The Herald, 30/08/03

Murray Ritchie's article on the SSP's support for an independence convention has a very significant error.
In relation to the 2003 Scottish Parliament elections and the SNP's poor performance, Alan McCombes paper for the SSP's National Council does not contain the phrase;
"By no stretch of the imagination could this be credibly interpreted as a swing from Unionism to Nationalism."
The correct quote is in fact quite the opposite and the analysis is quite clear; the failure of the SNP is not a reflection of a resurgent Unionism within Scotland, the success of smaller pro-independence party's and individuals an indication that support for independence and the ending of the Union is finding new forms of expression in the Scottish political system.

Eddie Truman
SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Scottish Parliament