RMT - News- RMT to hold Special General Meeting on political affiliation: "The RMT branches given leave by the executive to affiliate to the Scottish Socialist Party are: Edinburgh and Portobello; Glasgow 1&2; Glasgow Engineering; Perth No 1, and Wishaw and Motherwell. Requests for permission to affiliate to the SSP have also been received from the Scottish Regional Council and from the Fort William and North Clyde branches."

Labour threatens to end ties to RMT The Labour party has threatened to axe its links with one of the unions which helped found the party, after some branches decided to affiliate to the Scottish Socialist party.

Five branches of the railway workers union the RMT in Scotland, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, have already broken with Labour to support Tommy Sheridan's party, in protest at Tony Blair's policies on the railways and support for privatisation.

But now the RMT executive has also backed the move, prompting Labour to write to the union threatening formal disaffiliation.

The union has been reducing its financial support to Labour over the past few years in protest at the party's refusal to renationalise the railways, and now only gives the party £12,500 a year.

In a letter to the union from Chris Lennie, Labour's deputy general secretary, the union was told that the SSP was opposed to the Labour party.

"The decision of the executive to approve the application of five branches of the RMT to affiliate to the Scottish Socialist party and any decision to approve the affiliation of the Scottish regional council to the same party, constitutes a fundamental breach of the rules and the essential nature of your affiliation to this party and amounts to a repudiation of the RMT's affiliation to this party.

"The RMT has placed itself outside the constitution of this party. Unless the decisions regarding affiliation to the Scottish Socialist party are immediately revoked, the matter will be reported to the National Executive Committee at the earliest opportunity with a recommendation that the RMT be treated as disaffiliated from this party forthwith."

RMT general secretary Bob Crow - a leftwinger who has clashed with the prime minister on several issues - said his union's annual meeting had agreed last year that branches should be free to support organisations and campaigns that follow the union's policy objectives.

"The Labour party is now saying that there is a constitutional conflict and the matter can only be resolved by the union's supreme governing body," he said.

RMT branches in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Motherwell have already affiliated to the SSP and further requests have been received from a number of other Scottish branches. The special meeting will be held in Glasgow on February 6 to discuss the union's next move. The Guardian

RAIL REBELS FACE LABOUR AXE Daily Record

Labour threat to expel RMT over Scottish Socialists link The union is to consider whether all of its Scottish region should forge links with the SSP. The Independent

Labour warns rail union on SSP link The Scotsman

RMT to break Labour ties unless SSP decision overturned The Herald

BBC News Online
The Scottish Socialist Party has called on the Scottish Executive to implement a 10-year house building programme.
It also called for the ending of the right to buy council houses in favour of a right to rent discount scheme that rewarded long-term tenants.
SSP national convenor Tommy Sheridan spoke ahead of an executive debate on Improving Scotland's homes.
He said the Scottish Executive had failed to replace the 250,00 council homes sold in the last 10 years.

New members shake up Scottish parliament

What happened at Holyrood in May was little short of a coup. Dismayed by the priorities of the established parties and horrified at the growing scandal of the new parliament building, the electorate dismantled the old four-party system, depleting the ranks of Labour and the Scottish National party and bringing in six Scottish Socialists, seven Scottish Greens and four independents.

"We touched a raw nerve because we tapped into a great feeling across Scotland and the UK of complete antipathy to establishment politicians," said Tommy Sheridan, the leader of the Scottish Socialists.

Mr Sheridan, who has been transformed from maverick MSP to elder statesman by the arrival of five colleagues, says the SSP is making a difference...

Peter Lynch, lecturer in politics at Stirling University, agrees that the newcomers have made their presence felt.

"They are head and shoulders above some of the others who came in at the start." The Guardian

The house that Jack is trying to build

So any new excitement in politics must be a good thing? Not quite. Especially not if it is provided by those colourful characters in the Scottish Socialist party.

"I don't think the behaviour of the Trots has helped over the past six months," says McConnell. "I don't agree with this view that the parliament has become more exciting because you have a few people running around in jeans, chanting slogans and shouting abuse at each other." The Sunday Times