surprised at how comprehensively we have managed to turn that position round.
From a handful of branches of the old Scottish Socialist Alliance, the SSP now! has over 70 branches in every corner of
Over the three and a half years since the launch of the SSP, we've drawn thousands of people into political activity for Socialist Alliance who were opposed to, or hesitant about, transforming the alliance into a party would now acknowledge that the move has been an unqualified success.
Certainly, it's hard to imagine anyone ever suggesting that we should revert back to the structure of the Scottish Socialist Alliance. How widespread is the influence of the SSP? Does it have real influence outside of Glasgow and the West of Scotland?
One of the most remarkable achievements of the SSP has been to spread the influence and establish active forces of socialism beyond the traditional ghettos of.the left.
Before the launch of the SSP, socialist organisations, including the SSA, Scottish Militant Labour, and the Socialist Workers Party tended to be concentrated almost exclusively in urban Scotland, especially in the main cities.
Now the SSP has sunk roots in areas which had never before been touched by socialism.
For example, in the Highlands and Islands we now have fourteen branches. People in cities can sometimes forget that the class divide in places like the Highlands can appear even more stark than in the cities. You have the landed aristocracy, the hunting and shooting brigade, who attract huge publicity when they protest against Scotland are low paid workers scraping a living in bars, shops, hotels, transport and so on.
Recent polls have shown a wide spread of support for the SSP. While we're still moving forward in the traditional socialist stronghold of Glasgow, we are moving forward even faster in other parts of Scotland where we have started from scratch.
Glasgow will probably always be our strongest area, but other parts of Scotland are now beginning to narrow that gap. Has the Scottish Parliament been a real gain for ordinary Scottish people? Has it resulted in better social conditions?
The Scottish Parliament has been a democratic gain, there's no doubt about that. Politicians are under the magnifying glass as never before and now have to take responsibility for their own decisions rather than just blame everything on Westminster.
The partly proportional electoral system is a big step forward. It's allowed the SSP, the Green Party and independents like Dennis Canavan to emerge. It's also led to a hung parliament and even on occasion, the defeat of the Scottish Executive (the equivalent of the Cabinet) - notably when Tommy Sheridan's bill to outlaw warrant sales succeeded in the teeth of govemment opposition.
But the other side of it is that the Parliament is reliant on a block grant from on about eight per cent. resources to improve public services or tackle poverty.
It's also severely restricted in what it can and cannot do. It can't close down the Trident nuclear submarine bases, for example, or refuse use of Scottish troops in Afghanistan or Iraq, because defence is controlled by Westminster.
It can't impose a wealth tax on the rich; can't reverse the anti-union legislation; it has no control over Corporation Tax; it can't open Scotland up to asylum seekers even though we live in an empty country with an ageing population.
There is a widespread sense of disillusionment that the Scottish Parliament has failed to make any real difference to the lives of ordinary people. But there is no support for a return to direct Westminster rule. Exactly the opposite - recent polls have shown a striking rise in support for full fiscal autonomy, in other words, economic independence. How is the Blair government viewed in Scotland?
Is is no doubt also the case in other traditional Labour strongholds such as Wales and the North of England, there is quite widespread disillusionment with Blair and the Labour Party.
Support for the Tories has collapsed over the years in Scotland. The last poll showed them running neck with the SSP years ago the Tories could have relied on around 30 per cent of the electorate Most of those ex-Tory voters have either literally died out or switched to other parties, mainly to Labour.
But at the same time, traditional Labour among the working class has itself been haemorrhaging to the SNP - and more recently - to the SSP, both of it can't increase the minimum wage; it which are perceived to be to be the left of Labour.
The SNP has also swung to the right over the past decade, but its careful not to go too far and on certain issues, such as nuclear weapons, privatisation and PFI, the level of the minimum wage, trade union rights and racism, can still appear quite radical
But although the general public perception of the SNP is that is a left party. many SNP activists have a clearer understanding of the direction that the party is moving. This week, on the eve of the SNP conference five senior party activists with 75 years combined membership of the SNP defected to the SSP. More are likely to follow in the coming weeks and months.
The three parties that are seen as radical - the SNP, the SSP, and the Greens -will probably take 40-45 per cent of the vote in the Scottish elections next May. These three parties are also pro-independence, which shows how fragile the United Kingdom actually is. The SSP recently had an important debate on parity for women on the
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candidates list. How did that debate go? Socialist truggle Solidarity
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That's not to deny the importance of coming together in big international