the Socialist Issue No 57 March/April 2021 Formerly www.socialistpartyscotland.org.uk price: £1 solidarity price: £2 STRIKE FOR 15% NOW CASINO CAPITALISM JOBS, HOMES AND A PAY THE NHS AND CARE HEADING FOR A FUTURE FOR YOUNG WORKERS CRASH? Page 16 PEOPLE Pages 12/13 Page 10 We need a socialist recovery PAY RISES JOBS AND Read more about Scottish TUSC’s HOMESelection campaign on 4,5,6,7,8,9 VOTE SOCIALIST ON MAY 6 Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 2 thesocialist www.socialistpartyscotland.org.uk - March/April 2021 www.socialistpartyscotland.org.uk - March/April 2021 thesocialist 3 editorial editorial Labour’s Sturgeon/Salmond warfare exposes SNP millionaire tendency are WORKERS NEED THEIR OWN PARTY back in charge strengthens the case made by a conflict over how to confront Socialist Party Scotland that British capitalism's opposition the pro-capitalist SNP leader- to Scottish independence. ship are itself a barrier to lead- Sturgeon is widely seen out- Philip Stott Leonard defeated Anas Sarwar ing a successful mass struggle The task of socialists is to side of the SNP as too timid. when more than 21,000 mem- bers participated in a 60% for self-determination never give not one iota of support to Her insistence that only a AS EXPECTED Anas Sarwar, turnout from the then mem- mind and an independent so- e“ither S”turgeon or Salmond, 'legal' referendum, ie one the Blairite right wing candi- cialist Scotland. agreed by Boris Johnson, can bership of 35,300. far less call for a vote for the date, has won the leadership What we think offer a route to independence of the Scottish Labour Party. SNP as Tommy Sheridan and is increasingly seen as a The outcome, allied to class position utopia. Her fear of mobilising Starmer's increasing grip on Blairite SNP WARFARE has domi- many others of the left do. the working class in a mass the UK Labour Party, marks nated the political and press It is not the job of socialists It is the building of a new movement for democratic the end of the Corbyn left's There is no question about agenda in Scotland in early to defend one side or another rights is a morbid one. challenge to the dominant where Sarwar stood politically. 2021. A parliamentary com- workers' party in Scotland in this conflict. We have to take Salmond and other pro- capitalist wing of the Labour He has always been a Blairite. mittee of enquiry into the an independent class position. with the trade unions playing Salmond elements take a Party. As we have written perviously, Scottish government's han- Salmond's conduct towards more combative position, at Indeed Corbyn himself is Sarwar supported the at- dling of sexual harassment al- a lead role that is the essen- women is not defensible. Nor least in rhetoric. This could still excluded from the parlia- tempted coup against Corbyn legations against former first are his political positions, in- tial step that needs to be crystallise into a split from the mentary party and is no longer in 2016, backing Owen Smith minister Alex Salmond drove cluding passing on Tory cuts SNP after the election in May a Labour MP. The millionaire when he challenged for the even Covid off the front pages. taken. as first minister, or his support with the creation of a new po- tendency are definitively back UK leadership. And, as we Both Nicola Sturgeon, current for capitalism. Let's not forget litical formation. in the driving seat. have also commented, Sarwar SNP first minister, and her Salmond was the one who It's not ruled out that That the Corbyn 'revolution' himself is literally a million- predecessor Salmond have capitalist machine with a mid- championed major cuts to Salmond could even stand in has ended with the same aire. He transferred his £4.8 given hours of evidence amid dle class, careerist leadership corporation tax for big busi- the election, perhaps on one Blairites back in charge was million stake in the family wall-to-wall media coverage. in reality now the political es- ness in an independent Scot- of the pro-independence lists. only possible because of the cash and carry business to his In his testimony Salmond, tablishment in Scotland, that land in the SNP's 2014 Unfortunately, Tommy Sheri- political and organisational children during the 2017 lead- who has accused the Scottish fervently wish to rule in the in- independence 'white paper'. dan, the former socialist MSP, compromises to the right by ership contest. He was also government, the legal estab- terests of big business in an in- That does not mean that is calling for a Salmond to con- the Labour left. heavily criticised in 2017 when lishment and the civil service dependent Scotland. there wasn't a