Despite marking its tenth anniversary tomorrow, the National Minimum Wage Act continues to discriminate against young workers.

While workers aged 22 or over can expect to receive a minimum of £5.73, those aged 18-21 are guaranteed just £4.77. Workers over compulsory school age but younger than 18 are entitled to a mere £3.53. Those under this age, such as school pupils who deliver papers, are not covered by the legislation at all. In reality this often encourages the practice of employers hiring younger staff at lower wage levels, then finding ways to dismiss them as they age and their wage increases.

Britain is not the only country to have different rates for different people, however of around fifty nations who currently enforce minimum wage levels, only four (Israel, Chile, Belgium and Luxembourg) explicitly discriminate due to age. Other nations categorise based on skill level (Pakistan); industry (Cuba); whether or not the position is in the public or private sector (Bahamas); geographical considerations (Mexico); or how long an employee has been in their role (Canada).

Regardless of whether or not you believe that the minimum wage should exist, the inbuilt age inequality is surely indefensible. Can anyone give a valid explanation as to why the government feel I’ll automatically be worth an extra 97p per hour by the middle of next month, after my 22nd birthday?

Many make the argument that a 22 year old will have more experience, and is less likely to live at home with their parents, so does not require as much money. This opinion is based purely on often wrong assumptions and would have little credibility in a pub debate, let alone as a central part of a so called ‘progressive’ policy.

While the wage paid varies depending on age, the cost of living does not. I’ve yet to walk into a shop and see products priced on a sliding scale according to the customer’s age! Similarly, the income tax levels paid by those either side of the divide are identical.

Although some unions have continued to call for improvements to the minimum wage, such as paying the adult rate at 18, it is clear that these demands are not enough. The Scottish Socialist Party continues to call for a single, £8 per hour guarantee, regardless of the workers age.

We have moved this blog to DundeeSSP.org please update your links as appropriate.

Thanks,
Dundee SSP

Rod MacGregor has written a poem about the Credit Crunch.

Credit Crunch Blues

Christmas time is coming,
It’s just around the bend,
This year it will be different,
So listen well, my friend.
I’m wearing dirty trousers,
I’m wearing leaky shoes,
Ain’t had a wash in three days
Nor a shave in twenty-two.
The good times they are over,
It’s been in all the news.
I’m just another victim,
A victim of the credit crunch blues.

Once I was so well-off,
I wanted not a thing,
Had a great job in the city,
Silk shirts and loadsa bling.
Had a Porsche in the car park,
A four by four for fun,
King’s ransom for a mortgage,
Hey! Didn’t everyone?
Six-figure bonuses,
How could I refuse?
Never seen it coming,
Never seen the credit crunch blues.

The boss, he called me in this day,
Said, Son, please take a seat,
But don’t you get too comfy,
Then he turned up the heat.
Told me we’re downsizing,
Our office has to shrink.
The economy, surprising,
Was teetering on the brink.
Head office says one of us
Must go, I gotta choose.
Guess which one it was that went,
Which one is suffering the credit crunch blues.

Well, the good times they were over,
And so much had to go!
The holiday home in Tuscany
(That really was a blow).
The kids’ private education—
I couldn’t pay the bill.
My personal private healthcare plan
For if I should fall ill.
My whole world has exploded,
And greed, it lit the fuse.
Blown my world to kingdom come,
Blown up by the credit crunch blues.

I came home one evening,
On the table in the hall
A note addressed to me
Was sitting there, I recall.
Said, Honey, I am leaving you.
Was paralysed, like polio.
Her note told me she’d left me
For a bigger portfolio.
They say size, it doesn’t matter
But my wife had other views.
She left me for a bigger man,
She left me with the credit crunch blues.

By now my head was spinning,
I really couldn’t think,
Had a load of worthless shares,
No money, turned to drink.
I couldn’t pay the mortgage,
Was turfed out of my home.
The kids went to their mother,
The dog left with his bone.
From being such a winner
I had to learn how to lose,
No pity from ex-colleagues, friends,
No mercy from the credit crunch blues.

So here I am now livin’
In the shady part of town.
We all travel the same direction
That direction, it is down.
Here, people see no future,
It’s drink and drugs and fights.
There ain’t too much respect around
For anyone’s human rights.
They fire-bomb police cars,
Stone fire-fightin’ crews.
It’s a whole new style of living
But I’m living with the credit crunch blues.

Christmas time was comin’,
I didn’t have no dough.
I got a job as Santa Claus
But the store said I had to go.
Gave this kid a present, said,
Some day they’ll want that back.
The kid burst into tears
And this Santa got the sack.
Was only tryin’ to tell him
Nothing’s free and bills come due.
He’ll learn that for himself some day,
Me? I learned it from the credit crunch blues.

My power has been cut off,
I’m in the dark and cold,
Just sittin’ here and thinkin’
‘Bout the shit that I was told.
They told me life, it was a race,
Where you watch for number one.
And the devil takes the hindmost
Right from that starting gun.
Don’t get left there standin’,
All alone and all confused.
But that’s exactly where I am now,
Brought on by the credit crunch blues.

My thoughts they turn bitterly
To the people I once knew.
How they controlled the many
Although they were so few.
Now the house of cards they built
Has come crashing down so fast.
No house without foundations
Can ever hope to last.
But till the many take the power
(And this is now my view),
We’re doomed to keep repeating,
Repeating those credit crunch blues.

You’ve heard it all before

2000
Brown gives 75p rise to pensions at the time claiming we couldn’t afford more.

2001
MPs award themselves £2000 pay rise months later.

2003
War given blank cheque as Brown pledges as much money as it takes for the slaughter in Iraq.

Chancellor Gordon Brown says the UK will spend what it takes to tackle Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.

Money well spent then seeing as they didn’t exist. In 2001 the Ministry of Defence put the costs so far at £3.1 billion.

Estimated cost of Free School Meals rejected by Holyrood: £100million per year.

2008

Labour agitate for £20billion to pay for replacement for the Nuclear weapons at Faslane.
The poorest have their Income Tax bill increased to pay for a cut for the middle class.

2008 October 4

Labour councils claim there’s no money for free school meals

2008 October 8

Brown gives £500billion to bail out banks.

At every step money is found to pay for weapons and wars and pay rises for MPs. Low paid council workers are told there’s no money to even give them a pay freeze at inflation, never mind a rise, there’s no money for school meals for children but £16,000 from every person in the UK is found to bail out banks.

This after years of being told the bankers bonuses were justified because of the risks they take with their capital. Of being told privatisation is the only game in town and nationalisation is some bizarre old idea.

Recent events show these words to be as hollow as we have being saying they are for a decade. Money is there. Those in power lack the political will to help the poorest in society.

The people who make the excellent write to them have created a new tool what do they know.

This project automates the process of writing Freedom of Information Act requests by:

• Detailing bodies you can make request from
• Showing what requests have been made to bodies
• Showing the responses from those bodies if there is one
• Automates the process of complaining to the Information Commissioner if they have not replied

Go nuts!

Reproduced letter below.

There is a picket of the Edinburgh U.S. Consulate (Regents Terrace) for Thursday October 9th from 4pm to 6pm. This has been called by the Scottish Cuba Solidarity Campaign.

This is timed to follow the visit of Olga Salanueva and Adriana Perez (wives of two of the Cuban Five) to Holyrood. They will attend the picket and speak. Both have been denied visa’s to visit their husbands in jail.

On the tenth anniversary of their arrest progress has been made in the UK in breaking the silence on the Five. See the links following for reports on their visits to the TUC and Labour Party Conference:

Miami Five and Cuba50 get union and TUC backing

TUC delegates pack Cuba fringe meeting

Miami Five wives at Labour Conference

Unions fight for justice for Miami Five on 10th anniversary of imprisonment

This picket is an opportunity to broaden the numbers in action who defend the five, which ultimately will be the key to securing their freedom.

Please forward this to all others you can : union/political/campaign/ organisation lists, newspapers, etc and urge a large attendance. Please also take any steps you can to get labour movement banners to this too.

regards
Peter Clifford

SACC have been threatened with legal action by the organisation who have the contract on the next Scottish Census.

SACC initiated a Petition against this and issued a statement which CACI International Inc, have taken offence to.

CACI are the organisation who ran Abu Ghraib, the prison in Iraq where torture images were proven to originate from.

According to SACC they have bullied the media in the United States into silence over their involvement and they are now doing the same here after two articles were published in the Sunday Herald

Scottish Government hires firm accused of torture in Iraq and SNP face backlash for hiring firm accused of Iraq torture.

Your questions answered!

Millions of people stand to lose their jobs, homes and their livelihood because of the economic crisis. If you’re worried, come and take your chance to put your questions about the economy to a leading socialist economist.

Speakers: Raphie de Santos, formerly head of equity derivatives research and strategy at Goldman Sachs, advisor to Bank of England and Italian Ministry of Finance
Frances Curran, co-convenor Scottish Socialist Party
Jack Ferguson, Scottish Socialist Youth

Thursday 9th October, 7:15pm.

