Campaigning Against the Occupation, 12th June

We can be found outside the former Marks and Spencer near the west end of Princes Street this Saturday (12th June) from around 12 noon until 1:30pm. Interested in the party and what it’s up to? Feel free to drop by for a chat.

Campaigning Against the Occupation, 11th June

We can be found at the horse on the east end of Princes Street this Friday (11th May) from around 12:00pm until 1:30pm, campaigning against the occupation of Afghanistan. Interested in the party and what it’s up to? Feel free to drop by for a chat.

SSP Marches for a Free Gaza

Photo by Eddie Truman

SSP members from across Scotland joined 5,000 others in Edinburgh today to march along Princes Street against the Israeli blockade of Gaza and the brutal enforcement that was brought to the world’s attention last Monday when 57 peace activists were shot,  9 of whom lost their lives (5 were shot in the back or the back of the head).  The march made stops at the American consulate, Alex Salmond’s residence, and Marks and Spencers (a key target of the boycott campaign), in order to put pressure on the international community to finally take action.

The blockade of Gaza, illegal under international law, has cut the amount of humanitarian aid getting into the area by 75% and destroyed the local economy — especially farming.  This in turn has left most Gazans dependent on international aid and nine out of ten living below the poverty line of $1 a day.  The UN has called the blockade ‘medieval’, and found that only a third of the aid necessary to feed the population is allowed in.

Among the ‘dangerous’ products banned from entering Gaza are fabric, dried fruit, and any construction materials, meaning that the homes, hospitals and schools destroyed by Israeli bombing cannot be rebuilt.

You can see SSP National Co-Spokesperson Colin Fox’s statement by clicking here.

Campaigning Against the Occupation, 4th June

We can be found at the horse on the east end of Princes Street this Friday (21st May) from around 12:30pm until 2pm, campaigning against the occupation of Afghanistan. Interested in the party and what it’s up to? Feel free to drop by for a chat.

SSP condemns unreservedly the murder of 19 aid workers by Israeli forces

SSP members join the protest in Edinburgh

SSP members joined protests across Scotland on Monday afternoon, to register their anger at the Israeli military’s attack on a convoy carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza — an attack which killed up to 19 aid workers.

Israel is currently blockading Gaza, allowing only 15,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid in a week, less than a quarter of the over 60,000 tonnes needed according to the UN.  And on top of this it has banned the materials essential to rebuilding destroyed homes, schools and hospitals.  The convoy was carrying 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid, and included an international contingent of MPs, journalists, academics and campaigners in a failed bid to ensure its protection.

The ship was attacked in international waters, 69 nautical miles from Israel, when commandos landed from helicopters carrying live ammunition.

The official SSP press release is below.

Originally posted on the SSP National website.

The naked aggression against the people of Gaza by the Israeli state has been exposed once again in another despicable, murderous act against unarmed people. The unprovoked attack on the peace and humanitarian aid convoy in international waters is akin to the anti racism attacks on activists in the southern states of America in the 1960’s and the shooting of peaceful protesters in Sharpeville, South Africa in 1960.

The Scottish Socialist Party stands shoulder to shoulder with the flotilla activists and the Palestinian people and we call on the UK and Scottish Governments to condemn the heinous crime of the Israeli Government immediately.

We call for a boycott of Israeli goods and international sanctions on the Israeli state. The UN must show leadership of the international community and initiate action rather than the stream of empty words it has issued over the years.

The UK Government also needs to initiate an enquiry at the BBC reaction to the flotilla and the attack. The BBC is reported to have refused to give coverage of the flotilla and on the morning of the attack was only reporting the words of Israeli spokespeople. This seeming BBC policy towards reporting on Gaza recalls a refusal to broadcast a charity appeal for aid to Gaza in January 2009.

The SSP calls for an immediate end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza and for justice for the Palestinian people.

Huge boost for SSP’s Free Public Transport Campaign with Union Backing

By Colin Fox (SSP National Co-Spokesperson)

Originally posted on the SSP National Website.

Whilst the political parties at Westminster were all agreeing to decimate public services the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) passed a resolution at its annual conference in Brighton to support the introduction of free public transport to combat global warming, reduce pollution and road traffic accidents and improve social inclusion.

The plan was initially developed by Alan McCombes and pioneered by the SSP in the Scottish Parliament and has been described as ‘the most imaginative and audacious’ policy put forward by any party in the entire climate change debate. I was delighted to accept an invitation from the PCS’s Department for Transport conference to outline our specific policy objectives in detail to delegates.

