Hundreds of workers and socialists from across Scotland will join Sunvic workers at a mass picket outside the factory today.  Supporters are asked to gather at the gates from 2.30pm.

Solidarity Co-Convenor Rosemary Byrne said:

"These workers have been on strike for a long time and Solidarity have been shoulder to shoulder with them the whole time.  Today we will again show our support at the mass picket and I hope as many Solidarity members as possible, as well as others, will be there. 

"The women of Sunvic showed their appreciation and support for Solidarity at our election rally and we must continue to show them the same."

Tommy Sheridan, Co-Convenor of Solidarity, has called for a boycott of Tescos in support of the 60 drivers who have been effectively sacked after refusing new terms and conditions.

The 60 drivers who have been sacked are taking strike action from midnight tomorrow.  Sheridan said:

"We need to show support and solidarity for these drivers who have been treated shabbily and have taken strike action in the face of intimidation and bully boy tactics.  We are seeing an increasingly hostile environment for workers, from Simclar and Sunvic, Mauchline creamery and now Tescos drivers.  The Solidarity membership will be joining the drivers on the picket line and refusing to buy goods from tescos, I urge you to join us".

It is understood that Eddie Stobbart drivers will be hired to deliver in the meantime amid fears of empty shelves.

Ruth Black spreads the news of her election in Glasgow

As a result of the circumstance in which we were formed, on the back of an acrimonious split from the SSP, we were forced to fight this election on two fronts - against New Labour and their neoliberal agenda both at home and abroad, and against former socialists who have and continue to actively collude and collaborate with the establishment against Solidarity Co-Convenor, Tommy Sheridan. We understood that what was at stake in these elections was more than the gaining of seats in the Scottish Parliament or in council chambers the length and breadth of Scotland. We understood that what was at stake was ensuring that the banner of socialism, tarnished and undermined by the actions of those former socialists, was once again lifted up out of the mud and carried forward with dignity and pride.

This objective we have undoubtedly achieved.

Solidarity, Scotland's Socialist Movement emerged as Scotland's leading party of the left in yesterday's Scottish elections.  After only a few short months in existence the Solidarity vote totalled twice as many as the other left parties combined and came close to electing an MSP, despite small parties being squeezed across the country.

In Glasgow Tommy Sheridan lost out by less than one percent and Scotland's first Solidarity councillor, Ruth Black was elected in the Craigton Ward of the city.

Ruth is a well know socialist and campaigner who is currently manager of Glasgow's LGBT Centre.  She said:

"I am proud to be carrying Solidarity's banner into the council chambers and, although we are disappointed to not be returning MSPs as well we are already the established party of the left in Scotland and will grow from here."

Solidarity Co-Convenor Tommy Sheridan was delighted at Ruth's election:

"Ruth Black is a perfect representative for Solidarity, she is a committed campaigner with a track record in fighting for equality.  We are all very proud of her and priviledged to have such respected individuals representing Solidarity."

Ruth was elected in the Craigton ward where she had twice as many first votes as the Greens and SSP combined.

A vote for Solidarity is a vote for a war on poverty and inequality. Gordon Brown said in 2003, when asked how much the war in Iraq would cost, that it would cost "as much as it takes". In Solidarity we believe that the same principle should be applied to fighting poverty and discrimination across the world.

In Scotland in 2007 a quarter of children are brought up in poverty, more pensioners die of the cold in their own home than in Finland and the gap between rich and poor is higher now than when Charles Dickens wrote about it.

Meanwhile, we spend billions on bombing Afghanistan and Iraq, occupying their countries illegally and protecting those who steal their natural resources. The UK is about to spend at least £76 billion on decommissioning, replacing and maintaining of a new generation of Trident nuclear weapons.

We say, spend this on pensions, giving every pensioner £160 per week; spend it on workers, with a minimum wage of £8.50 for all workers; spend it on students and reintroduce the free college and university education that Jack McConnel took advantage of before takling it away from future generations; spend it on our carers, introducing a £100 per week non means tested grant and free respite care for all full time carers; spend it on children by reducing class sizes and giving every child a healthy, nutritious FREE school meal.

Solidarity want to overhaul the tax system in Scotland. We want to see those that the earn the most pay their share. The Scottish Service Tax is fairer, cheaper and raises more money than the Council Tax. Under the Scottish Service Tax pensioners, students and all those earning less than £10k pa would be exempt from charges. Only those households earning more than £900 per week would pay more. The richest in our society, including the MSPs, would pay considerably more. They can afford it.

The millionaires may kick and scream and threaten to leave the country but where would they go? Every other similar european country has higher tax rates. It is time that they paid their share.

New Labour's time is up. Solidarity are asking the voters of Scotland to make them pay. Make them pay their share of the tax burden, make them pay for the bloodshed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

New Labour have scapegoated innocent Iraqis and Afghans, muslim people in Britain and across Europe, immigrants, asylum seekers and the young. Thursday is the day when we can place the blame back firmly where it belongs.

