This is a link to the actual article
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/poli...
Dear Sir
I read Mark Smith's piece in today's Scotsman [ New socialist party to fight
general election, 14/1/10] with some interest as you may imagine. My
interest quickly turned to indignation however as I realised that neither
Bob Crow nor anyone else has been in touch with the Scottish Socialist Party
about this London based initiative to unite socialist groups in Scotland. No
letter, no email, no text message, no phone call let alone the courtesy of
an invitation to meetings held 'last week in London' or 'in Glasgow on 30th
January'.
Such an attitude hardly bodes well for the comradely and mutually respectful
relationship required here. Readers will be forced to question the
seriousness of such a proposal when the biggest socialist party in Scotland
and the fastest growing in the country is excluded in this way.
I'm surely not the only person who thinks we need another socialist party
like we need a hole in the head. We have too many as it is.
Mark Smith, who never made any attempt to speak to the SSP before writing
his piece, is also wrong to suggest we are 'warring' with anyone on the
left. We are entirely focused on offering working people in Scotland that
desperately needed alternative to the four neo-liberal, warmongering parties
who misrepresent us at Westminster.
Over the past six months I have been campaigning up and down the country, from
Aberdeen to East Lothian on behalf of those 70% of Scots opposed to
Britain's ongoing military occupation of Afghanistan. Equally our party is
working with others to make the case that it is the rich, the bankers and
their political classes who got us into the worst recession in eighty years that
should pay for it, not tens of millions of working families as all four of our
opponents believe.
The SSP has enjoyed, as a consequence of our efforts in recent months, our
second strongest period of growth in ten years. We remain committed to left
unity, indeed our record shows we have achieved more on that score than
anyone else, and we continue to strive to unite every democratic socialist
in Scotland under one effective banner worthy of working people's respect
and support.
Colin Fox
National spokesman
Scottish Socialist Party
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Mario?! A communist?
During my dregding through the net i found this little piece. It's rather amusing. Check it out
http://nedmartin.org/amused/communis...
http://nedmartin.org/amused/communis...
12 point plan for a Scottish Socialist Republic
12 point plan for a Scottish Socialist Republic
We want Scotland's wealth shared out more equally
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rich will pay higher taxes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our public services, including oil, fuel and transport, will be publicly owned
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our minimum wage right now would be £8 an hour
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wages, benefits and pensions will rise by £50 a week, across the board
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All our school children will get nutritious free school meals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supermarket prices will be frozen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Women will get equal pay for equal work
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Young people will get the same national minimum wage as everyone else
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nuclear weapons will be banned from Scottish territory
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The council tax will be scrapped in favour of a local tax where the rich pay their fair share
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free public transport will be brought in to ease congestion, pollution and global warming
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our young troops will be brought home from the killing fields of Iraq and Afghanistan
We want Scotland's wealth shared out more equally
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rich will pay higher taxes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our public services, including oil, fuel and transport, will be publicly owned
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our minimum wage right now would be £8 an hour
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wages, benefits and pensions will rise by £50 a week, across the board
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All our school children will get nutritious free school meals
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supermarket prices will be frozen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Women will get equal pay for equal work
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Young people will get the same national minimum wage as everyone else
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nuclear weapons will be banned from Scottish territory
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The council tax will be scrapped in favour of a local tax where the rich pay their fair share
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free public transport will be brought in to ease congestion, pollution and global warming
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our young troops will be brought home from the killing fields of Iraq and Afghanistan
response to letter in West Lothian courier
Dear Sir
Re: Postal dispute
According to your vox pop survey result published last week, it would appear that an overwhelming majority of local residents (i.e. 66%) are against the postal workers’ strike.
I assume no preamble outlining the context of the postal dispute was given by your vox pop team prior to the survey question being asked – the context being the Royal Mail management’s policy of preparing for privatisation by unilaterally imposing stringent work practices on the postal workers contrary to consultation procedures agreed by both sides in 2007.
If indeed it was the case that respondents were asked to venture an opinion without the context of the dispute being given, I suggest the survey result reflects not so much public antipathy towards the postal workers’ cause but more a measure of the respondents’ understandable frustration of being inconvenienced
Re: Postal dispute
According to your vox pop survey result published last week, it would appear that an overwhelming majority of local residents (i.e. 66%) are against the postal workers’ strike.