If Scotland is to meet our target for reducing CO2 emissions by 2020 we must persuade people to use their cars less. Cars are responsible for 80% of the greenhouse gases attributable to transport.

In adopting the free public transport policy the PCS was influenced, as indeed we were, by the remarkable success of the scheme implemented by the authorities in the Belgian city of Hasselt. They introduced free public transport in 1997 in response to chronic traffic congestion. But instead of building more and more roads to accommodate more and more cars they took an alternative route. They abolished fares on their buses, trains and trams. Their aim was to provide people with a better alternative to using their cars. Critics scoffed at their idea and said it was madness, that people wouldn’t leave their beloved cars just because the bus was free. Yet in the space of three years passenger numbers in Hasselt increased tenfold from 330,000 in 1996 to 3.7million.

The SSP aims to replicate that remarkable success this time on a nationwide basis advocating free travel on buses, trains, Glasgow’s underground system, Edinburgh’s trams and for foot passengers on our ferries. We are confident this measure, never conducted on a national basis before, would act as a huge incentive for people to leave their cars at home.

According to the Scottish Government the cost of introducing free public transport would be £500m per annum. This figure arises as the income presently received from fares.

In a debate in the Scottish Parliament in 2006 I pointed out to the then Transport Minister Tavish Scott that whilst this figure did not include the additional cost of extra buses and trains necessary to cope with the inevitable upsurge in demand it also failed to recognise the considerable savings which would arise.

The Confederation of British Industry in Scotland for example estimates the economy losses £2.2bn per year through congestion as workers sit in cars, vans and lorries grid locked by traffic every day in our towns and cities.

The tourist agency ‘Visit Scotland’ also spoke out in favour of the measure by concluding it would also boost  the number of people likely to come here on holiday. Similarly the NHS and emergency services say the cost of dealing with road traffic accidents annually exceeds £1bn in Scotland.

Then there is the benefits which the NHS receives in not having to treat the escalating numbers of patients admitted, particularly in summer, with respiratory illnesses cause by traffic fumes and associated pollution.

We would also benefit as a society from reducing poverty as low paid workers can pay anything between £50-£100 per month in travel to work costs.

And to those who might be tempted to argue that spending £500million on free public transport in Scotland is pie in the sky in the current economic climate I would point to the conclusion in Sir Nicholas Stern’s report as the Chair of the Inter-Governmental Committee on Climate Change [ICCC]. Stern was at pains to point out this threat –of global warming and its consequences –  is not about to go away and he stressed that every step we must take carries significant costs, but most importantly of all ‘the cost of doing nothing is the highest price of all.’

The Scottish Socialist Party’s National Council on June 12th will discuss plans to work with a broad range of organisations on this policy – trades unions, climate change campaigners, health groups and other sympathetic bodies- in order to progress the policy further in light of the PCS’s support.

Campaigning Against the Occupation, 29th May

We can be found outside the former Marks and Spencer near the west end of Princes Street this Saturday (22nd May) from around 12 noon until 1:30pm. Interested in the party and what it’s up to? Feel free to drop by for a chat.

Campaigning Against the Occupation, 22nd May

We can be found outside the former Marks and Spencer near the west end of Princes Street this Saturday (22nd May) from around 12 noon until 1:30pm. Interested in the party and what it’s up to? Feel free to drop by for a chat.

Campaigning Against the Occupation, 21st May

We can be found at the horse on the east end of Princes Street this Friday (21st May) from around 12 noon until 1:30pm, campaigning against the occupation of Afghanistan. Interested in the party and what it’s up to? Feel free to drop by for a chat.

SSP Joins Cameron Welcome Committee

A member of the SSP-affiliated Scottish Socialist Youth is interviewed outside Holyrood. Photo by Eddie Truman

Led by the Scottish Socialist Youth, the SSP turned out to join David Cameron’s welcome committee this afternoon, on his first trip to Scotland.

Challenging the democratic deficit currently being highlighted by Tory-rule of a nation where they won only a single representative, as well as the unpopular Tory policies of “savage cuts” in the public sector — cuts already beginning to affect health and education provision in Scotland — they forced the new Prime Minister to sneak in and out by the side-entrance, lest he be forced to respond to the concerns of non-millionaires.