Glasgow Solidarity members have selected their candidate for the Glasgow East by-election on 24 July.  Tricia McLeish, of the party's Shettleston branch, was appointed unopposed with the unianimous support of the Glasgow region of Scotland's largest socialist party.
 
Tricia said:
"I am honoured to be selected as Solidarity's candidate.  Living in the area and working for the council, I see the results of New Labour's failed agenda first hand.  The SNP offer no answers for the people of the East end, just more of the same under a different flag.  The East End will not be saved by shopping centes or by a Donald Trump.  We need real jobs and real futures.
 
"Solidarity are AGAINST the renewal of trident, but FOR spending the billions on houses and pensioners instead.  We stand AGAINST the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and FOR the withdrawal of Brirish and all other foreign troops." 
 
Profile - Tricia McLeish
 
Tricia McLeish is a founding member of Solidarity and has been an active socialist for over 20 years. She is 44, and works as a technical officer for Glasgow City Council's Land and Environmantal Services and was a Unison (and previously NALGO) shop steward in the council's housing department for 15 years.
 
Tricia was born, bred and still lives in Shettleston, the eldest of six children, all of whom still live in the East end of Glasgow, as do her parents. She was educated at St Andrews in Greenfield.
 
Tricia joined the Labour Party Young Socialists and then Militant in the early 1980's when she was on a youth opportunities scheme and since then has been at the forefront of many political campaigns in Scotland. After being suspended from the Labour Party for her involvement in the Anti-Poll Tax Federation, she went to be a founder member of The Scottish Socialist Alliance, the Scottish Socialist Party and then Solidarity.
 
She is a member of the party's National Steering Committee and still an active trade unionist, leading campaigns against privatisation of services, most notably the back-door privatisation of housing stock through the GHA.
 
ENDS
For further details or to soeak to Solidarity's candidate call Jim Monaghan on 07944 217938

Former Labour MP Terry Fields died at his home in Liverpool on Saturday 28th June.  Solidarity wish to express our deepest sympathy to his family and comrades.  Co-Convenor Tommy Sheridan said:

"I am deeply saddened by this news.  Terry was a wonderful man who inspired many to get involved in the fight for a fairer society.  He will be missed by all of us."

The Court of Appeal has issued its judgement on the case of the Belfast airport shop stewards who were sacked in 2002 by airport security firm, ICTS, after they had organised a strike over pay.

The judgement upholds the Fair Employment Tribunal 2007 ruling that ICTS discriminated against the shop stewards on political grounds, sacking them for their trade union and socialist political beliefs. The Court of Appeal judgement reinforces the original decision and means that this case has now set new law which can be used to the benefit of millions of workers throughout Britain.

In the wake of the election of the fascist British National Party's Richard Barnbrook to the London Assembly and of more BNP councillors in other parts of the country, we will show once again that anti-fascists are the majority.

On Saturday 21st June there will be a national demonstration and carnival parade against fascism and racism in London celebrating the diversity of our society and making it clear that racism and fascist organisations like the BNP will not be tolerated. There will be a march and carnival parade, with floats, marching bands, speakers and banners from every organisation opposed the BNP's racist hate.

Join this march and celebration of diversity, let's oppose the fascist BNP.

The Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) Carnival at the end of April showed the mass multicultural audience opposed to racism and fascism and now is the time for the Carnival to hit the streets and for delegations from scores of organisations opposed to the BNP's racist hate to come join in marching in unity against hate and division.

Please come along and bring your friends and family, union banners welcome.

For travel from Glasgow contact Margaret on 07870286632, for further details www.uaf.org.uk

George Galloway, the RESPECT MP, has called on Boris Johnstone to order a swift inquiry into the conduct of Metropolitan Police at a demo against the visit of US President George Bush.

The Vice-President of the Stop the War Coalition has written to Johnstone, as well as Police Commissioner Ian Blair after demonstrators were attacked by police using truncheons, in a heavy-handed attempt to silence opposition to Bush and Brown.  He said:

“The policing of the event was way over the top.  The primary cause is the profoundly undemocratic decision to ban a peaceful protest from going down Whitehall – so that George W Bush would not be embarrassed: our rights are shredded to save the face of a foreign potentate.

“As I wrote to Sir Ian Blair, I’m not a habitual complainer against the police, but the behaviour of some of his officers on the day was such as I have not witnessed since the Miners’ Strike of 1984. A minority of officers appeared to relish laying into an unarmed crowd of largely young anti-war protesters.

From Scotland Against Criminalising Communities www.sacc.org.uk

"I never thought I would be in the House of Commons on the day Magna Carta was repealed."  - Tony Benn
 
"There will be widespread consternation among our supporters seeing a Labour Government prepared to use every tactic available in its determination to crush essential civil liberties...This is no way to run a Government. Securing votes by threats, bribes and personal pleading demeans the role of the Prime Minister." - John McDonnell MP (Labour)
 
"Rarely has a government hazarded so much of its credibility for so narrow a victory - and in such certainty that it will shortly crumble into pitiful defeat" - Simon Hoggart (The Guardian)
 
Gordon Brown has brought the Labour Party and the British Parliament into disrepute by using of bribery and threats to win a hairsbreadth majority for the extension to 42 days detention without charge for terrorist suspects - a measure that almost nobody sincerely supports.

Scottish CND have organised a 'peace chain' at Faslane base this Saturday, in a peaceful protest at the Government's planned nuclear weapons programme.  All who oppose the weapons of mass destruction should assemble at the site at noon when a 2,000 metre chain will surround the perimeter.

Solidarity Co-Convenor Tommy Sheridan is a veteran of faslane campaigns and urged party members and trade unionists to get along if they can:

"Solidarity supports this latest in a series of actions by CND.  Last year the Westminster govt. voted for a new generation of weapons, the Scottish parliament rejected the plans.  We must unite to show our opposition.  Solidarity members, and our supporters in the trades unions, will be join hands with others who opoose the bombs, from whatever party or organisation." 

Gordon Brown, New Labour and big business are carrying out daylight robbery.  Food prices are increasing by 16% a year, fuel costs are out of control and all Brown and New Labour can offer millions of low and average paid workers is pay cuts and tax increases.

The abolition of the 10p tax rate means an effective wage cut for millions. At the other end of the scale a tiny minority are continuing to rake it in at our expense.

Five thousand Unite craft members in Scotland will take 24 hour strike action from today (Monday 2nd June) and have warned that they will hold 24 hour stoppages every second Monday after that date.

Unite craft workers in many local authorities including Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife, and North & South Lanarkshire are to strike over being forced to work longer hours than their colleagues working along side them in Scotland and in the rest of the UK and a below inflation pay offer. Scottish local authority craft workers currently work a 39 hour week while craft workers in the rest of the UK, and other local authority workers in Scotland work 37 hours.

Rosemary Byrne, Co-Convenor of Solidarity, said:

"Public Sector workers are being treated disgracefully.  Solidarity fully support the Unite members strike action against pay cuts."