I assume no preamble outlining the context of the postal dispute was given by your vox pop team prior to the survey question being asked – the context being the Royal Mail management’s policy of preparing for privatisation by unilaterally imposing stringent work practices on the postal workers contrary to consultation procedures agreed by both sides in 2007.
If indeed it was the case that respondents were asked to venture an opinion without the context of the dispute being given, I suggest the survey result reflects not so much public antipathy towards the postal workers’ cause but more a measure of the respondents’ understandable frustration of being inconvenienced
letter sent to West Lothian courier regarding postal workers strike
24th October, 2009
Dear Sir
Re: Postal dispute
Postal workers and management by their own admission both accept that Royal Mail needs to be ‘modernised’. Why then are they currently locked in a dispute which has resulted in nationwide industrial action that is inconveniencing businesses and the public in general?
The reason is each side in the dispute has a very different interpretation of what constitutes ‘modernisation’. On the one hand, management view modernisation as a process of continuing development towards greater efficiency to be measured in terms of profitability. On the other hand, postal workers look upon modernisation as a series of changes necessary to provide postal services that meet the needs of the public more effectively.
Royal Mail is a labour-intensive organisation and consequently for the management’s view of modernisation to prevail it has been necessary to lay off thousands of workers, change work practices, raise postage charges, cancel second deliveries and do away with Sunday collections in order to cut costs, improve profitability and prepare the way for eventual privatisation. Inevitably these on-going actions have led to conflict with the postal workers who believe the Royal Mail’s universal service obligation can only be achieved if it remains in the public sector and that fragmenting the business to allow private investors opportunities to make profits is not in the public interest.
Unfortunately for the postal workers they are not only at variance with management but are up against the political establishment as well. The Labour Government remain determined to part-privatise the Royal Mail and are supported in this by both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, the latter wanting to go still further and sell off Royal Mail lock, stock and barrel.
Royal Mail privatisation has become a non-negotiable issue in the current political climate in which public services are considered to be more effectively run by private companies rather than public sector organisations even though there is little or no evidence to support such a contention. On the contrary, there is ample evidence, not least from the case of postal services both in Britain and abroad, to show that when the private sector takes over from the public sector the level of service tends to deteriorate at the same time as charges rise.
Although the odds are stacked against them, postal workers can take heart that by and large the public share their misgivings of a privatised postal service that would put profits before people.
Dear Sir
Re: Postal dispute
Postal workers and management by their own admission both accept that Royal Mail needs to be ‘modernised’. Why then are they currently locked in a dispute which has resulted in nationwide industrial action that is inconveniencing businesses and the public in general?
The reason is each side in the dispute has a very different interpretation of what constitutes ‘modernisation’. On the one hand, management view modernisation as a process of continuing development towards greater efficiency to be measured in terms of profitability. On the other hand, postal workers look upon modernisation as a series of changes necessary to provide postal services that meet the needs of the public more effectively.
Royal Mail is a labour-intensive organisation and consequently for the management’s view of modernisation to prevail it has been necessary to lay off thousands of workers, change work practices, raise postage charges, cancel second deliveries and do away with Sunday collections in order to cut costs, improve profitability and prepare the way for eventual privatisation. Inevitably these on-going actions have led to conflict with the postal workers who believe the Royal Mail’s universal service obligation can only be achieved if it remains in the public sector and that fragmenting the business to allow private investors opportunities to make profits is not in the public interest.
Unfortunately for the postal workers they are not only at variance with management but are up against the political establishment as well. The Labour Government remain determined to part-privatise the Royal Mail and are supported in this by both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, the latter wanting to go still further and sell off Royal Mail lock, stock and barrel.
Royal Mail privatisation has become a non-negotiable issue in the current political climate in which public services are considered to be more effectively run by private companies rather than public sector organisations even though there is little or no evidence to support such a contention. On the contrary, there is ample evidence, not least from the case of postal services both in Britain and abroad, to show that when the private sector takes over from the public sector the level of service tends to deteriorate at the same time as charges rise.
Although the odds are stacked against them, postal workers can take heart that by and large the public share their misgivings of a privatised postal service that would put profits before people.
Last years summers newsletter.
West Lothian
Scottish Socialist Party
Summer Newsletter 2009
Unite for Change
Massive bank crashes both at home and abroad have created a global financial crisis on a scale not seen since the 1930s. As a result, unemployment and poverty have escalated worldwide with the prospect that matters, bad as they are at the moment, will only become worse.
