2004 Euro Manifesto

Scottish Socialist Party European Election Manifesto 2004 for a different Europe europeanmanifesto part one About the SSP The Scottish Socialist Party is Scotland’s newest, fastest growing and most radical political party. Just six years old, the SSP now has six MSPs in the Scottish Parliament and a network of scores of branches in every corner of Scotland, from Stromness to Stranraer, from Selkirk to Stornoway. n the 2003 Scottish election, the All six Scottish Socialist MSPs also swing to the SSP was by far the most honoured their election pledges to live spectacular feature of a general upris- on no more than the average wage of a Iing against the four big parties, which skilled worker. Each of these MSPs lost over a million votes. donates half their salary to the party. In the first-past-the-post ballot, sup- The SSP is more than just another port for the SSP soared from under 1 per electoral party whose sole ambition is to cent to over 6 per cent. In the second get politicians elected into parliaments proportional ballot, the Scottish Socialist and councils. vote rose from just under 2 per cent to Most of our activity is conducted out- almost 7 per cent. With six MSPs, the side parliament, on the streets, in the SSP is represented across the whole of communities, in the workplaces, in the the central belt and southern Scotland, universities and colleges. from the Clyde to the Forth and from the Since 2001, the SSP has been the most Solway Firth to the North Sea. active anti-war party in Scotland. From Inside the Scottish Parliament, the SSP day one, we opposed the reckless and has already emerged as the most effec- deceitful “war on terror”. tive, dynamic and radical opposition to There will never be peace in the world the New Labour - Lib Dem coalition. without justice. That means national jus- Just months into the parliament, the tice for the Palestinian people who for party has launched a series of bills, with generations have suffered daily repres- others in the pipeline, that will have a sion and humiliation at the hands of the far-reaching impact on the lives of mil- Israeli state, bristling with weapons sup- lions. Legislation that is being champi- plied by the United States. And it means oned by Scottish Socialist MSPs include economic and social justice for the bil- bills to: lions of people across the Third World who live at the edge of starvation. G Provide universal free school meals. G Scrap the Council Tax. Since 2001, the SSP has been the G Offer single vaccines as an alternative to MMR. most active anti-war party in Scotland. G Abolish prescription charges. From day one, we opposed the reckless and G Improve drug treatment facilities. G Bring Scotrail back into public owner- deceitful “war on terror”. ship. SSPEuropeanManifesto2004 1 europeanmanifesto part one Day in, day out, the SSP fights all forms of injustice at local, national and international level. As well opposing the murderous warmongering of Blair and Bush, our campaigning work includes: G Fighting low pay and long hours in the workplace. G Resisting privatisation in all its forms and guises. G Challenging racism and other forms of bigotry and discrimination. G Defending local facilities from closure. G Opposing extravagant spending on new urban motorways. G Standing up for a better deal for pen- sioners. G Exposing cruelty to animals. G Challenging all threats to public health, from nuclear waste dumps to GM crops. G Participating in direct action against the weapons of mass destruction sited on the Clyde. G Assisting those resisting military, national and political oppression across the globe. G Promoting redistribution of wealth Photo credit: Craig MacLean from rich to poor, in Scotland and internationally. G Supporting workers forced to take strike action to defend their jobs, livelihoods and working conditions. G Campaigning for the closure of Dun- gavel detention centre and for the rights of asylum seekers including the Ay family, Mercy Ikolo and the Kur- dish hunger strikers. G Helping set up a unified Independence Convention, involving the SSP, the SNP, the Greens and other pro-independence forces across Scotland. Photo credit: Duncan Brown 2 SSPEuropeanManifesto2004 europeanmanifesto part two The European elections: why you should vote t would be fair to say that June 10 is peoples of the world by the President of not exactly a red-letter day in the cal- the USA and the Prime Minister of the endars of most Scots. That’s the day UK aided and abetted by their armies of IEurope goes to the polls to elect a new hired liars, otherwise known as spin- parliament. doctors. All