By John Wight

The upcoming Scottish elections on May 3rd undoubtedly hold an importance which far outweighs the reserved powers of the Scottish Parliament. The near certainty of the historic collapse of Labour’s stranglehold in Scotland, and the rise of the SNP as the majority party in Scottish politics, carries with it the serious proposition of the break-up of the British state.

For Solidarity the answer lies not in adopting one or the other, but in utilising both approaches - a twin track approach, if you like, of bread today as we continue to work for roses in the socialist tomorrow we all hope to see come to pass.

More specifically, if it is to influence a change in the consciousness of the working class for the battles and struggles ahead, the first and primary responsibility of any socialist party or formation when entering the mainstream political arena is to make itself relevant to the needs of the same working class in the here and now. This can only be done through its ability to win gains on the so-called bread and butter issues; and in this regard there has been no more effective socialist in the Scottish Parliament than Tommy Sheridan.

In the eight years of the parliament’s existence he has put more private members bills to the parliament than any other MSP – bills to abolish warrant sales, introduce free school meals, scrap the council tax, renationalise the railways, and most recently a bill to ban airguns. All of these have succeeded in either changing existing legislation (with regard to the successful abolition of warrant sales), or in pushing the issues involved to the top of the political agenda. It is notable, for example, that proposals to scrap the hated Council Tax are included in the 2007 election manifestos of the SNP, Lib-Dems, and the Greens, none of whom supported Tommy Sheridan’s bill to scrap it back at the beginning of 2006. 

When it comes to the big issues, such as Trident, the war in Iraq, and global poverty, the extra-parliamentary involvement of socialists in mass campaigns has undoubtedly played a significant part in pushing some of the mainstream opposition parties to the left, helping to shape a mass consciousness which makes it safe for them to oppose New Labour. In Scotland this has allowed the SNP to posit itself as an anti-establishment party on the big issues like Iraq, Trident, and on the corruption at the heart of Blair’s government with the initiation of the ongoing cash for peerages investigation.

In this the old adage of politics being a choice between weather vanes and signposts comes to mind. 

On the ground Solidarity members have and continue to play significant roles in all of the campaigns surrounding these big issues – in the antiwar movement and in the campaign to scrap Trident – but also in campaigns to stop dawn raids on asylum seekers, and in a variety of local campaigns the length and breadth of Scotland against hospital closures and the continued privatisation of local services. Consequently, a vital part of our role in the parliament and on local councils is providing political expression for these grassroots, bottom-up campaigns, thus providing them with an effectiveness they perhaps wouldn’t have otherwise.

Another exciting development in these elections comes as a result of the redrawing and expansion of local council wards and the introduction of the STV voting system in the local elections. This has opened up new opportunities for Solidarity, where locally we have encountered the same revulsion to New Labour as currently exists nationally.

This is hardly a surprise when the record of local authorities such as Edinburgh’s is taken into consideration. Labour controlled and run, over the past few years Edinburgh City Council has wasted millions of pounds in taxpayer’s money in trying to push through the transfer of existing council housing stock to private housing associations, in attempting to implement a flat rate congestion charge, and in attempting to tear down public assets such as Meadowbank sports stadium and leisure centre preparatory to selling off the land to property developers. Taken in total, this constitutes nothing less than a concerted attack on Edinburgh’s working class, who’ve responded with strong and vigorous local campaigns that have succeeded in defeating the council on each of the aforementioned issues.

So whilst, yes, the main beneficiaries of the mass revulsion towards New Labour that exists locally and nationally will almost certainly be the SNP, it has also opened up an opportunity for a fresh, vibrant and dedicated socialist alternative at both parliamentary and local level.

It is of course our hope that on May 3rd the Scottish working class will choose Solidarity as that socialist alternative.