History of the Scottish Socialist Party

The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) was formed in 1998, from an alliance of left-wing organisations in Scotland. In 1999 it saw its first MSP returned to Holyrood, with five more MSPs elected in 2003.

The SSP is stood unsuccessfully on the regional lists for the 2007 Holyrood elections, and in council elections across the country.

Establishment of the SSP

The Scottish Socialist Party was formed from the Scottish Socialist Alliance (SSA) in 1998. Formed in 1996, the SSA was an alliance of left-wing organisations in Scotland, including Scottish Militant Labour, the Scottish Republican Socialist Party and the Communist Party of Scotland. Following reasonable results in the 1997 General Election, the decision was taken to transform the SSA from an electoral alliance into a single party to contest the first elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament. The SSP polled unexpectedly well in this election (although it received fewer votes than the unionist Socialist Labour Party) and saw the then National Convenor Tommy Sheridan elected to represent Glasgow.

Electoral Success

The period following the 1997 General Election saw sustained growth for the SSP, including a boost to membership when the Socialist Workers Party in Scotland joined the SSP, and the Scottish section of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers affiliated to the party. During this period of sustained and rapid growth it recruited extensively from former members of the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party, in addition to trade unionists, environmentalists, and community campaigners.

The 2003 elections to the Scottish Parliament took place following the decision of the UK parliament to invade Iraq. The SSP were very active in the anti-war movement and gained five additional seats across Scotland.

The SSP returned six members to the Scottish Parliament in 2003, all of them 'regional list' MSPs rather than constituency MSPs. Not long after the election Lloyd Quinan, a former SNP MSP, defected to the SSP. They have also unsuccessfully courted Campbell Martin (independent, former SNP MSP) and Dennis Canavan (independent, former Labour MSP)fact|date=December 2007, but managed to gain John McAllion. At the 2003 parliament election McAllion lost his seat to Shona Robison, the SNP candidate. In 2006 McAllion stood for the SSP in the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election of 9 February, gaining only around 500 votes and 1.6% of the vote.

No MSPs were returned in the 2007 Holyrood elections.

Crisis and Split

On November 11, 2004 Tommy Sheridan announced his resignation as convener of the party, citing personal reasons as being behind his decision, although it later emerged that he had effectively been recalled by the National Executive of the party. There were two candidates to replace him: Colin Fox - SSP MSP for the Lothians, widely regarded as a favourite, and Alan McCombes - the SSP's policy co-ordinator. Delegates to the SSP conference voted on February 13, 2005 and Fox was elected with 252 votes to McCombes' 154.

On 29 August 2006, Sheridan announced his intention to leave the Scottish Socialist Party and found a new socialist political party called Solidarity. [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/5297040.stm New socialist party for Sheridan] ", "BBC News", 29 August 2006, (retrieved 10 September 2006)] His move was supported by the International Socialists in Scotland, part of the CWI International, the Socialist Worker Platform, Rosemary Byrne MSP, and apparently most of the South of Scotland and Highlands and Islands regions. [" [http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/68365.html SSP executive says Sheridan is on the road to oblivion] ", "The Herald", 21 August 2006 (retrieved 10 September 2006).]

The SSP formally split in September 2006. The Socialist Unity Network Archive contains a selection of articles published by both sides. [The [http://socialistunitynetwork.co.uk/activate/ssp-archive.htm SSP crisis archive] contains all the relevant materials from all sides.]

Post Split SSP

The SSP first met at a national rally following the split in early September 2006, and again at a national conference in mid October 2006, where all of the positions of the party were re-elected; including the re-election of the national convenor, Colin Fox, the election of Pam Currie as national secretary and the re-election of Alison Kane as National Treasurer.

A decision was also taken to review all of the party's structures including the role of the national convenor, the staffing arrangements of the party and the role of elected representatives with a view to adapting the structures to further strengthen members' participation and the party's internal democracy.

At the subsequent Scottish Parliament elections, neither the SSP or Solidarity won a seat.

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