What can we do?
We must strive together to create an inclusive society where:
all class divisions are eradicated;
everybody can actively participate in decisions that affect their daily lives;
all wealth is distributed according to needs;
the supreme aim is to improve people’s lives - not increase profits for the benefit of a select few.
The objectives outlined above can only be achieved when we, the people, unite to bring about change.
Time to Rebuild Communities
Our local communities have been dealt hammer blows in recent years as result of factories closing, shops shutting, and cutbacks in recreation and leisure facilities. Local councils have been left powerless to stop our communities being run down.
We must create communities where:
people work together and look out for one another;
there are facilities to cater for the needs of all age groups;
people have a direct influence in the planning and running of local services;
local potential is nurtured and developed to the full;
there is cooperation with other communities, local councils and national government to improve services.
In order to stop the rundown of our communities, a new way of doing things has to be found that places people’s needs above everything else.
People not Profit
In recent years, there have been fundamental changes in our economic environment as employers have sought to cut costs and increase profits either by relocating work abroad where wages are low or forcing employees to accept a deterioration of their working practices and conditions. The balance in the workplace has shifted decisively in the employers’ favour and what workers need to do now is to fight for improved rights.
To improve workers’ rights:
Flexible working hours to suit family life.
Equality in the workplace regardless of race, disability, gender and nationality.
Equal pay for equal work.
Equal treatment for all in the workplace.
Equal rights for agency staff.
Final salary pensions index-linked to the rate of inflation.
Retiral age at 60 (but with the choice to work beyond 60).
Ultimately, to achieve secure employment and guarantee decent living standards for everybody, workers in our country and throughout the world will have to take control of production and distribution of all goods and services.
Inclusive Politics
The aim of this newsletter is to promote a vision of inclusive politics for all sections of society that is in stark contrast to the current parliamentary “democracy” which excludes the majority of us from having an effective and direct voice in decision-making that affect our lives. Justifiably, the public has become disillusioned with politicians and the political system, proof of which is the marked decline in turnout at recent elections.
Not content with huge salaries (i.e. up to three times average earnings), many of our elected representatives have been enriching themselves at the taxpayers’ expense by claiming exorbitant amounts to meet the costs of setting up second homes. What we need now are elected representatives who want to improve society and help people - not improve their bank balances and help themselves.
Scottish Socialist Party
Summer Newsletter 2009
Unite for Change
Massive bank crashes both at home and abroad have created a global financial crisis on a scale not seen since the 1930s. As a result, unemployment and poverty have escalated worldwide with the prospect that matters, bad as they are at the moment, will only become worse.
What can we do?
We must strive together to create an inclusive society where:
all class divisions are eradicated;
everybody can actively participate in decisions that affect their daily lives;
all wealth is distributed according to needs;
the supreme aim is to improve people’s lives - not increase profits for the benefit of a select few.
The objectives outlined above can only be achieved when we, the people, unite to bring about change.
Time to Rebuild Communities
Our local communities have been dealt hammer blows in recent years as result of factories closing, shops shutting, and cutbacks in recreation and leisure facilities. Local councils have been left powerless to stop our communities being run down.
We must create communities where:
people work together and look out for one another;
there are facilities to cater for the needs of all age groups;
people have a direct influence in the planning and running of local services;
local potential is nurtured and developed to the full;
there is cooperation with other communities, local councils and national government to improve services.
In order to stop the rundown of our communities, a new way of doing things has to be found that places people’s needs above everything else.
People not Profit
In recent years, there have been fundamental changes in our economic environment as employers have sought to cut costs and increase profits either by relocating work abroad where wages are low or forcing employees to accept a deterioration of their working practices and conditions. The balance in the workplace has shifted decisively in the employers’ favour and what workers need to do now is to fight for improved rights.
To improve workers’ rights:
Flexible working hours to suit family life.
Equality in the workplace regardless of race, disability, gender and nationality.
Equal pay for equal work.
Equal treatment for all in the workplace.
Equal rights for agency staff.
Final salary pensions index-linked to the rate of inflation.
Retiral age at 60 (but with the choice to work beyond 60).
Ultimately, to achieve secure employment and guarantee decent living standards for everybody, workers in our country and throughout the world will have to take control of production and distribution of all goods and services.