conspiracy sider standing, as well as back- Rather than use the mass it was exposed that his family of a witch hunt against him, Sturgeon is also no ally of among leading SNP members ing Salmond in this current enthusiasm for Corbyn, re- firm did not pay the living claimed: “The Scottish civil the working class and the to “get” Alex Salmond, partic- battle with Sturgeon. flected in the hundreds of wage or recognise trade service hasn’t failed, its leader- trade union movement. Her ularly after he announced he thousands who joined Labour, unions. ship has failed. The Crown Of- government have been un- was going to court to chal- socialist tasks to create a genuine workers' Sarwar's trenchant opposi- fice hasn’t failed, its leadership ending in their pursuit of cuts Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon in 2013 lenge the Scottish government party and drive out the pro- tion to self-determination for has failed. Scotland hasn’t to balance the books. If any- investigation and was himself The task of socialists is to capitalist elements, this op- Scotland and his pro-capitalist failed, its leadership has thing, Sturgeon has moved the being investigated by the po- give not one iota of support to portunity was squandered. policies will mean there can be failed.” Sturgeon, in return, SNP to the right and in an government had investigated into sexual harassment allega- cism after refusing for months lice on sexual assault. either Sturgeon or Salmond, Anas Sarwar defeated the no recovery for Scottish said it was as “absurd sugges- criminal charges even more pro-big business complaints about Salmond tions had previously spoken to to release key legal documents Indeed Sturgeon's partner far less call for a vote for the MSP Monica Lennon with Labour among the working tion that anyone acted with from two female civil servants the two women and was aware to the parliamentary commit- direction than even under Alex Salmond was charged and SNP CEO Peter Murrell al- SNP as Tommy Sheridan and more than 62% support class. Moreover, Sarwar is the malice or as part of a plot who had accused him of sex- of their claims. tee, which has still not been Salmond. in 2019 with 14 counts of sex- legedly sent texts to party offi- many others of the left do. The among Scottish Labour mem- fifth Scottish Labour leader against Alex Salmond”. ual harassment during the This meant the Scottish gov- fully done. It is still possible This warfare between these ual assault against nine cials saying: "it was a good SNP leadership have failed on bers and only narrowly lost to since the referendum of 2014 – Salmond has also accused the time when he was first minis- ernment has acted illegally. that either or both of the in- leading figures in the indepen- women, including attempted time to be pressuring the po- austerity, on Covid, on work- Lennon in the affiliated sec- the tenth if you include in- SNP leadership of seeking to ter and SNP leader. The inter- The case was collapsed and vestigations into aspects of dence movement is also re- rape. After the trial in March lice" to pursue Salmond. He ers' rights and on confronting tion which includes the trade terim stand ins. The Pasokifi- have him jailed. nal investigation that took Salmond was awarded around this saga will conclude that flected on other issues, 2020 he was found not guilty also send a text saying he capitalism. It is the building of unions. Scottish Labour have cation (Pasok was the The civil war in the SNP – al- place was under a new proce- £600,000 of public money in Sturgeon has broken the rules including gender recognition. on 12 counts and not proven wanted London’s Metropoli- a new workers' party in Scot- not released any information traditional party of the Greek though Salmond is no longer a dure for dealing with “inap- costs. Sturgeon, in her evi- of a first minister. However, at Key Salmond allies like Joanna on one charge – the other tan force to start a second in- land with the trade unions on the numbers who took part working class but saw its base member of the party – has propriate conduct” drawn up dence to the 2021 parliamen- this stage it is likely that she Cherry MP and others oppose charge had been dropped. It quiry into the former SNP playing a lead role that is the in the election. of support eradicated after spilled out into the broader in- in 2017 in the wake of the tary inquiry, admitted that the will lead the SNP into the elec- Sturgeon on the right for trans was clear during the trial, de- leader: “The more fronts he is essential step that needs to be However, earlier in February years of pro-capitalist rule and dependence movement as #MeToo movement.