Renfield St Stephens Church, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow

This economic crisis, in which millions will suffer, is a direct result of the economic policies of Labour, but pioneered before them by Margaret Thatcher’s Tory Party.

We were told that industries like shipbuilding and steel were old fashioned, obsolete.

Replacing them would be new industries; the bankers would build call centres and everyone would own shares.

The Tories and Labour deregulated the financial markets and allowed them to build mountains of debt into a casino economy while they paid themselves multi million pound bonuses.

But they bet everything on black and now it’s come up red… and they want the tax payers to bail them out!

We are urged to hand over billions of tax payers money, without any analysis of whether this will work, or how exactly it will help ordinary people.

Politicians are not being asked about specific help for ordinary people, like guaranteeing the value of pensions or re-scheduling mortgages so people can stay in their homes.

Public meeting

For 30 years socialists have struggled to resist public assets being plundered.

We said bankers are playing roulette with workers’ pension funds, insurance funds and privatisation.

We’re fed news stories where we’re urged to view protection of the rich as in our own interest. Just like when they claimed Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction.The media have failed us. This time we won’t be fooled again.

Real economic solutions the government should use now:

• Take HBOS and other banks into common ownership with no redundancies. Use them to create a social bank providing social loans and mortgages.
• Provide affordable social housing for rent. The £110 billion that was spent on Northern Rock would pay for 2 million homes!
• Freeze food and heating prices.

There has been a lot of media reporting of the Free School Meals deal by the SNP.

As welcome as it is, it doesn’t mention the role played by the SSP for years initiating this policy. The policy which was voted down by the majority of the SNP and Labour MSPs at the time, with a few honourable exceptions.

David Osler helps redress this oversight.

Special thanks go to Fix Garvie, who the North East region selected as our top regional candidate in 2007 for her role in the campaign, as well as the others in the SSP and elsewhere for making this policy real.

Message from Mike Arnott, Secretary of Dundee Trades Council and

I’m writing to request a big turn-out from Trade Unionists, especially with banners, for the parade up Reform Street from City Square to Albert Square at 11am on Saturday 11th October (assemble 10.45am). The event is to mark the rededication of the City’s Memorial to those who died in the Spanish Civil War, and the unveiling of a new plaque.

It is hoped that Jack Jones, the 95 year old former leader of the TGWU, and who fought in Spain, will be present.

The ceremony will be followed by a public meeting in the Wellgate Steps Theatre where former FBU leader Ken Cameron will be speaking, along with the Spanish Consul.

Tickets for the evening social, in the Apex Hotel City Quay suite are also available at £5 each, as are commemorative t-shirts at £6.

An exhibition entitled Dundee and the Spanish Civil War will be running in the Wellgate Library from Oct 7th – 25th.

Banners are important seeing as Dundee Trades Council banner was seized by Police whilst on an anti-G8 march.

Gordon Brown supports greedy bankers.
We support struggling workers.

Public sector Unions, Rally City Square, tomorrow.
Assemble: Hilltown Park, 11.00 a.m. march to City Square.

Raphie De Santos

Raphie De Santos of the Scottish Socialist Party has written a series of articles about the current economic crisis. He has also written a pamphlet which is now going for it’s second printing. If you would like a copy, then contact us, the last run were £2.50 each so it should be around that amount. We will have copies on our stalls very soon.

Raphie was head of Equity Derivatives Research and Strategy at Goldman Sachs International. He was an advisor on derivatives and financial markets to the Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange and the Italian Ministry of Finance.

Raphie has been a guest lecturer on derivatives and financial markets at Harvard and New York universities and the London School of Economics and has spoken at the annual Nobel Foundation conference in Stockholm.

Articles on the Economic Crisis

From Scottish CND

Aldermaston Big Blockade – Monday, October 27 2008

Help disrupt illegal work on WMD at Britain’s nuclear bomb factory

In 2006/7, Faslane 365 saw well over 1000 arrests during a year-long blockade of the Trident submarine base in Scotland. Last Easter, AWE Aldermaston saw its biggest demonstration in two decades as 5000 people surrounded the base to mark the 50th anniversary of the first Aldermaston march. Trident Ploughshares now invite you to a major blockade of the Berkshire nuke factory, where billions of pounds are currently being spent developing new warhead facilities that will scupper nuclear disarmament for another 50 years. Help us uphold international law by blockading this factory of death in what promises to be a colourful celebration of life and people power. There is a role for everyone. This event is supported by CND.

For further details, see: Block AWE and Trident Ploughshares.org

Trident Ploughshares is a campaign to disarm the UK Trident nuclear weapons system in a non-violent, open, peaceful and fully accountable manner. There will be a mini-bus(at least) going from Glasgow. If you want to join them e-mail Jane or phone 0845 4588 367

Scottish CND

This message has been sent to you by Scottish CND on behalf of Trident Ploughshares

If you with to change the types of messages you receive from Scottish CND, please visit Their site

Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
15 Barrland St,
Glasgow,
G41 1QH,

0141 423 1222

Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

T shirts for the IBMT AGM in Dundee on October 11th (design attached) are now available. Orders being taken, £6 each, for s,m,l,xl,xxl. Only 199 available. Contact Mike Arnott for details.

IBMT T-shirt design

IBMT website

Roberto Perez
The Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, University of Dundee

Saturday 27th September – 6pm

Drinks reception to follow

When Cuba lost access to Soviet oil, fertilizers, and export trade market in the early 1990s, the country faced virtual overnight economic collapse and an immediate crisis – feeding the population.

The story of how Cuba successfully developed permaculture in response to this crisis will be outlined in a thought-provoking lecture by renowned Cuban permaculturalist Roberto Perez in a major lecture at the University of Dundee.

Cuba has in the past 18 years transformed its food production using organic agriculture and Havana produces over 60% of its food requirements from within the city limits. The Cuban people’s hardship, ingenuity, and triumph over sudden adversity, through cooperation, conservation, and community, to create a low energy society is a truly inspirational story as evidenced in the documentary, The Power of Community in which Roberto features.

This lecture is being held in celebration of the University of Dundee being awarded Fair Trade Status earlier this summer.

The lecture is free and tickets can be obtained from the Tower Building Reception, or from the online store at: or by emailing: events@dundee.ac.uk events@dundee.ac.uk

Socialist Unity have an article about his tour which also links to some articles he has written.

Scotland’s for Peace Gathering

Saturday, 25th October, 12 noon,

George Square, Glasgow.

How would you spend £20 billion of public money in the next 5 years?

Speakers: Bruce Kent, Judith Robertson, Oxfam; Matt Smith (Unison); Dave Gibb (music) and others. Stalls/Food. Anyone interested? Enough interest to organise transport from Dundee or at least help with expenses those wishing to participate.

Tesco are planning to move their Stacks store a mile away in South Road. This store houses a large Post Office which is regularly open on Sundays.

One of the Post Offices being closed following the consultation was in Lochee Road and customers were told it was all ok because they could just walk up the steep hill to the stacks or pay for a bus to get there. Now even that won’t be an option.

Evening Telegraph article on closure

This highlights not only the fragility of the current Post Office network following the closure of branches but the short-sightedness of locating Post Office branches inside supermarkets and inside the premises of other private businesses.

Members of Dundee Scottish Socialist Party were again be outside Ninewells hospital
this morning to continue the campaign against unfair parking charges within the hospital
grounds.

Seeing a friend or relative in hospital can be stressful enough without this unfair
added burden says local activist Helen Fortune.

These charges are a galling example of
profit being put before people when the sick, their visitors and staff have what is in
effect an extra tax placed on them. This situation, brought about purely by private
involvement in public services, clearly shows the lack of control the Holyrood government
have when they enter into such partnerships.

Dundee SSP Members Outside Ninewells Hospital

Banners read (left to right)

• Abolish all car parking charges at Ninewells
• Parking Charges: If you want them oot then give us a toot!
• Abolish all car parking charges at Ninewells
• Parking Charges: If you want them oot then give us a toot!

Imagining and creating a just and sustainable society

Saturday 18th October (11-5.30)
Sun 19th October (11-2)

Edinburgh Students Union, Teviot Building

For all who want action not just targets

Key speakers:

• Sian Berry London Mayoral candidate, Green Party
• John MacAllion, Scottish Socialist Party

Workshop Strands will include:

• 1. WHAT are the causes of climate chaos?
• 2. HOW can we reduce carbon emissions fast?
• 3. WHO can change Policy not just light bulbs?

While the Arctic is set to be ice free and absorbing rather than reflecting heat by 2013, scientists argue that this could be just the start of the feedback loops which will drive temperatures higher and potentially drive us to extinction.

People from a range of environmental and political groups (and from none) are meeting to ask: how we can work together to challenge this system of insatiable economic growth that drives greenhouse gas emissions up daily?

