Aberdeen Press & Journal
The Scottish Socialist Party added its voice to those demanding the abolition of the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) yesterday.
A spokesperson said: "The crisis in the fishing industry must be addressed as a priority and we must have the political will to change the status quo. Fishing must be maintained in a sustainable manner that allows a fair catch while not jeopardising the fish stocks of future generations of fishermen."

Rail union risks Labour split over SSP

BRITAIN’S main railway union, the RMT, is just one step away from being expelled from the Labour Party after its Scottish wing took a decision to start forging concrete links with the Scottish Socialists.

The Scottish RMT decision represents a huge fillip for Tommy Sheridan’s party, which has been courting several of the big, left-leaning unions for some time.

But it also represents a major blow to the Labour Party, both in financial and political terms, and it could herald the start of a general erosion of union support for the party.

Mr Sheridan said: "Trade union members across Scotland should now examine their links with New Labour which is privatising services, supporting illegal wars and refusing to give pensioners a decent pension.

"The Scottish Socialist Party is the natural home for trade union members and socialists and I would call on other unions in Scotland to follow the example of the RMT.

"New Labour is no longer the party of the millions; Tony Blair has transformed it into the party of the millionaires."

The decision of the RMT’s Scottish branches to forge closer links with the SSP could be only the first in a series of boosts for the socialists in Scotland.

It is understood that some of the more left-wing activists in the Fire Brigades Union are urging their union to follow the RMT example and disaffiliate from Labour in Scotland. The Scotsman

Labour threatens to expel rail union The Herald

Scottish rail union ready to sever links with 'failed' Labour Daily Telegraph

By Joe Quinn, Political Editor, Scottish Press Association
09/12/03

Britain’s biggest rail union has further distanced itself from Labour after a vote by its Scottish regional council, it emerged today.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said the council had backed a move by three branches for the council to disaffiliate from Labour.
The council now plans to ask the union’s national executive if it can affiliate to the Scottish Socialist Party.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “The decision by the Scottish regional council was taken democratically.
“It reflects the failure of New Labour to deliver policies and action in the interests of working people.”
But he added: “The RMT will remain affiliated nationally to the Labour party.”
And the move by the Scottish council will not affect the ability of branches to decide who to affiliate to, although that requires the permission of the national executive.
The Scottish council move will be discussed at a meeting of the national executive later this month or in January, a spokesman said.
It follows steps by three branches in Scotland last month to disaffiliate from the union and back the SSP.
The spokesman said those three branches had later been joined by two more, and the national executive had agreed their bid at a meeting a fortnight ago.
Tommy Sheridan’s Scottish Socialist Party increased its number of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament from one to six at the May elections.
Two months later the union’s annual conference agreed to cut annual funding to Labour while relaxing its rules to allow branches to support other parties.

Election 2003: Fully Inclusive?

Dundee University's Digital Media Access Group have recently released a report on the online manifesto's of Scottish political parties during the May 2003 elections for the Scottish parliament. The report looked at how accessible the manifesto information was for disabled people.

The report praised the Scottish Socialist Party for providing the most accessible website.

"Many sites, including those of Scottish Labour and Scottish Conservatives, failed to comply with basic guidelines for web accessibility - guidelines that were published the day before the first Scottish Parliament election in 1999."

...

"The picture is not, however, completely bleak. The Manifesto of the Scottish Socialist Party was relatively straightforward to access, even when using Home Page Reader and Lynx, and the SSP's web site was particularly commendable in that it validated to an accepted HTML standard: XHTML 1.0 Transitional. The simple layout and design of the SSP site helped to ensure improved access to the Manifesto. This greatly increases the chance that the site will be readable in the widest range of browsers and assistive technologies."

Blair ‘steers return to Thatcher attitudes’: To the Scottish Socialist party the findings were vindication of their own campaigns, summed up by the election poster that showed the face of Margaret Thatcher "morphing" into Tony Blair. Eddie Truman, the party's spokesman, said: "This is something we have always said Tony Blair has been more successful at Thatcherism than Thatcher. "We are conscious of the fact that there are people who voted him in and still vote Labour with their first vote and SSP with their second. That will change. Time is running out for Blair and New Labour as people realise it is the same policies with different faces promoting them." The Herald

Glasgow Evening Times
A PLEA for a more responsive and responsible attitude to people suffering from mental health problems was made today by SSP leader Tommy Sheridan.
He was speaking after it emerged his Glasgow MSP colleague Rosie Kane was suffering from clinical depression.

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
08/12/03

All of the Scottish Socialist Party MSPs are under incredible pressure.
Collectively and individually, they have played an outstanding role carrying the banner of socialism into a hostile environment, fronting numerous local and national campaigns, preparing private members bills based on our key manifesto policies, liaising with numerous voluntary organisations, dealing with a multitude of day-to-day problems in their constituencies, and promoting the party's policies in the media.
Since her election seven months ago, Rosie Kane has made a phenomenal impact on Scottish public consciousness.
She is now a household name, with almost every word she utters tracked by opponents in the parliament and the media desperate to undermine her.
Unfortunately, the intensity of the last six months have created overheads for Rosie personally.
Recently she has suffered some fairly serious health problems and is on medication for stress and depression.
Rosie now feels that she should go public and explain her health problem first to the party to the party membership then to the wider public.
This would remove some of the pressure that she's under and help cut across some of the ignorant criticisms directed towards Rosie in parliament and in the press.
She also feels that it's important to be honest with party members, supporters and the wider public rather than try to cover up the fact she is suffering from a common health problem that especially blights the lives of many working class women.
Every SSP member will be naturally be anxious that Rosie makes a speedy recovery and returns to continue the magnificent work that she's begun.
At the same time, the Scottish Socialist Party will offer her whatever personal and political support that we can, and at the same time give her the time and space she needs to recuperate.