Make Labour pay on the third of May - Vote Solidarity - Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne

The Act of Union joining the Scottish and English parliaments was signed 300 years ago on this day. In two days time the people of Scotland go to the polls to vote in elections in which the SNP look set to emerge as the majority party in Scotland for the first time in their history. That the Union may come under threat as a result has produced newspapers headlines and statements from the likes of Jack McConnell, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown which have attempted to paint a picture of independence as nothing less than a doomsday scenario for the Scottish people.

Their description of the British state as this benign force for good in the world is one that Solidarity neither recognises or accepts. Our view, supported by history, is that the British state was formed in the interests of a rising mercantile class in order to better plunder the globe. A history of rape, murder and theft is the true legacy of this mercantilist state, one which continues to the present day in Iraq and Afghanistan. Every statue and monument, every grand edifice in every town and city the length and breadth of these islands, was paid for in the blood of innocent men, women and children from the Caribbean to the continents of Africa and Asia, as well as closer to home in Ireland.

Solidarity supports the break-up of the British state. We do so as internationalists, understanding Britain's role in the world as a junior partner in the cause of US imperialism to be a pernicious one, responsible for the suffering and exploitation of people in the Middle East, Africa, and throughout the developing world.

As socialists we know that political sovereignty without economic sovereignty is no sovereignty at all, which is why our vision of an independent Scotland is different from that of the SNP. We want a Scotland that is a beacon of social and economic justice, of equality and peace, a country in which those who seek sanctuary from political, economic or religious persecution are welcomed instead of locked up and vilified. Global corporations that wander the planet looking to make ever increasing profits on the back of cheap labour and natural resources would find no home here; neither would nuclear weapons or US military bases. We have a vision of a society in which the rich are taxed equitably, in which Scotland's vast wealth is redistributed fairly, and in which her resources are controlled by the people instead of a few millionaires and billionaires.

On this the 300th anniversary of the Union between Scotland and England, in solidarity with the working class and the oppressed around the world on this May Day, Solidarity clearly and unequivocally calls for the break up of the British state.

Solidarity have received a major boost ahead of Thursdays election as leading members of the civil service union PCS have called on their members to vote for Solidarity. 270,000 members of the union will be out on strike today May 1st as part of their ongoing battle against job cuts, privatisation and low pay.

The PCS National President for the UK, Janice Godrich said (speaking in a personal capacity):

"Solidarity has been to the forefront in giving support to the pcs in our campaign to defend jobs and public services. This election is the chance for pcs members to elect MSPs who will put our interests first. By voting Solidarity on Thursday you will be helping to give us that voice."

Solidarity Co-Convenor Rosemary Byrne welcomed the news:

"We have shown our commitment to civil and public servantson the picket lines, in the workplace and in parliament. Gordon Brown has launched an all out attack on these peoples jobs and futures, it doesn't surprise me that the unions members no longer see Labour as the answer."

Alan Brown, vice president DWP and NEC and fellow NEC member Cheryl Gedling have backed Godrich's call. Brown said "Solidarity and Tommy Sheridan have backed us every time we have taken action on the issues that concern our union. We have no hesitation in asking you to vote for a party that stands up for workers in struggle." while Gedling added, "All PCS members should vote Solidarity on May 3rd to give Scotland's workers a strong voice in the Scottish parliament."

Tommy Sheridan, Rosemary Byrne and hundreds of Solidarity members will join PCS members on the picket lines today.

Solidarity have received a major boost ahead of Thursday's election as leading members of the civil service union PCS have called on their members to vote for Solidarity. 270,000 members of the union will be out on strike today as part of their ongoing battle against job cuts, privatisation and low pay.

The PCS National President for the UK, Janice Godrich said (speaking in a personal capacity):

"Solidarity has been to the forefront in giving support to the pcs in our campaign to defend jobs and public services. This election is the chance for pcs members to elect MSPs who will put our interests first. By voting Solidarity on Thursday you will be helping to give us that voice."

Solidarity Co-Convenor Rosemary Byrne welcomed the news:

"We have shown our commitment to civil and public servantson the picket lines, in the workplace and in parliament. Gordon Brown has launched an all out attack on these peoples jobs and futures, it doesn't surprise me that the unions members no longer see Labour as the answer."

Alan Brown, vice president DWP and NEC and fellow NEC member Cheryl Gedling have backed Godrich's call. Brown said "Solidarity and Tommy Sheridan have backed us every time we have taken action on the issues that concern our union. We have no hesitation in asking you to vote for a party that stands up for workers in struggle." with Gedling adding, "All PCS members should vote Solidarity on May 3rd to give Scotland's workers a strong voice in the Scottish parliament."

Tomy Sheridan, Rosemary Byrne and solidarity members will PCS members on picket lines across Scotland today.