If governments won’t act to tackle the causes of climate chaos, then how can we create a community based, nationally effective, internationally connected political movement to deal with peak oil and avoid climate chaos?

Come along, learn and share views on the issues that need to be addressed and the action that can be taken.

Organised by activists from Democratic Left Scotland, from the Scottish Green Party and from the Scottish Socialist Party

contact: justinkenrick@yahoo.co.uk

The Post Office today confirmed they are to close the 4 Dundee Post Offices.

Evening Telegraph

Their sham consultation resulted in no change of mind in Dundee, and they disgracefully boasted of the number of public meetings their representatives attended, whilst not organising any themselves in the areas affected.

From partial privatisation to massive bonuses for their bosses whilst attacking their workers pay & conditions the Post Office bosses have shown themselves to have no regard for anything but their own pay packets.

Do they not realise the Post Office network is a public service, run for the public, not them?

Press release to follow.

According to a report in the Sunday Herald, the Scottish government has given the contract to conduct the census to a subsidiary of a company involved in torturing people in Abu Ghraib in Iraq.

This is absolutely abhorrent.

Contact your MSPs to object to this, particularly SNP MSPs

General Leaflet

Leaflet used on polling day

In Glasgow East the SSP used some nice leaflets. Here is the text from the first

STOP THE GRAVY TRAIN SAYS FRANCES CURRAN

No to the political fatcats who line their own pockets

THE socialist candidate in Glasgow East has vowed to launch a crusade against greedy politicians who plunder the public purse to make themselves rich.

Winning a seat in parliament these days is like winning the lottery, says Frances Curran.

MPs have a pay package worth quarter of a million pounds. On top of that, they can rake in a fortune from second homes and first class travel expenses.

Many put their relatives on the payroll to send their household income soaring into the stratosphere.

According to press reports, the last Labour MP for Glasgow East paid his wife and daughter half a million pounds to work from home.

Workers wage

As an MSP in the last Scottish Parliament, Frances spurned the lavish Holyrood lifestyle to stay in touch with ordinary people. She donated tens of thousands of pounds – half her total salary – to the socialist movement. She published every penny of her expenses.

I lived as a workers MSP on a workers wage, like my other Scottish Socialist Party colleagues, says Frances.

If elected as the MP for Glasgow East I’ll do exactly the same again. I believe in improving life for the whole of the East End – and not just for the chosen few who get themselves elected, says Frances.

After 30 years in socialist politics Frances Curran has no expensive possessions. She doesn’t own a house, but lives in a top-floor rented housing association tenement.

She has no car, no expensive furniture, no loot stashed away in a personal bank account.

You may not agree with everything Frances Curran says. But even her opponents admit she’s one of that rare breed of politicians who has never been seduced by glitz, wealth and celebrity.

IN THE HOT SEAT:

Frances Curran takes your questions

Over the last few weeks, Scottish Socialist candidate Frances Curran has been listening to people across the East End to find out what they think. She’s also been asked a whole range of questions about her background, her politics and her ability to do the job.

Here we carry a selection of questions and answers.

George, Shettleston:

Frances, what connections do you have with the East End?

Frances Curran:

My Mum and Dad were both from big extended East End families – the Burns from Barrowfield, and the Currans from the Calton.

I was brought up in Barlanark. Three generations of my family lived there. My grandparents were the first family to move into the scheme when it was first built.

I went to St Andrew’s Secondary School in the 1970s.

In 1979, while still in my teens, I joined Easterhouse Labour Party Young Socialists to fight against Thatcherism which was destroying the East End at the time.

Margaret, Parkhead:

What qualifications and experience do you have?

Frances Curran:

I don’t have a university degree. My Mum wanted me to go to university, but my Dad – a shipyard worker – died in my last year of school. That meant I had to leave school to become the family breadwinner.

But what I lack in academic qualifications, I make up for in experience of real life.

I’ve also been involved in politics at the highest levels. I used to do battle with Gordon Brown on the Scottish Executive of the Labour Party before he was even an MP.

I was then on the National Executive of the Labour Party along with the likes of Tony Benn and Denis Healey.

I worked with people like Paul Weller and Billy Bragg to mobilise the youth vote against Thatcher.

And from 2003 to 2007 I was an MSP at Holyrood.

Anne, Tollcross:

What have you done on the ground, at grassroots and community level?

Frances Curran:

I’ve been involved in grassroots campaigning since the 1980s, when I organised youth strikes against the Tories’ slave labour schemes – YTS and the like.

In the 1990s I was heavily involved in the Easterhouse Community Centre occupation, sleeping over in the centre for nights on end. We succeeded in keeping the community centre open for an extra two years, after the Labour council tried to close it down.

I was also involved in the sit-in to save St Leonard’s – though unfortunately we didn’t win that battle. And I’ve been involved in local campaigns to get heroin and crack out of the East End.

As an MSP I helped to stop a hospital closure in the area I represented. I also occupied an elderly care home until it was reprieved.

In the Scottish Parliament I brought in the Free School Meals Bill, and built a massive nationwide campaign in support of the bill.

It led to every schoolchild from Primary 1 to Primary 3 in Glasgow receiving free school meals every day.

It didn’t go far enough for me – I wanted to extend free school meals to every school student. But still, it was a partial victory.

John, Baillieston:

Why did you leave the Labour Party?

Frances Curran:

The party today is not the party I joined back in the 1970s. It’s now a big business party, a party of the wellheeled suburbs.

Even before Tony Blair and New Labour, I had become fed up with Labour. I was involved in organising the first ever anti-Poll Tax march back in 1989, when 20,000 people marched from Glasgow Green to Alexandra Park.

Labour to its shame refused to back the anti-Poll Tax campaign – and ended up on the side of Thatcher. For me,
that was the final straw.

Michelle, Garrowhill:

Do you support independence for Scotland?

Frances Curran:

Yes, I do, totally. I don’t believe Scotland is too weak, too small or too poor to go it alone. Exactly the opposite. We have oil reserves in the North Sea worth half a million pounds for every man, woman and child in Scotland.

Where I disagree with the SNP is that I believe in a socialist Scotland, where the gap between rich and poor is massively reduced. And where our oil wealth is publicly owned for the benefit of the people in Scotland.

Most oil-producing countries have nationalised their oil wealth. That means the profits are used to boost pensions, wages and benefits.

With a publicly-owned oil industry we could make all public transport free, slash fuel bills, and raise pensions, wages and benefits by a minimum of £50 a week.

Denise, Springboig:

What do you think are the big problems facing the East End?

Frances Curran:

I do resent the way the East End is often portrayed. Here we have some of the most friendly, generous people you’ll find anywhere.

Many people in the East End are involved in voluntary organisations and community groups, and are out night after night working to improve our communities.

Of course we have our share of problems – crime, ill health, drug and alcohol abuse.

The average life expectancy in parts of the East End is 63, which is shocking. Neither of my own parents even reached that age.

Anyone who says these kind of problems are not linked to poverty doesn’t live in the real world.

People in the prosperous suburbs can expect to live 20 years longer. They have access to better quality food, they are under less psychological pressure, they never have to work in dirty, dangerous conditions.

Ryan, Easterhouse:

Do you agree with the SNP government’s clampdown on alcohol abuse?

Frances Curran:

I agree we have to tackle the booze and blades culture and the binge-drinking which destroys people’s health.

I don’t believe that increasing the price of drink is the right way forward. It’s a blanket approach that clobbers everybody for the behaviour of a few.

It especially affects people on low incomes who just want to relax over a few cans of lager or a bottle of wine.

When I was in the Scottish Parliament there was free booze laid on for MSPs almost every night at various receptions and functions.

Westminster is notorious for the amount of drink consumed in the bars by politicians.

I believe the SNP are going down the wrong road by putting up the price of drink. In other countries, it’s far cheaper – but there is very little binge-drinking.

It’s a cultural problem we need to tackle – not an economic problem that can be solved by hiking up prices.

Eddie, Cranhill:

Do you think the Commonwealth Games will benefit the East End?

Frances Curran:

The danger is it becomes a road show that moves in and then out again. The construction companies and property developers will make lucrative profits and there’ll be plenty of supervisors jobs and project managers jobs.

Hundreds of millions of pounds’ profit will be piled up from advertising, sponsorship, TV rights, merchandise and the like.

But I want to make sure the people of the East End benefit. I believe there should be a special windfall tax on the profits from the Commonwealth Games – and that these should be ring-fenced to improve the East End.

I will also fight for local groups to be co-opted onto the organising committee to have a direct input and a direct say on behalf of the East End.

Davy, Barlanark:

Why is the socialist vote split?

Frances Curran:

It’s a tragedy that it is. I spent 10 years and more trying to create a single united socialist party. Unfortunately a minority walked out in the huff.

The other party, the Solidarity splinter group, is now on its last legs. Five of its leaders have been charged with perjury. Its only councillor has defected to New Labour. By this time next year, it won’t even exist.

