SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 14/12/03

Leading Scottish National Party figure and ex MSP for the West Of Scotland Lloyd Quinan has announced his resignation from the party he has been a member of for 29 years.
Lloyd, 46, will announce at a press conference in Glasgow City Chambers that the Scottish National Party has shown a repeated failure to take the initiative in the fight for independence and that he has decided that the Scottish Socialist Party paints a vision of the Scotland that he wants to see.
Lloyd Quinan joined the Scottish National Party in 1974 and has been a lifelong republican socialist and internationalist.
Lloyd brings to the SSP a vast range of experience through decades of campaigning and trade union membership.
Lloyd was a member of Alex Salmond’s shadow cabinet and is widely known through his work on Scottish Parliament cross party groups on Autism, Palestine and Europe.
Lloyd said;
“After decades membership of the Scottish National Party I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the party I joined in 1974 no longer represents the vision of Scotland that I believe in.
“The leadership of the SNP have let the party down over participation in the Independence convention and over the crisis in the fishing industry.
“The Scottish Socialist Party is a progressive, developing party.
“It is internationalist, fights for equality and is socialist.
“The SSP paints a vision of the kind of Scotland I want to see, the SNP under the current leadership completely fails to do that.”
Tommy Sheridan welcomed Lloyd’s decision to leave the SNP and join the Scottish Socialists.
Tommy said;
“I have known Lloyd for many years and he is a man of principle and integrity.
“His decision to leave the SNP and join the Scottish Socialist Party is one I know he will not have taken lightly.
“I would appeal to all those in the SNP who are dismayed at the timidity of the leadership and the move to the right on a whole range of issues to come and join Lloyd in the SSP.”