Inclusive Politics
The aim of this newsletter is to promote a vision of inclusive politics for all sections of society that is in stark contrast to the current parliamentary “democracy” which excludes the majority of us from having an effective and direct voice in decision-making that affect our lives. Justifiably, the public has become disillusioned with politicians and the political system, proof of which is the marked decline in turnout at recent elections.
Not content with huge salaries (i.e. up to three times average earnings), many of our elected representatives have been enriching themselves at the taxpayers’ expense by claiming exorbitant amounts to meet the costs of setting up second homes. What we need now are elected representatives who want to improve society and help people - not improve their bank balances and help themselves.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Synopsis of branch meeting on 09/01/2010
Synopsis of branch meeting of the West Lothian SSP held on Monday 9/1/10.
We started the meeting with apologies from members unable to attend due to weather conditions and gave a warm welcome to a returning member.
A party representative then gave a report on an informal meeting held in Edinburgh Colin Fox. It was agreed at this meeting that Colin would be coming to West Lothian to do stalls at Bathgate market and Almondvale centre on the 29/01/2010 in preparation for our forthcoming public meeting arfor the 2nd February.
Regretably we have had to postpone the public meeting due to the adverse weather conditions.Because we require three weeks to prepare for the meeting and canvass areas in Livingston, we also delayed printing of the leaflet advertising the meeting until an alternative date has been decided.It is hoped that we will still be able to use James Young high school for the meeting.
It was decided that the best way forward to advertise the branch’s activity was online and the merits of establishing a branch web site was discussed .The meeting decided that three members would be responsible for online blogs, social networking profiles and these members will be solely responsible for online content.
There will be three fortnightly blog entries one for local news, one for national/international news and one for a synopsis of party meetings. All members are urged to contribute in the writing of these articles.
The date of the next meeting will be 25/01/10 in Whiburn community centre at 7pm
We started the meeting with apologies from members unable to attend due to weather conditions and gave a warm welcome to a returning member.
A party representative then gave a report on an informal meeting held in Edinburgh Colin Fox. It was agreed at this meeting that Colin would be coming to West Lothian to do stalls at Bathgate market and Almondvale centre on the 29/01/2010 in preparation for our forthcoming public meeting arfor the 2nd February.
Regretably we have had to postpone the public meeting due to the adverse weather conditions.Because we require three weeks to prepare for the meeting and canvass areas in Livingston, we also delayed printing of the leaflet advertising the meeting until an alternative date has been decided.It is hoped that we will still be able to use James Young high school for the meeting.
It was decided that the best way forward to advertise the branch’s activity was online and the merits of establishing a branch web site was discussed .The meeting decided that three members would be responsible for online blogs, social networking profiles and these members will be solely responsible for online content.
There will be three fortnightly blog entries one for local news, one for national/international news and one for a synopsis of party meetings. All members are urged to contribute in the writing of these articles.
The date of the next meeting will be 25/01/10 in Whiburn community centre at 7pm
Letter sent to West Lothian courier on Copenhagen clitmate change conference. 10/01/2010
Copenhagen fiddles while the world burns!
The world’s most powerful leaders attended the recent climate change conference in Copenhagen with the declared purpose of reaching an agreement to reverse the threat of global warming. Tragically the summit ended in complete failure because national vested interests took precedence over global needs.
Access to relatively cheap fossil fuels has continued to prove a bridge to far in reaching an agreement between the worlds largest industrial economies. These major international corporations who seriously influence global politics are doing everything in their power to prevent a major shift to a low carbon economy, because this would seriously impact on their investments in the fossil fuel industry.
Climate change is an impending global catastrophe and if action is not taken immediately the consequences for the world are unthinkable. Technology does exists today to produce energy in a pollutant free non nuclear manner however in many cases the patents have been bought and not implemented by the giant corporations to protect their investments. The world at large demands a halt to this insane behaviour and to start sharing the world’s technology and resources for the benefit of all because there will be no second chance.
The world’s most powerful leaders attended the recent climate change conference in Copenhagen with the declared purpose of reaching an agreement to reverse the threat of global warming. Tragically the summit ended in complete failure because national vested interests took precedence over global needs.
Access to relatively cheap fossil fuels has continued to prove a bridge to far in reaching an agreement between the worlds largest industrial economies. These major international corporations who seriously influence global politics are doing everything in their power to prevent a major shift to a low carbon economy, because this would seriously impact on their investments in the fossil fuel industry.