Unfortunately, even socialists can be seduced by celebrity glitz. I was friendly with Tommy Sheridan for a long time. We fought together against the Poll Tax and in other campaigns.

The Scottish Socialist Party has stayed true to its working class roots. We’re not interested in being champagne celebrities.

We live in the housing schemes and the tenements and live on low incomes like most people in the East End.

Karen, Baillieston:

Do you have any chance of winning?

Frances Curran:

I believe, with all due respect to the other candidates, that I’m the most high profile and experienced challenger to New Labour.

In a by-election anything can happen – in a recent byelection in England, Labour came fifth.

We won’t get the same media coverage as the big two parties. But one advantage of voting for the SSP is you can protest against Labour – and at the same time pile the pressure on the SNP government in Holyrood to stand up for working people in areas like the East End of Glasgow.

If you want a small change for the East End, stick with the SNP. But if you want a big change vote SSP.

Labour legend John backs Frances Curran’s campaign

Westminster MP, and then a Holyrood MSP he was widely respected even by his political opponents.

John knows both Frances Curran of the SSP and Margaret Curran of Labour.

He has no doubt which of the two would make the best MP for Glasgow East:

Frances Curran stands in the best socialist traditions of the East End of Glasgow represented in the past by people like John Wheatley and Jimmy Maxton.

For 30 years Frances has been involved in frontline socialist politics and has never sold out her principles for a pot of gold.

Frances Curran best for East End

- Ex-Baillieston Labour councillor

Jim McVicar was a Labour councillor for Baillieston from 1984 until he was expelled from the party for refusing to hand over constituents’ housing benefit records to the Poll Tax debt collectors.

In the next election, he stood against his old party as an Independent Labour candidate – and won a resounding victory. He says:

I’ve known Frances Curran for decades. I’ve never met a more honest, dedicated, principled person in politics.

Frances would make a superb MP for the East End of Glasgow. Her campaigning skills are formidable.

And unlike so many out of touch politicians, she’s always kept her feet firmly on the ground.

COMMONWEALTH FOR THE COMMON PEOPLE!

In the next few years, we’re going to hear lots of talk about the Commonwealth Games.

But what we won’t hear from our political and our business leaders is any talk of sharing out our common wealth.

Scotland is a fabulously rich country, with oil, gas, land, forestry, fish, coal, thousands of miles of coastline, wind and tidal power.

Yet too many of our people are living on low pay and poverty benefits. Too many of our pensioners can’t afford to heat their homes. Too many of our families are struggling to pay the basic household bills.

• The rich will pay higher taxes
• Our public services, including oil, fuel and transport, will be publicly owned
• Our minimum wage will be £8 an hour
• Wages, benefits and pensions will rise by £50 a week, across the board
• All our school children will get nutritious free school meals
• Supermarket prices will be frozen
• Women will get equal pay for equal work
• Young people will get the same national minimum wage as everyone else
• Nuclear weapons will be banned from Scottish territory
• The council tax will be scrapped in favour of a local tax where the rich pay their fair share
• Free public transport will be brought in to ease congestion, pollution and global warming
• Our young troops will be brought home from the killing fields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

- Frances Curran

Richie Venton on Glasgow East

Some SSP activists during election

What a phenomenal result on two parallel levels: the earth-shattering defeat of Labour in Red Clydesider John Wheatley’s seat, Labour’s 3rd safest seat in Scotland, held by them since 1922; and the tremendous achievement for the SSP in winning 5th place, the highest position for any of the smaller parties, despite all the apparently insurmountable obstacles we faced.

If we compare the votes with those of the 2005 Westminster election in the identical Glasgow East seat, Labour has gone into free-fall from 18,775 to 10,912; the SNP rocketed from 5,268 to 11,277 – in a turnout down from 48.2% in 2005 to 42.1% this time.

Thousands of Labour voters simply stayed at home in disgust with their record on food and fuel prices; failure to tackle poverty and inequality; assaults on the sick and disabled, and their wholesale neglect of the working class. Others did a straight swap to the SNP, as punishment for New Labour in an area they have treated with decades of contempt, stepping on people’s heads en route to grossly overpaid political careers.

The disgust at Labour politicians, and indeed politicians in the mainstream parties in general, was palpable on the streets, people spitting out angry words about them, responding warmly to the SSP’s policy of A workers’ MP on a worker’s wage.

Class differentials

There seems to have been a significant class differential in the turnout, with higher voting in the more affluent parts, such as Garrowhill, parts of Baillieston, Mt Vernon – which would be to the SNP’s advantage, because John Mason has been councillor for Garrowhill/Baillieston since 1998. The most deprived districts had generally far lower turnouts, to Labour’s further disadvantage.

The squeeze between the two political Juggernauts that we predicted, whilst agreeing we should stand an SSP candidate, took place with a vice-like vengeance. For example, 85% of those who voted went to either the SNP or Labour. In 2005 the equivalent figure was 77%.

My first impression of the voting figures is that the SNP upsurge was also substantially boosted by defection to them from both the Lib Dems (who plummeted from 3,665 votes three years ago to 915) and even some Tories (who fell from 2,135 to 1,639). In both cases, defecting voters judged that the best way to boot Brown and New Labour was to vote SNP.

This is an unqualified catastrophe for Labour and Gordon Brown. Labour activists were devastated, with talk of the need for a lurch to the left amongst a couple of the most unlikely Labour hacks I spoke to at the count.

The national question

There was not widespread, overt, explicit talk on the streets of this being a vote on independence. But it clearly is a clash of contrasting opinions on the Westminster Labour government compared to the Holyrood SNP government – and is a massive impetus towards independence … which will be exponentially added to when Labour’s thrashing in Glasgow East adds to the Labour crisis and therefore increases the likelihood of a Cameron government in Westminster.

All of which positions the Scottish Socialist Party well over the next couple of years, with our pro-independence but unashamedly socialist vision for Scotland, in contrast to the pro-big business agenda of the SNP.

The SNP are riding high in the opinion polls right now, and will be an even more rampant force in the aftermath of Glasgow East, but the contradictions in their all-things-to-all-classes approach are beginning to be revealed to more far-sighted sections of the working class. They face strikes by civil servants against their imposition of a 2% pay ceiling; anger from council workers facing cuts where the SNP are in control or coalition, and growing questions over why they dumped their previous commitment to bus re-regulation in the wake of SNP party funding by multi-millionaire bus tycoon Brian Souter.

SSP: the biggest small party

Given the monumental squeeze on all the smaller parties – and even the Lib Dems – the Scottish Socialist Party scored a fantastic achievement, winning 5th place with 555 votes – ahead of the Solidarity vote of 512, and with a crushing lead over the Greens (despite them having 2 MSPs) who could only muster 232 votes.

Of course we need a sense of proportion. Our 555 compares to 1,096 in the 2005 general election, before the split in the SSP. But what is quite remarkable is that the combined left vote held up so well (1,067 – almost literally identical to that of 2005). And in fact the combined share of the vote rose from 3.5% in 2005 to a combined 4.1% this time!

Given the far tighter squeeze in the focussed intensity of this by-election, the prevailing objective conditions that nurtured that dog-fight between SNP and Labour, and the serious, deep damage done to the credibility of the left through the split, it is remarkable that this was achieved, that the left vote held up so well.

This also serves to underline the destructive, reckless consequences for the socialist left caused by the small minority, led by Tommy Sheridan, who split off from the SSP two years ago. If they had instead accepted the decisions of the majority of members in the SSP and kept a united party intact, the combined vote of 1,067 would have put us in 4th place, above the Lib Dems – and that is taking no account of the huge additional vote a single, united SSP would have won.

In the tragic circumstances of a divided left, which the SSP was founded precisely to overcome in 1998, there is a profound significance in the relative votes of the SSP and Solidarity. Obviously we can’t compare figures with 2005 on this as we had one party then. The nearest comparator is the 2007 Scottish election results for Baillieston (which makes up roughly two-thirds of Glasgow east) and Shettleston (the other third).

A mere 12 months ago Solidarity got 5 times and over 4 times the SSP vote in these two seats respectively. In Glasgow East, the SSP got 53% of the total left vote!

Solidarity boasted about their 5:1 vote advantage in the by-election campaign, including at press conferences. Tommy Sheridan contacted journalists declaring the SSP was as dead as a Dodo, repeating the 5:1 differential of last year to try and convince people there was only one party of the left – his.

Solidarity will have got a very substantial family and friends vote for their candidate, and some votes from the family and friends of the child killed by an air gun in Easterhouse.

On top of that they crudely attempted to confuse people into thinking Tommy Sheridan was the candidate, with their one and only leaflet taking the format of a message from him, and the party name on the ballot forms being Solidarity – Tommy Sheridan … not even the softer option of co-convener Tommy Sheridan which they could have legally used.

Given all this, it is a signpost to the future when the SSP not only closed down the 5:1 differential but actually won the biggest vote for a left party in horrendously difficult circumstances.