the signs point to a rock bottom When that fraud was exposed, we were turnout in Scotland and across the UK. then told the war was justified because it That partly reflects a general disillu- rid Iraq of a tyrant who tortured and sionment with politics and politicians. It executed his opponents. also reflects the fact that the European Saddam Hussein may be in captivity, Union and its institutions are as remote his statues reduced to thousands of from ordinary people as the planet pieces of rubble. But as we know from Pluto. sickening photographic evidence, sav- For the past four years, Scotland has agery, torture and brutality are alive and had eight MEPs drawn from the four old flourishing under the Stars and Stripes establishment political parties. and the Union Jack. How many of these MEPs can you If there is only one reason to get to the name – unless they happen to have been If there is polling station on June 10, it can be caught up in a row over expenses? only one summed up in one four letter word: The fact is, the European Union is IRAQ. largely run, not by elected politicians, reason to The leaders of the Liberal Democrats but by unelected bankers and bureau- get to the and the SNP have called for the Euro- crats. pean elections to be turned into a refer- So is there any point in voting on June polling endum on Blair’s disastrous, gung-ho 10? Our answer is a resounding YES. station on Arabian adventure. The Scottish Social- First, because June 10 gives the ordi- ist Party would echo this call. nary people of Scotland a chance to June 10, it But anyone who wants to use this elec- scream out in rage against the bar- can be tion to stand up for peace in Iraq and barism being inflicted on Iraq in our summed across the Middle East will be wasting name. their vote if they use it to back either the We were told this was a war to rid Iraq up in one SNP or the Liberal Democrats. of its weapons of mass destruction. This four letter Far from being resolute opponents of was a lie. There never were any weapons war, they have wavered and dithered at of mass destruction, as we all now know. word: each new turn. But there was mass deception of the IRAQ. Both parties supported the war in SSPEuropeanManifesto2004 3 europeanmanifesto part two Afghanistan – a war which strengthened said that they wanted western troops out rather than weakened Osama bin Laden now. and al Qaeda. Seventy one per cent said US and UK Both parties opposed the invasion of troops were “occupiers” rather than “lib- Iraq – but admitted they would have erators” – a figure that rose to 81 per cent supported the invasion if the US and if the Kurdish minority in Northern Iraq Britain had only succeeded in bullying were excluded. and bribing the United Nations into Among the Shia population, who were passing a resolution in support of war. viciously oppressed by Saddam Hus- Now, neither the SNP nor the Liberal sein’s Ba’athist regime, there is equally Democrats are prepared to support the strong opposition to the presence of US call for British troops to be removed and British troops. from Iraq. In this European election campaign, In contrast the Scottish Socialist Party the SSP will be calling for British troops has stood fearlessly against the warmon- out of Iraq and for the European Union gering of Bush and Blair from day one, to stand up in opposition to the occupa- irrespective of the ups and downs of tion. opinion polls. We opposed the bombing of This European election is also an oppor- Afghanistan, warning that victory for the tunity to protest at the growing wealth US and Britain in this grotesquely gulf between rich and poor, in Scotland uneven contest would not bring peace and worldwide. and stability to the world, but would inflame Islamist fundamentalism and According to the Sunday Times, the strengthen al Qaeda. wealth of the top 1,000 people in the UK We opposed on principle the invasion has doubled in the past four years and of Iraq, with or without the backing of a now stands at over £200 billion - enough UN resolution. to bankroll Britain’s total aid budget to Africa for the next 200 years. And we are now spearheading the cam- Here in Scotland, the gap between the paign in Scotland to end the occupation richest and the poorest grows wider by of Iraq. the day. The chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Fred Goodwin, last Most Iraqis want western troops out year made £3.2 million in salary and immediately. In a recent poll for the USA bonuses – the equivalent of 250 years pay Today newspaper and the CNN TV net- for a nursery nurse.

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