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600 attend launch of Solidarity Scotland

Solidarity | 04.09.2006 11:12 | World


Over 600 people crowded into a room in the centre of Glasgow on Sunday afternoon for the launch of Solidarity, a new movement for socialism in Scotland.



The meeting, called by Members of Scottish Parliament Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne, attracted a large number of former members of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) as well as many activists from the Stop the War movement and other campaigns who had not been members of the SSP. People travelled to the meeting from all over Scotland. Supporters organised coaches from several areas including the north east of Scotland, Fife and the Lothians.

The meeting was addressed by a wide range of speakers including anti-war activists, trade unionists and former SSP organisers.

Jim Walls, the T&G union convenor for opencast miners across Scotland told the meeting that he had brought with him 100 completed membership forms from miners and their families.

Billy Coates, a firefighter from Paisley said “our taxes should be spent on health, education and services not on nuclear weapons and illegal wars.”

Osama Saeed from the Muslim Association of Britain spoke to the meeting about the attacks on civil liberties and the growing racism faced by Muslims in Britain. He talked about the positive experiences that Muslims in England have had working with socialists in the Stop the War movement and Respect, and said that he hoped that we would see more of this in Scotland.

Angela McCormick, stop the war activist and former SSP council candidate, urged people to get to the demonstration outside the Labour conference in Manchester on 23 September. She pointed out that many people feel bitterly betrayed by New Labour and that they should have a home in a new party in Scotland.

The meeting voted to formally launch the organisation under the working title of “Solidarity - Scotland’s movement for socialism” and to hold a formal launch conference in November to make decisions about campaigning priorities and constitution.

report from www.socialistworker.org.uk

Solidarity


Comments

Hide the following 7 comments

Socialist Worker

04.09.2006 15:03

So the SWP are supporting the Sheridan party ? If that is so and the SWP leave the SSP maybe the SSP will increase their vote after all. How soon before we have the Sheridan and Galloway sex-romp stories appearing in the News of the World ?

I applaud the IM volunteers for leaving this piece of Stalinist hierarchical nonsense on the newswire. lets have more self-promoting pseudo-Socialist silliness to balance out all the Green Party crap. It makes the rest of us look good by comparison.

Danny


the pipes are calling

04.09.2006 19:26

Danny ...There is an important relaignment of the left going on in Scotland with 600 people attending what is essentially the launch of a new and hopefully non sectarian party .
Your insults about Galloway and Sheridan are churlish and quite frankly, prattish!
hugo

hugo


the pipes are calling

04.09.2006 19:26

Danny ...There is an important relaignment of the left going on in Scotland with 600 people attending what is essentially the launch of a new and hopefully non sectarian party .
Your insults about Galloway and Sheridan are churlish and quite frankly, prattish!
hugo

hugo


Policy not personality

04.09.2006 21:03

And what major policy differences can we expect between the Sheridan party and the SSP?

'Tommy was innocent' seems to be it, unless you can enlighten us further. Scroogle IM and you'll see I was the only person here defending Tommy from his previous parties betrayal, but this isn't a socialist website, and 'Solidarity' isn't based on anything other than the standard socialist personality cult. I'd tell you to go fuck yourself but I'm a few months too late, you have already shot yourself in the foot. RIP SSP. Time for us anarchists to start recruiting again in Pollock.

Danny


You go first, we're right behind you

04.09.2006 21:21

I don't know what sort of twat would willingly ridicule the name Danny, or any name, in the name of socialism, but if you professs to any sort of west coast socialism perhaps you should revist the song:

But if I live and should you die for Ireland,
let not your dying thoughts be just of me,
but say a prayer to God for our dearest Island,
I know He'll hear and help to set her free.

And I will take your pike and place my dearest,
and strike a blow, though weak the blow may be,
It will help the cause to which your heart was nearest.
Oh Danny Boy, Oh, Danny boy, I love you so.

For the record, Dublin is relatively free and prosperous while 'Red Clydeside' is destroyed daily not just by Westminster but by the constant betrayal of pseudo-vote-for-me-Socialists. And on a personal note, you should save the name jokes until you can think of a better nom de guerre than 'Hugo'. Just out of interest have you ever had an orgy with Tommy - and if not, don't you feel slighted or are you more hopeful of a wynch now the numbers are halved ?

Danny


Pollok Danny not Pollock

05.09.2006 17:50


Pollok Danny not Pollock

.


My spell checkin' cousin

05.09.2006 22:40

Thankin you. Yeah, I always spell that wrong, noticed that myself straight away - as always after I posted. Never lived there - lovely neighborhood though - but the local pub in Helsinki did have an old ad for the Pollock Bike Company, and there are so many Pollocks in Scotland that it is a common error with me. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly dyslexic but I do/did have major speech problems and refuse to spell-check in the hope my awful spelling will one day improve. If you want to chip in anytime then it would be much appreciated. I hope for everyone elses sake that both our comments are hidden but I am grateful nonetheless.

Danny


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