For the broad mass the headline is Labour’s slaughter, the SNP’s victory. But for an astute and observant minority the SSP/Solidarity result helps explode Solidarity’s false claims to be Scotland’s foremost socialist party.

A conscious socialist vote

Considering the weight of the aforementioned squeeze on us, every vote for the SSP was an extremely conscious vote for socialism, for the rich traditions of Glasgow’s east end, in the full knowledge we were not going to win, but that our undiluted socialist message deserved support. A very courageous, conscious, socialist vote.

Some parties and journalists are trotting out claims that the good SSP vote was due to confusion over the two Currans – Frances for the SSP, Margaret for Labour. That is arrogant, patronising nonsense. Labour put out tens of thousands of leaflets explaining which Curran to vote for. So did we, with the theme that there’s only one socialist Curran in this election – Frances Curran. We spelt out the two opposing worlds these two candidates represented.

The visibility, colour, dynamism and élan of the SSP’s campaign on the streets left nobody in any doubt about what or who they were voting for. We never held back on our socialist message, in leaflets, a newspaper delivered to 45,000 homes, giant banners, through street meetings, and in media appearances. The quality of our campaign – which started out with literally no money or material exactly three weeks before polling day at the meeting of members where we selected Frances Curran as our candidate – was praised by the Greens, SNP, Lib Dems and letter writers to the Herald.

SSP pivotal to the future of socialism

We shouldn’t exaggerate what this result for the SSP signifies, given the very modest votes involved at this stage. But we have to feel vastly proud and confident that the SSP is pivotal to the medium-term unification and growth of a united socialist party in Scotland. It is a time to be proud of the principled socialism the SSP stands for; a time to join us and give renewed impetus to the rehabilitation of the socialist traditions of Red Clydeside in one of its historic strongholds.

Craig Murray (Rector of Dundee University) made a short post on Glasgow East

Hurray for Glasgow East

Apparently some commenter objected to his personal attack on Margaret Curran. He then responds explaining why he gave up civility on party politics, particularly in relation to the Labour Party. Why Margaret Curran is the cheerleader for a party which supports torture.

Margaret Curran is a lot better off than thousands of very real women, who were just as human as her, and whose lives the illegal wars of New Labour have destroyed.

It is worth remembering that Labours appalling policies haven’t just attacked the poorest members of society in Glasgow East or Dundee East, but throughout the world too, mainly in the name of “The War On Terror”.

According to today’s Courier the decision on the proposed Post Office closures in the North East and Fife is due to be announced next Wednesday.

Fingers crossed that they have changed their mind.

During the six weeks of the campaign thousands of people expressed their opposition to the closures and we know of hundreds who sent off letters or signed petitions.

On Wednesday we will find out if it was enough.

The Dundee branches of the SSP submitted the following objection to the proposed Post Office closures

Submission to Post Office Limited regarding proposed Post Office closures in Dundee from Scottish Socialist Party – Dundee branches

We believe that the Post Office network across the UK should not just be viewed as a chain of branches of a standard business, assessed solely on its ability to make a profit.

The nationwide network of Post Office branches is a valuable public asset that provides a vital social service in both rural and urban communities across Scotland. As a public service, Post Offices should be viewed and assessed on the wider role and benefits they provide to communities, not on the profit (or loss) they provide to Post Office Limited.

In light of the government’s recent £50 billion bail out of Northern Rock, Post Office Limited have strong grounds for going back to the government and asking for an increase in subsidy to protect the Post Office branch network, thus maintaining its positive role in communities.

It is also deeply insensitive to these communities, who are having to fight for their local Post Office service, that Royal Mail’s Chief Executive, Adam Crozier, earned £633,000 basic salary, topped up with a £3 million bonus in 2007/08!! How many Post Offices could have been saved with that £3 million?

In March 2007, Adam Crozier was appointed Chairman of the EFD.

At the time he stated

“I am extremely pleased to have been invited to take on this role. Ensuring equal opportunity for all is hugely important to us at Royal Mail and I look forward to helping to promote and develop the terrific work which Employers’ Forum for Disability does with employers throughout the UK.”
Source

On its website EFD states EFD has worked closely with government and other stakeholders, sharing best practice to make it easier to employ disabled people and serve disabled customers.

One has to question Mr Crozier’s commitment to EFD’s stated aims as the closure of Post Offices around the country is hardly going to improve Post Office Limited’s service to its disabled customers. It is going to make accessing post office services more inconvenient, more time consuming and more costly (public transport, taxis).

The recurring objections that have been raised by the hundreds of customers of the four Post Offices threatened with closure in Dundee to whom we have spoken over the last few weeks while campaigning, are:

Accessibility to the next nearest Post Office and the ‘fitness of purpose’ of those alternative Post Offices.

Lochee Road Post Office:

If this branch closes then the nearest Post Offices will be Ward Road, Tescos in the Stack, Brantwood or Blackness Road.

If walking, all of these alternatives involve either an uphill journey there and a downhill journey back, or vice versa. The bus services to both Blackness and Brantwood branches are infrequent. Any bus journey would involve added expense (For example, 2 visits per week to the Ward Road branch would incur a cost of £4.40).

This added expense would have a profound effect on those many Post Office customers who are on very low incomes and benefits. Many of those who use Lochee Road Post Office are elderly or disabled and/or on low income.

Although the public transport into the City Centre (Ward Road) is more frequent the extra expense is still incurred. The service at the Ward Road Post Office is already poor because of the lack of staff, resulting in long queues and standing time. At busy times, it is not uncommon for customers to have to queue for 10 – 15 minutes before being served. This adds to pressure and stress on staff and customers alike and can lead to a hostile atmosphere. Also some of the transactions carried out at Ward Road are the more complicated ones such as passports and car tax, which obviously increase waiting time.

Broughty Ferry Road Post Office:

Like Lochee Road, this branch serves a high proportion of elderly and disabled customers, who will find it extremely difficult to access other branches if Broughty Ferry Road closes.

Their alternative options are Ward Road branch (see above for comments); Maryfield branch or Arbroath Road. Both these branches involve a lengthy uphill walk and bus services in the area have recently been cut. Of course, the use of public transport will mean additional costs to those who can least afford it.

Nethergate Post Office:

The two alternatives for Nethgergate customers are:

• Ward Road branch (see above) and it involves crossing 2 busy main roads to access it;
• Perth Road branch, which is already extremely busy, often experiences lengthy queues in quite a small premise. So again there will be increased waiting times and queues, literally, out the door.

The Nethergate Post Office is also the nearest branch to the University of Dundee which is attended by thousands of students and hundreds of staff. The University has also recently built new premises in the Hawkhill area which might put even more pressure on Ward Road branch.

There are also many businesses in this area, such as Bank of Scotland, DVLA, HMRC and the new Alliance Trust offices being built just around the corner.

Fairmuir Post Office:

Again, there is an elderly population in the area of Fairmuir Post Office. An adjacent branch is the one in Arkley Street, which provides an excellent service, but the premises are very small. Under present circumstances, it can become overcrowded with four people waiting to be served. If it has to absorb Fairmuir’s customers then the service provided will decline. Elderly customers could be queued out into the street. This is surely not an image that Post Office Limited would want to be associated with, particularly during cold or wet weather.

All four branches are surrounded by independent, local shops or small businesses. Those shops we have canvassed have expressed their concern that the closure of the neighbouring Post Office will have a significant impact on their ability to survive. This is at time when they are already under pressure from the supermarket chains such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s.

Another factor that should be considered is that a significant proportion of Dundee’s population is on lower than average income and in receipt of social security benefits. Dundee also has one of the highest child poverty rates in Scotland.

Our extensive research and discussion with residents in all four areas leads us to conclude that none of the Post Offices in Dundee targeted for closure should be closed. We have found support for the retention of these four branches to be overwhelming among their local communities.

July 2008

John McAllion has written an article about the resignation of Wendy Alexander as leader of the Labour MSP’s.

It can be found on the SSP site here

We have just managed to arrange a meeting with a representative of the indigenous Oaxaca communities in Mexico.

DVA 10 Constitution Road
Dundee

Tuesday 1st July, 2008. 7pm.

Make a note in your diaries: the annual walk up the Law is being organised for Sunday 6th August. More information on times etc will be posted once we get full details.

Josie Pasane, a woman who lives in Brought Ferry, is being threatened with deportation due to the Home Office giving her shit advice on her application.

Please sign the petition

Some articles from the local press on the issue

Saturday 14th June
Family face being torn apart after visa mix-up

Monday 16th June
MP fights visa case with Home Office

Tuesday 17th June
Community rallies round to keep Josie in Scotland

Today in Dundee and around the country SSP members and supporters took part in street campaigning on the issue of Free Public Transport.

Tonight’s Eveneing Telegraph contained an article about the activity in Dundee

For more information on the issue visit www.freepublictransport.org/

When the policy was introduced in Hasselt in Belgium there was a massive uptake in the use of public transport. Massive numbers of people started cycling after encouragement from the local council (contrast with Dundee where the Council stopped a local bike recycling charityselling their cheap affordable bikes in the city centre!).

