Solidarity and the SSP
The absence of socialist MSPs in the Scottish parliament represents a serious setback. The responsibility for this lies with the actions and policies of the SSP leadership that led to a split and the formation of the new socialist party – Solidarity - in September last year. The SSP leadership were widely seen to have backed Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World against Tommy Sheridan and they paid a devastating price at this election. Not only were the SSP wiped out in terms of parliamentary representation but it was Solidarity that clearly emerged as the main socialist force winning 70% of the socialist vote. Alan McCombes, the SSP’s policy spokesperson, described the outcome for the SSP as a "massacre."
Solidarity out-polled the SSP everywhere in Scotland winning 31,066 (1.6% of the national vote) votes to the SSP’s 12,831 (0.6%). In Glasgow, where Tommy Sheridan, was standing to be elected, Solidarity polled 8,525 votes which was 4.15% of the Glasgow wide vote compared to 2,579 - 1.25% for the SSP. Tommy Sheridan missed out on winning a seat by just over 2,000 votes – but it was clear that Solidarity suffered disproportionally from the thousands of rejected ballot papers in Glasgow, many of which showed that people had voted for Solidarity.
Nationally the SSP came behind the BNP and Arthur Scargill’s SLP as well as the Scottish Christian Party. Even where SSP MSPs were standing as councillors they failed to be elected. Glasgow SSP MSP Rosie Kane came last in the council seat she stood in. In contrast Solidarity won a council seat in Glasgow Craigton when Ruth Black was elected. The SSP lost their only council seat in Glasgow. In the West of Scotland, where International Socialist (CWI Scotland) member Jim Halfpenny was the lead candidate, Solidarity polled 4,774 votes (1.8%) while in Central Region, Solidarity won over 5,000 votes (1,8%). In South Scotland Solidarity polled 3,400 votes, a very creditable 2.3% which was not enough for MSP Rosemary Byrne to be returned to parliament.
A combination of the squeeze on the smaller parties and the inevitable disappointment at the split in the socialist movement meant that Solidarity just failed to gain an MSP. However, as Tommy Sheridan commented: "From the launch of Solidarity 8 months ago to being the biggest socialist party in Scotland is no mean feat." The decision to launch Solidarity in an effort to rebuild a viable socialist force in Scotland was underlined by this result. The SSP is finished as a serious force in Scotland and the task now is to try and deepen the roots and influence of Solidarity as a socialist party by taking up the issues facing working class communities and young people. The International Socialists, whose members play a key role in Solidarity, will campaign to build Solidarity and the forces of Marxism in Scotland. Whatever combination of big business parties form the new Executive, working class people need a fighting socialist party to defend their interests and we will work to build that alternative.
