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Formerly Price: £1 Solidarity Price: £2 the Socialist Issue No 54 - Feb/March 2020 Formerly www.socialistpartyscotland.org.uk price: £1 solidarity price: £2 AFTER THE ELECTION: A MASS WORKING FRANCE ERUPTS IN BUILD A NEW SCOTTISH CLASS MOVEMENT PENSION REVOLT WORKERS’ PARTY FOR INDYREF2 Page 14 Pages 2-5 Page 8/9 NO, BORIS! AUSTERITY IS NOT OVER BUILD THE FIGHTBACK Jim McFarlane workers are under threat. cuts as well as well as attacks are crying out gle in Glasgow, With the SNP passing on on terms and conditions. for investment the wider working Dundee City Unison secretary Tory cuts, Scottish Govern - Blaming the Tories at West - in jobs and class will fight to and Unison NEC member ment funding for local coun - minster is easy to do but is a local services. win investment in A(personal capacGity) Acils has falleIn by 7.6N% in real copS out. CouncillTors of every TChere have UTjobS s and services. terms since 2014. political persuasion have been local The demand This has resulted in tens of meekly voted for cuts budgets strikes and for the return of Boris Johnson and his bil - thousands of job losses, ser - in every council chamber in struggles the millions of lionaires’ government claim vices being slashed and local the country. against cuts, pounds stolen austerity is over. But the facts communities losing much Not one has had the convic - workloads and from council prove he is a liar. A new wave needed facilities and services. tion to say enough is enough, attacks on budgets will gain of austerity will wash over Perpetual austerity, puts at stand with the workforce and terms and increasing sup - Scotland’s councils as they set risk the long term financial use their powers to set no cuts conditions in a port. their budgets in the coming sustainability of councils. budgets. We have had the number of Legal no cuts weeks. Cuts to staffing levels place same tired excuses that they councils. The budgets must be The financial position is a huge strain on the remaining have no choice. task for the set by councils as bleak. Every council in the workforce. Cuts in funding Genuine socialist council - major trade part of that wider country is drawing up plans to have been made worse in lors would link up with the unions is to campaign - along make ever more cuts. Vital ser - areas with increased demand trade unions in building resis - build for co- Photo Paul Mattsson with industrial vices that many in real need such as social care and chil - tance and defiance to the Tory ordinated and sustained ac - action - to defeat the agents of face closure. Long held terms dren’s services. Council work - government. Working-class tion. As was seen in the austerity at Westminster, Holy - and conditions of council ers have faced real term pay communities across Scotland magnificent Equal Pay strug - rood and councils. 2 the socialist www.socialistpartyscotland.org.uk - Feb/March 2020 www.socialistpartyscotland.org.uk - Feb/March 2020 the socialist 3 editorial editorial The trade unions, the socialist left – inside and outside of “Scottis”h Labour – environmental campaigners, pro-indepen - After Labour’s general election defeat dence and anti-austerity fighters should discuss convening a conference to debate out the necessary steps towards the founding of a new Scottish workers’ party. With the Scottish parliament elections due to take place in less than 18 months’ time, the need for a socialist challenge to the SNP and the par- BUILD A NEW SCOTTISH WORKERS’ PARTY ties of capitalism is urgent. Nevertheless, they were timid trade unions to force a general in terms of their commitments election during the Brexit cri - on public ownership, com - sis, as we advocated. This is an pared even to the programme international failing of some of of the Labour left that Corbyn the newer left formations, in - was part of in the 1970s and cluding Podemos in Spain, 1980s, which pledged to na - Syriza in Greece, and the Left tionalise the top 25 monopo - Bloc in Portugal. What we think lies. While supporting all of Cor - December 2019 saw Scot - byn’s progressive pledges, we Rebuilding working tish Labour suffer the worst warned that a left Labour gov - class political general election result in its ernment would face the wrath 119-year history. Once again and hostility of big business representation the party has been reduced to which would do everything a solitary Westminster MP. possible to prevent encroach - A new mass party, which the What makes the outcome ments upon its power and Socialist Party has been advo - more catastrophic for Labour wealth. “That is why a crucial cating for since the 1990s, than even four years ago was step towards solving the eco - would, in contrast, be a gen - the loss of a further 196,000 nomic crisis would