If you would like some stickers, posters or leaflets about the campaign, contact us.

Legalise Demo information

LEGALISE IT – 2008 – MARCH TO LEGALISE CANNABIS

GLASGOW – SATURDAY JULY 26th

ASSEMBLE 11.30am – George Square, Glasgow

March to Kelvingrove Park for bands, DJs and more!

FEATURING:

ARGONAUT SOUNDS, THE BEING, LOKI, RESPEK-DA, MARRICK LAYDEN DEFT, TAZ BUCKFASTER, HENDY RUNS TINGS, PHILLYBLUNTZ, DARYL and more!

Given the recent new anti-terror laws it is worth highlighting the flaw in the government’s “if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear” argument. The main one of course being that the laws are used against everyone, not only those they suspect of being terrorists*

*terrorists not being the dictionary definition of course, but New Labours makey upey definition.

A local political activist, Alan Hinnrichs had submitted a request to every Scottish Council about their use of the “Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act” to spy on members of the public and has compiled his results. These have now been printed today by the Sunday Herald today.

SACC article detailing his investigation

Sunday Herald Article detailing his investigation

SACC claims councils are abusing the civil liberties of the Scottish public and says civil servants and bureaucrats should not have such wide-ranging powers. The watchdog believes that spying on ordinary citizens should only be a power granted to the police or the security and intelligence services in cases of extreme danger such as threats to national security or to prevent major crime.

Of the councils which replied to the FoI requests, Edinburgh was found to be using the Ripa laws the most excessively, authorising spying actions 1252 times.

The SSP is launching a week of action highlighting our radical Free Public Transport Policy.

There is a website with all the details here.

In the Belgian city of Hasselt, which covers an area double the size of Dundee, congestion was eliminated in the late 1980s after the introduction of a totally free public transport system.

How It worked in Belgium

The site also contains details of how the policy would be funded and the wide ranging benefits it provides in the other places it has been implemented.

Tuesday 3rd June

Article in the Courier Urging people to lodge objections to the closures

Article in the Courier About a Post Office moving in Broughty Ferry

Letter in the Evening Telegraph Defending the closures

Saturday 7th June

Article in the Courier about Glamis Post Office

According to the article about Glamis Post Office, the Post Office are only considering a petition to be equal to one letter of objection. This is absurd and shows how detached from reality the high heid yins at the Post Office are. Remember these are the same people that wasted millions rebranding the Post Office as Consignia whilst attacking their employees working conditions. It also shows the importance of lodging letters of complaint. Signing petitions is fine and can help publicise the quantity of local objections but letters detailing objections are extremely important.

The contact details to object, as posted previously are:

Sally Buchanan
Network Development Manager
C/o National Consultation Team
FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM
Email: consultation@postoffice.co.uk
Customer Helpline: 08457 22 33 44

The courier printed an article on 29 May about the closures. In it Postwatch urged people to take part in the consultation process.

On the 30th May there was a Letter in the Courier from an independent councillor in Angus detailling what a Post Office closure means to a rural village. Because of the isolation and lack of transport the effect of a closure or service reduction is far greater than in a city.

Here are tables of Post Office Closures seperated into Council Area and sorted by Town, City or Village.

Aberdeen City Council

Aberdeenshire Council

Angus Council

Clackmannanshire Council

Dundee City Council

Fife Council

Moray Council

Perth & Kinross Council

The contact details buried in one of the massive documents released today is:

Sally Buchanan
Network Development Manager
C/o National Consultation Team
FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM
Email: consultation@postoffice.co.uk
Customer Helpline: 08457 22 33 44

There are 6 weeks before the end of the consultation process so 9th July 2008 (not stated in the documents).

The documents can be located here:

Area Plan booklet

Branch Access Report

Branch Access Reports – Outreach

The Scottish Socialist Party is opposed to any reductions in this vital
service.

In many cases, where cuts are made, the elderly and infirm may be
forced to travel considerable distances to their nearest branch. At
best they will face upheaval to their regular routines.

We should not just meekly accept the Post Office bosses’ decision. By
organising and resisting closures we can retain these community assets
for ourselves and future generations.

It is clear that the demand for the service still remains. Within two
weeks, at a time when cuts remained a distant threat, our stalls
collected hundreds of signatures against these unnecessary closures.

We stand in support of a service for people, not profit.

Closures announced for Dundee:

• Fairmuir, Clepington Road
• Ferry Rd, 82 Broughty Ferry Road
• Monikie, Panmure Road, Monikie, Broughty Ferry
• Lochee, 156 Lochee Road
• Nethergate, 123 Nethergate

JoJo Yakob is currently being held in Polmont Young Offenders Institution. He faces deportation to Syria where he had been beaten by so badly he fell into a coma. Because he is gay, he is facing the death penalty should he return to Syria.

What you can do:

http://www.savejojo.net/ has details on contacting your MP and MSPs.

Write to JoJo in prison, he is feeling very isolated having spent a year in jail. Write to him to show that people are thinking about him. Contact details are available on the Save JoJo site

Action recently won the return of Mehdi Kazemi to the UK – he would have faced a similar fate should he have been returned to Iran. If you act now then you can help save JoJo too.

We have sent the following message through translators to the Algerian Strikers.

Dundee, the 8th of February 2008,
We, members of the Dundee SSP branch, fight for freedom, in particular union freedom, justice, dignity, decent housing and work conditions and for the equitable sharing of the product of this work.

As we have been fighting and keep on fighting with the women and men of Dundee in their fight for their rights, we assure our fellows from the Intersyndicale Autonome de la Fonction Publique algérienne of our solidarity and full support in their legitimate action and in particular in their actions during this month of February.

We join their movement, their demands and denounce with them the injustices suffered by the Algerian people. We commit ourselves to spread the information regarding their fight and to support it by actions in Scotland.

Fraternally
The SSP Dundee branch

CHARGES DROPPED! CHARGES DROPPED!

Michael has learned through his Legal Aid solicitor that the procurator fiscal decided way back on 18 December not to proceed with the charge of Disorderly Conduct against him. Only they did not tell anybody. Does this mean that very useful CCTV evidence against the police may have been discarded?

Five Years Of Occupation In Iraq
National Demo
Saturday March 15TH
Glasgow
Called by Stop the War Coalition (Scotland)
More details to follow.

On Friday 11th January, Mark Craig and Steven Black, a young gay couple from Old Meldrum in Aberdeenshire had been in Aberdeen visiting Steven’s mum. At around 10:30 they left to catch the last bus back to Old Meldrum. They arrived at Berryden Road bus stop at around 11:00pm and waited. Mark said:

The bus arrived at around 11:30. It pulled in to the bus stop as Steven and I were waiting. The bus doors opened slightly and the driver looked at us then looked around him and closed the doors and drove off leaving us standing on the street in the freezing cold. It was the same driver that tried to kick us off for hugging in the back of the bus last year.

Last October Mark and Steven were on the last Stagecoach bus of the night from Aberdeen to Old Meldrum, when the driver suddenly stopped the bus and demanded they get off. This was supposedly at the behest of a fellow passenger, for sitting with their arm around the other, as many couples do. The driver then forced Mark and Steven to separate before continuing on the journey, leaving them shocked and humiliated.

After hearing about this incident, the Scottish Socialist Party organised a mass email campaign to Stagecoach’s Director of Corporate Communications, Steven Stewart. Hundreds of gay rights activists and ordinary members of the public appalled by this story asked for an apology for illegally discriminating against the couple. Stagecoach ignored all of these requests, and made it clear that they thought the driver had done nothing wrong, and had stood by him 100%; accusing everyone else of not knowing the facts of the case.

With the bus company refusing to apologise for illegally discriminating against the couple and fully backing the driver, ‘hug-in’ protests by same sex couples and friends took place on Stagecoach busses around Scotland, with members of the SSP retracing the same route from Aberdeen to Old Meldrum with Mark and Steven.

Now these two courageous young men need our help and support once more. The Scottish Socialist Party is standing fully behind the couple, as we did last year, because homophobic bullying is totally unacceptable, especially when it is perpetrated by a company with monopolies on many of the bus routes in Britain. We ask that the LGBT community and straight allies alike to stand with us and Mark and Steven in opposition to this continued bullying and harassment.

Please contact Steven Stewart, the Director of Corporate Communications at Stagecoach
(Steven.Stewart@stagecoachgroup.com, Tel: 01738 642040 or fax: 01738 443076) to demand that this clearly anti-gay bus driver be suspended from his job pending review and diversity training, and for a full and immediate public apology to be issued to Mark Craig and Steven Black for the appalling way in which they are being treated.

This harassment and bullying by a multi million pound company against one, young, gay couple is utterly disgusting and totally illegal. Nobody should suffer it, which is why we are asking everybody to demand an end to it.