Climate change is an impending global catastrophe and if action is not taken immediately the consequences for the world are unthinkable. Technology does exists today to produce energy in a pollutant free non nuclear manner however in many cases the patents have been bought and not implemented by the giant corporations to protect their investments. The world at large demands a halt to this insane behaviour and to start sharing the world’s technology and resources for the benefit of all because there will be no second chance.
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Letter sent to Scotsman by party co-spokesperson Colin Fox 14/01/10
This is a copy of a letter sent to the Scotsman newspaper. It refers to a article by journalist Mark Smith printed in todays edition.
This is a link to the actual article
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/poli...
Dear Sir
I read Mark Smith's piece in today's Scotsman [ New socialist party to fight
general election, 14/1/10] with some interest as you may imagine. My
interest quickly turned to indignation however as I realised that neither
Bob Crow nor anyone else has been in touch with the Scottish Socialist Party
about this London based initiative to unite socialist groups in Scotland. No
letter, no email, no text message, no phone call let alone the courtesy of
an invitation to meetings held 'last week in London' or 'in Glasgow on 30th
January'.
Such an attitude hardly bodes well for the comradely and mutually respectful
relationship required here. Readers will be forced to question the
seriousness of such a proposal when the biggest socialist party in Scotland
and the fastest growing in the country is excluded in this way.
I'm surely not the only person who thinks we need another socialist party
like we need a hole in the head. We have too many as it is.
Mark Smith, who never made any attempt to speak to the SSP before writing
his piece, is also wrong to suggest we are 'warring' with anyone on the
left. We are entirely focused on offering working people in Scotland that
desperately needed alternative to the four neo-liberal, warmongering parties
who misrepresent us at Westminster.
Over the past six months I have been campaigning up and down the country, from
Aberdeen to East Lothian on behalf of those 70% of Scots opposed to
Britain's ongoing military occupation of Afghanistan. Equally our party is
working with others to make the case that it is the rich, the bankers and
their political classes who got us into the worst recession in eighty years that
should pay for it, not tens of millions of working families as all four of our
opponents believe.
The SSP has enjoyed, as a consequence of our efforts in recent months, our
second strongest period of growth in ten years. We remain committed to left
unity, indeed our record shows we have achieved more on that score than
anyone else, and we continue to strive to unite every democratic socialist
in Scotland under one effective banner worthy of working people's respect
and support.
Colin Fox
National spokesman
Scottish Socialist Party
This is a link to the actual article
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/poli...
Dear Sir
I read Mark Smith's piece in today's Scotsman [ New socialist party to fight
general election, 14/1/10] with some interest as you may imagine. My
interest quickly turned to indignation however as I realised that neither
Bob Crow nor anyone else has been in touch with the Scottish Socialist Party
about this London based initiative to unite socialist groups in Scotland. No
letter, no email, no text message, no phone call let alone the courtesy of
an invitation to meetings held 'last week in London' or 'in Glasgow on 30th
January'.
Such an attitude hardly bodes well for the comradely and mutually respectful
relationship required here. Readers will be forced to question the
seriousness of such a proposal when the biggest socialist party in Scotland
and the fastest growing in the country is excluded in this way.
I'm surely not the only person who thinks we need another socialist party
like we need a hole in the head. We have too many as it is.
Mark Smith, who never made any attempt to speak to the SSP before writing
his piece, is also wrong to suggest we are 'warring' with anyone on the
left. We are entirely focused on offering working people in Scotland that
desperately needed alternative to the four neo-liberal, warmongering parties
who misrepresent us at Westminster.
Over the past six months I have been campaigning up and down the country, from
Aberdeen to East Lothian on behalf of those 70% of Scots opposed to
Britain's ongoing military occupation of Afghanistan. Equally our party is
working with others to make the case that it is the rich, the bankers and
their political classes who got us into the worst recession in eighty years that
should pay for it, not tens of millions of working families as all four of our
opponents believe.
The SSP has enjoyed, as a consequence of our efforts in recent months, our
second strongest period of growth in ten years. We remain committed to left
unity, indeed our record shows we have achieved more on that score than
anyone else, and we continue to strive to unite every democratic socialist
in Scotland under one effective banner worthy of working people's respect
and support.
Colin Fox
National spokesman
Scottish Socialist Party
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