be to take uine workers’ party rooted in votes even compared to the into democratic public owner - the trade unions. Not neces - near wipe-out of 2015 – an ship the 125 or so big corpora - sarily from its inception hav - election which was widely tions that control around 80% ing a Marxist programme, but thought to be the very worst it of the economy across certainly a class-struggle could possibly get. Scottish Britain”, we wrote in the So - based party with a broad so - Labour’s vote fell to 511,838 cialist Party Scotland 2019 cialist outlook within which (18.6%) in December from general election manifesto. the forces of the Socialist Party 707,147 (24.3%) in 2015. “This would provide the possi - would seek to be a powerful bility of developing a demo - Marxist influence. 80,000 marched for Scottish independence in January Following in the wake of the 2020, following the Tory election win previous year’s independence cratic, socialist plan of However, the battle for the referendum, the collapse of production that could very future the Labour Party at a Labour support in working quickly transform the lives of UK level is not fully exhausted was the only country in the UK endum backed by the Scottish class areas in 2015 was dra - millions”. – in reality it has been a one- where Owen Smith defeated parliament”. Baillie, on behalf matically illustrated by the The limited reformist nature sided civil war conducted by Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership inspired hundreds of thousands to join the Labour Party in the UK but the pro-capitalist right wing were allowed to remain Photo Paul Mattsson Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 of a majority of the Scottish loss of 40 of their 41 MPs of Corbyn’s manifesto was it - the right against the left. The leadership contest. Even then, Labour MSPs, responded: “We elected in 2010. self a reflection of the charac - Socialist Party in England and only 13,000 Scottish Labour deplore any attempts to un - Open collaboration with the the programme needed on the Blairites in 2016 and the Corbyn. He should support They implicitly rejected taking ter of the movement around Wales is rightly calling for the members voted, 2.5% of the dermine the official policy po - Tories and the capitalist estab - how to fight destructive, aus - unending attacks he has faced the opening up of the Labour the ‘Liverpool road’, forged by him and its ideology. Emerg - refounding of the party based UK total, compared to just sition of the Scottish Labour lishment in the anti-indepen - terity-laden capitalism. And, from the out-and-out capital - Party for affiliation and mem - the heroic socialist council of ing as it did following three on trade unionists, young peo - under 500,000 in England and Party and we express serious dence ‘Better Together’ December 2019 saw Scot - crucially, the need for a social - ist wing of the Labour Party bership rights for all left, so - that city and led by Militant decades of neoliberalism and ple inspired by Corbyn and so - Wales. concerns about an apparent campaign had sealed the fate ist and class approach towards that dominates the Parliamen - cialist and anti-austerity supporters in the 1980s, who the throwing back of socialist cialists, on a clear left and tish Labour suffer the worst Even at the height of Cor - change in Labour’s position on of the Blairite-dominated “” Scottish independence and tary Labour Party. We also forces, including those previ - refused to make cuts and built consciousness following the anti-austerity basis. Neverthe - byn’s electoral appeal in the a matter of vital importance to Scottish Labour Party. Its then general election result in its the right to self-determina - campaigned for a Corbyn vic - ously expelled like Socialist a mass movement that de - collapse of Stalinism, it did not less, it is now overwhelmingly 2017 general election, with the future of Scotland and of leader Jim Murphy boldly de - tion. tory on socialist policies in Party Scotland, formerly Mili - feated Thatcher and secured see itself as representing the likely that in Scotland building 119-year history. Once again Labour winning an extra 3.5 the Scottish Labour Party it - clared in the wake of the evis - both the 2017 and 2019 gen - tant, for their socialist poli - resources for houses, sports independent interests of the a new party of the working million votes in England and self. Scottish party policy is ceration that saw the SNP the party has been reduced to eral elections. cies”. centres, nurseries and a job working class in the struggle class will become a necessary Wales, Scottish Labour put on very clear – that is opposition secure 56 of the 59 available Corbynism’s After Richard Leonard’s None of this was done.
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