The protest went very well. We met with Steven and Mark, the couple originally victimised by Stagecoach. They’re great guys, but they’ve unfortunately have had to put up with a lot of nonsense because of this. The Daily Mail printed nonsense about what they had been doing on the bus, which has caused problems for their families.After taking a few photos outside their bar and Old Meldrum bus stop with the red flag and the rainbow flag, the four of us got back on the 305 to Aberdeen with our arms around each other, the pride flag draped over the seat and Steven and Mark even in the same seat, without incident.

When we got back to Aberdeen bus station, we had a chat with some Stagecoach bus drivers about what we were doing and why. They agreed that its shocking that the couple were spoken to as they were by the driver. The Stagecoach employees agreed that a gay person has just as much right to ride the bus as anyone else, and said that their company should apologise to the couple.

Around the country there was a similar picture from Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow. One can only assume that since no one complained, and the drivers didn’t say anything either, that the driver Steven and Mark were unfortunate to have was homophobic, and of course Stagecoach is 100% behind him.

Theres a great article on protest from http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-6064.html and there are photos from the Aberdeen protest on http://www.flickr.com/photos/20902609@N05/ more from around the country will be going up as I get them in.

Pink News have carried a report of the action today. More to follow from Nick on the events of the day

This thursday, the 15th of november, we are going to have an Equality Ride on stagecoach busses around the country to protest the incident where a Stagecoach driver threatend to boot a gay couple, Steven Black and Mark Craig, off a bus in Aberdeen.

We would like you and another person of the same sex to go on a stagecoach bus that day, and one of you have your arm around the other, just like the couple were doing when they were threatend to be booted off the bus, then made to sit apart. Even just one stop would be fine. We want as many people as possible to do it so please let me know how many of you are taking part in the Equality Ride, i.e. more than one couple, what the bus route is and the bus number, and where you are in the UK, and if possible take a picture of the two of you on the stagecoach bus with you arm around the other person. It would be even better if you were holding a bit of paper or something with the word ‘apologise’ or ‘let all couples take the bus’ or something. And we will send it off to the media and to Stagecoach.

Then either text (07760308173) or email me the image (hendersonn2704@hotmail.com).

Some of us are going to Aberdeen where we will retrace the route with the couple, Steven and Mark, where the incident originally took place. If you are free to travel to Aberdeen that day or are there already then please let me know.

Remember that if someone does complain, and the driver threatens you, then that constitutes discrimination under the Equality Act and is illegal. Nor is it innapropriate behaviour, straight couples do far worse on busses all the time.

Please take a ride for Equality this thursday by participating. The media attention we will get and the extra pressure it will put on Stagecoach to apologise will outweigh the downside of having to give money to Stagecoach to protest, but this is about the right of all customers to be able to ride the bus without hassle or intimidation.

VoteWise is a site where you can grill candidates on their policies. Have a look at the page on the Lochee by election where Alan Graham is standing for the Scottish Socialist Party

The Sunday Mail first carried this story about an incident on a bus owned by Scotlands richest homophobe, Brian Soutar.

Pinknews reported yesterday that a young gay couple in Aberdeenshire were told by the driver to leave the bus, then made to sit apart after a passenger complained about one of them having his arm around the other. (the article from Queerty)

You can register a complaint with Mr Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications, Stagecoach Scotland at this address:

Steven.Stewart@stagecoachgroup.com, you can also call him at 01738 642040 or fax him on 01738 443076

Robert Andrew, Regional Director, Stagecoach Scotland can be contacted at:
Robert.Andrew@stagecoachbus.com
Tel: 01383 511911, Fax: 01383 516450

A sample email follows:

I am writing in regards to the case of Steven Black and Mark Craig, a young couple who were sitting beside each other on a Stagecoach bus in Aberdeenshire on a route from Aberdeen to Oldmeldrum recently. The gay couple were at first told to get off the bus by the driver, and then forced to sit on separate seats.

I am aware that according to your own internal investigations that you are 100% satisified that the driver acted in a professional manner at all times.

I, however, am not at all satisifed with either the incident or your own response to it. I request that Stagecoch makes a full and immediate public apology on the matter to both the couple concerned at the LGBT community in general. It is totally unnacceptable that anyone should fear being thrown off a bus because of who they are.

I await your reply.

Yours sincerely

From the Socialist Unity blog

After several months of suspension, fourteen days of strike action and a six day disciplinary Karen Reissmann, chair of the Manchester Mental Health Unison branch has been sacked for the ‘crime’ of opposing mental health cuts.

The 700 strong branch has voted to go on indefinite strike. Urgent financial and other solidarity is needed.

Unison’s national industrial action committee has sanctioned the community mental health team comprising some 160 workers to go on indefinite official strike action from this Thursday. This is a strike Unison must win. Donations need to flood in, with messages of support, invitations for speakers, national publicity and demands of Unison officials that they respect the demand of the branch and that the official strike is spread to cover the whole branch.

Rush donations and messages of support to the Manchester Community and Mental Health Unison branch, 70 Manchester Road, Manchester, M21 9UN. Phone 07972 120 451 or email unison@zen.co.uk

Cheques can be made out to UNISON Manchester Community & Mental Health

Visit the support website at reinstate karen site .

The petition can be downloaded here and printed off to use at work or union meetings.

More background here and here

——————

UNISON STATEMENT ON KAREN REISSMAN

On Monday November 5th Karen Reissmann, CPN and UNISON branch chair was sacked on 4 counts. Firstly that, when she was interviewed in December 2006 criticising the transfer of NHS work to the voluntary sector, she brought the Trust into disrepute. Secondly, for telling people that she was suspended and what for. Thirdly, for protesting her innocence. Fourthly, for allowing the press to print information, some misleading about her case. The fifth charge of misusing time was dropped. All the charges were gross misconduct and all sackable offences.

UNISON believes this is an absolute disgrace. Union reps must have the right to campaign against cuts and victimisation of our trade union reps. The Human Rights Act brought in by the Labour government allows for freedom of expression. Karen works in the NHS, in 2007, in Britain not Burma – she must have the right to speak out without fear of persecution. If she remains sacked it will make all NHS staff and all trade union reps feel much more cautious about saying anything.

UNISON is determined to fight for Karen’s reinstatement. 150 members of her branch who work in community mental health teams and crisis resolution teams will start an indefinite strike from Thursday 8th November as part of that fight. There will be picket lines from 8am to 11am at North Manchester General Hospital, MRI Hathersage Rd, and Chorlton House. On Thursday strikers will then meet at 12noon to organise their next activities and march to the strategic Health Authority at Piccadilly.

In 2 weeks we will have a branch wide one-day strike.

We also hope to have a solidarity rally on Wednesday 14th November in Manchester in the early evening, details to follow.

We also plan a Saturday demonstration in Manchester, probably 24th Nov.

We expect to be able to pay very substantial hardship pay to all strikers and will be sending delegations of strikers around the country to speak to other trade unionists and raise money. Already we have had significant promises of money from a number of branches eg Pennine have promised £2000 a month.

If you want to make a donation please send to “Manchester Community and Mental Health branch UNISON” c/o union office, Chorlton House, 70 Manchester Rd, Manchester M21 9UN. If you want a speaker at your next union meeting please contact us on unison@zen.co.uk or 07972 120 451.

March and Rally organised by Scotland’s for Peace, Sat 3rd Nov. Assemble 11.30 a.m. Scottish Parliament, march off 12 noon. Rally Princes St. Gardens 1 – 2 p.m. Music 2 – 3 p.m.

Bus leaves Dundee, The Howff (opposite GPO) 9.00 a.m.

Departs Edinburgh 3 p.m. Ticket donation only

Despite being absent from Holyrood this term, two SSP initiated policies have gained support.

Free School Meals pilot

A pilot has started of our proposal for Free School Meals to improve the health of a whole generation of children. We are immensely proud of the work in this campaign and the organisations who joined with us in campaigning for this essential health policy.
Free Prescription Charges

The SNP government have pledged to scrap prescription charges within the next four years. Both the SNP and Greens supported us in parliament when we originally proposed the Bill. It is essential for you to contact your MSPs asking them to support the eventual Bill.

From Mike Arnott, Secretary of Dundee Trades Union Council

Following the AGM of the International Brigade Memorial Trust held in Belfast this weekend, I can confirm that Dundee has been unanimously agreed as hosts of next year’s AGM on 11th October 2008. I will be in touch in due course to ask for your help in squeezing every possible ounce of assistance out of the Dundee labour and democratic movement (and beyond), to develop a full programme of events and activities for the evening of Friday 10th, Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th.

Mike

If you can assist, please contact Mike at: dundeetuc at hotmail.com

Once again the SSP Conference was held in Dundee. The first day comprised of part of our “Socialism” event. Due to the large number of conferences held over the past 2 years we are out of sync and it was good to have another day of debate and discussion.

The hit of the day was a walking tour of parts of Dundee by Mike Arnott, Secretary of the Dundee Trades Council. Not only did he have to add a second tour later in the day but there was still demand, including from the Dundee SSP members who knew they ask Mike to do one again. We hope to in future have Mike do a tour as part of a locally held Day School so keep checking back for details.

On another note, an SNP member who was elected as both a councillor and MSP made the difficult choice of keeping the job with 4 times the salary of the other. Due to this a by-election will be held in Lochee on Thursday 22 November.

Well, its been a busy summer. As promised before May’s election we have been out every week (minus a couple) on the streets: speaking to people, listening to people , publicising campaigns and collecting signatures for petitions.

In October the SSP conference and Socialism discussion programme are coming to Dundee.

Tomorrow, the people of Scotland go to the poll to elect their local authority councillors and MSPs. For the past few months Dundee SSP have been campaigning on the five policies we have highlighted for our campaign:

1. Independence Refurendum
2. Free Public Transport
3. 100,000 new council houses
4. Free School Meals
5. Scrap Council Tax

We hope that we have won support on these important issues at a local and national level. Bleary eyed and tired we will find out at about 6-7 on Friday morning.

Whatever happens, we will be back out in housing estates, communities and the city centre on a variety of campaigns over the next four years and beyond. You will see us again before the whole shibang starts again before the next elections and the big business parties remember you exist.

With less than two weeks to go before the election, Dundee SSP have been busy campaigning. We take it in our stride as the SSP are out on the streets, collecting petitions and speaking to people every week of every year – not just when an election looms.

Hustings, public meetings and leafletting have been the main activities. In the next couple of days everyone in Dundee should be getting an SSP leaflet through their door from the postie. This adds to the 25,000 leaflets we have already distributed locally during this campaign.

On Tuesday night you can see the second SSP broadcast (See the first one here if you missed it)

And don’t worry, the Saturdays immediately after the election will still give you an opportunity to meet the SSP out campaigning where we will be as usual fighting the battles against inequality, poverty and war.

Yesterday saw the launch of our manifesto and the showing of our first Party Political Broadcast.

Our next broadcast will be on the 24th of April.

Dundee City Council – About our candidates standing for Dundee City Council

North East Biographies – About our candidates standing for the North East List in the Scottish Parliamentry Election.

This was posted on our Contact form, so posting to let more people see it.

Do you know any community activists who might want to study Environmental Justice?

Friends of the Earth Scotland and the Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh run an award winning, part-time, 18 month, distance learning course on Environmental Justice.

Designed for anyone wanting to make a difference for the environment in their community or workplace the course still has places left on it when it starts again in April.

No qualifications are needed, the only entrance requirement is that you have an environmental project based in your community or workplace that you can work on while you are studying. The course is taught using a special website and using specially prepared handbooks with course notes, you do need access to a computer and the internet.

Support and supervisions is provided by the tutors and support staff based at Queen Margaret University and at Friends of the Earth Scotland. There will also be regular opportunities to meet other students and environmental activists in face-to-face sessions.

Students in receipt of benefits – including family tax credits – will have fees waived.

If you are interested then please contact Phill or Clare on 0131 554 9977 or visit the Friends of the Earth Scotland website at www.foe-scotland.org.uk

The SNP plan to scrap Council Tax, or so they claim.

According to the Courier they THE SNP yesterday unveiled plans for the biggest tax cut in a generation, promising to scrap council tax and replace it with 3p on income tax across Scotland.

The Scottish Socialist Party have been fighting to replace the Council Tax with an income based tax for years. In 2005 we presented a bill to the Scottish Parliament to replace the Council Tax with our proposed Scottish Service Tax. We had hoped it would pass as the SNP and the Liberal Democrats had also claimed the wanted to Scrap the Council Tax, although neither has tried to actually do this in 8 years of Holyrood rule.

What happenned? on the 1st of February 2006, it fell and both these parties voted against it. At the time the SNP claimed that our proposal wasn’t really local as we wanted the Tax collected by the Inland Reveneue at the same time as Income Tax and National Insurance are deducted. This was estimated to actually save money over the current system which duplicates the same process all over the country. Now they are proposing the same collection scheme.

It’s always easy to see when an elections looming, the pro-capitalist parties start going on the street, holding stalls and proposing policies they have argued against for the last four years. You’d think they only wanted your vote or something…

If you want the Council Tax scrapped and replaced by a local income tax based on the ability to pay then its the SSP who have proposed this, argued for it and voted for it.

Craig Murray has won the election to be rector of Dundee Uni by 630-580. This is a phenomenal victory over the Tory/rugby team who dominate the political life of the Uni. Victory came about through the combined effort of all progressive forces on campus, from socialists to peace activists and environmental activists to human rights groups.

This is a great example of what happens when people put thir common interests before the interests of their own organisation. A turnout increase of 50% also shows that the students on campus aren’t apathetic when it comes to political issues.

Well done to Dundee Uni students

Courier report

It was reported in the Courier today that Jim McGovern doesn’t want you to know what he’s spending our money on.

Apparantly he thinks us knowing how he’s spending our cash means that if this reaches its logical conclusion, it will be easy for anyone who wants to kidnap, injure or assault an MP because they’ll know their exact movements,

Never mind that we already know when he will be holding surgeries etc, where he lives (from the electoral register), where his offices are and when he’s going to Parliament, if we know that he got a taxi somewhere 3 years ago how would that assist some mythical kidnapper in the future?

That’s if you manage to look at his argument and actually mistake his “logical conclusion” for being logical rather than paranoid fantasies.

Never mind that he’s supported Labours ID Card and Anti terrorism laws which mean the state can find out where you are.

The NCR rapid response team have released a summary of their report

Simclar The Truth

Some of the workers from Simclar have started a blog to get the truth out past the media filter.

From the Scottish Socialist Voice, Issue 293

SSP rallies round NCR workers

The SSP has been unequivocal in its condemnation of Ohio-based company NCR’s recent decision to axe 650 jobs in Dundee.

A decision that has left hundreds of families in abject panic, given that Dundee is a city with an already high level of unemployment, dangerously dependent upon corporate giants like NCR.

In the wake of the decision, SSP convenor Colin Fox travelled north with the party’s message of support for workers squaring up to this wretched decision.
He was also keen to distance the SSP from the attitude of all the other parties that nothing can be done and that the only option remaining is to follow the Scottish Executive lead and provide retraining, advice on setting up new businesses and educational routes forward away from NCR.

Colin, alongside SSP Industrial Organiser Richie Venton and Dundee SSP member Rod McGregor, spoke to local press, radio and TV, and met Scott Murray, Amicus union convener at NCR, to discuss the situation, the union’s approach and the SSP’s support.

The public meeting was organised by Dundee SSP members within days of the NCR announcement.
In building for the meeting, they held a successful stall in the city centre and in two local schemes, leafleted the NCR factory three days running, and got an article in the Dundee Courier.

The meeting was well-attended and constructive, with speakers Colin, Richie, and Mike Arnott from Dundee Trades Council.

Richie called NCR a “subsidy junkie. They have been handed £4million by the Scottish Executive in grants since 1993. And a further £2.2million off Scottish Enterprise just eight months ago.

Instead of offering more handouts to NCR bosses who lie and plunder, the Scottish Executive should seize their assets and keep the workforce and its skills.

Mike Arnott exposed NCR bosses as Corporation Tax-dodgers.
“They channel all their non-US profits – including those from Dundee – through a front company in Ireland. NCR Global Solutions in Ireland employs a grand total of 31 people.

“Yet by this legalised tax theft they can claim in 2005 that 31 people generated $186million profit – almost half their global total! Why do they siphon their profits across the Irish Sea? Because Corporation Tax there is only 12.5 per cent – compared to 30 per cent here.”

Colin Fox warned NCR workers not to be conned into relying on Task Forces that promise to re-train redundant workers.

“Look at Motorola. They didn’t even allow a trade union. But they had a works committee. I met the convener of the works committee when Motorola was closing down, promising re-training.
Six weeks later I met the same skilled worker in Harthill Service Station, sweeping up the forecourt!
Unlike the mainstream parties who wring their hands in pretend sympathy but preach there is nothing you can do, the SSP strongly believes that if the NCR workforce decide on powerful, united action, the jobs can be saved.”

Richie flagged up how Glasgow council workers forced the Labour council to drop plans to slash wages by up to £10,000 – and instead concede life-time protection of wages for most current staff – through mobilising for a three-day strike last month.

Mary McGregor, of Dundee SSP, said, Our party will continue to build support for the NCR workers and their families. We cannot let this devastation of the city go ahead without a fight.

The SSP is there to organise support for any action the workers take.

It’s not too late to register to vote for elections if you haven’t done so.

You can get the form from About My Vote

If you are currently living in Dundee then the form you need is: Dundee Vote Registration

Remember if you are a student you can register at your home and term time address so that you can vote (once) depending on where you are living at the time of the election

The branches will be meeting at the DVA, 10 Constitution Road on Wednesday 24th January. If you want to come along Contact us

This site is a test to see if this blog software can do what we want it to.