SCOTTISH
LEFT
PROJECT
OPENING
STATEMENT
T
ENS OF THOUSANDS of ordinary people
became active in politics during the long
independence campaign. A record number
registered to vote, seeing the possibilities and the
point of politics for the first time. The resulting Yes
movement has become one of the most important
political forces in these islands. Together, we
dreamed, we learned and we talked of how we
could build the society we want. These dreams
must not be abandoned. Instead, our diverse nation
must find new ways to work together to make them
a reality.
There is a need for something truly new and
original to be born out of the independence
good in the communities they claim to represent.
Bringing power to the Scottish people is at the
heart of this programme. Crucially, this project will
work to ensure that Scottish politics reflects the
diversity of Scottish communities. We demand a
citizens’ audit of the debt that is imprisoning our
national finances. It must be up to the public to
decide which parts are legitimate and which not.
Tools such as participatory budgeting will ensure
that direct democracy is brought into the heart of
how Scotland works.
Scotland needs a new citizens’ politics. The days
of a professional political class running our lives are
numbered. Hundreds of thousands of citizens in
THE LABOUR PARTY HAS BETRAYED US FOR TOO LONG,
WE NEED TO REPLACE THEM PERMANENTLY
movement that can manifest itself at the ballot
box in 2016 and beyond. We do not presume to
have all of the answers, but we intend to start a
conversation around certain core principles that
must be represented in politics once more.
That is why this project is being launched. It will
be based on the principles of radical social change:
participatory democracy, democratic public
ownership, the redistribution of wealth and power
from the rich to the poor and full independence
from the British state and its monarch.
It will stand for the two spirits of ’45: the vast
grassroots movement that inspired 45% of the
population to vote Yes for social justice and equality
in an independent Scotland; and the year of 1945,
when the generation that had defeated fascism
created the National Health Service, even while
public debt was at its highest ever.
Our process for developing this work will be
people led, rooted in dialogue and action. We want
to hear what people want from a new politics. We
want to have the widest possible discussion about
how we can work together to ensure parliament
represents the millions not the millionaires.
This is a project that will learn from communities,
engage with trade unions and develop from the
grassroots. In this, we take our inspiration from
the rise of groups like Spain’s Podemos, which has
made great progress in creating a citizens’ politics.
Forums will be created to discuss how the Scottish
Left can present the best possible socialist challenge
at the Holyrood elections in 2016, and we will
crowdsource policies that truly deliver for working
people. This will not happen overnight, but the
long-term aim of this project is to change the face of
Scottish politics. The Labour party has betrayed us
for too long. We need a strategy to replace them for
Scotland want radical change and their voices must
be heard. Let’s talk, lets act, and lets work together
to ensure that at 2016 there is a co-ordinated
socialist challenge engrained in the communities
and campaigns who are at the forefront of changing
Scotland
SIGNATORIES INCLUDE
DEBORAH WATERS, Labour for Independence
JIM SILLARS, author of In Place of Fear 2
DR MYRTO TSAKATIKA, Glasgow University,
member of SYRIZA Scotland
ALAN WYLLIE, Community activist and founder
of No2Bedroom tax
EMMA STEWART, Member of EIS
CAT BOYD, Trade unionist and a co-founder of RIC
KEN FERGUSON, Editor of Scottish Socialist Voice
JOHN WILSON MSP
FIONNLAGH O’FEE, Student activist with NUS
and Labour for Independence
JONATHON SHAFI, a co-founder of RIC
DR. NICK MCKERRELL
CLAIRE GALLAGHER, Community activist and
member of Unite the Union
FRANCES CURRAN, ex-MSP
ALAN McCOMBES, co-author of Imagine
JOHN DAVIDSON, PCS trade unionist
PAT SMITH, independence activist
DR STEWART DAVIDSON, Glasgow Caledonian
Univrrity
SARAH GLYNN, University of West of Scotland
CHARLIE McCARTHY
KEZIA KINDER, Women for Independence (pc)
COLM BREATHNACH, University of Strathclyde
SUKI SANGHA, STUC General Council (pc)
FROM THE MOVEMENT: Podemos in Spain emerged from radical social movements and has became, within only a year, a huge factor in Spanish politics.
CAN THE
LEFT CHANGE
SCOTLAND? YES
WE CAN
CAT BOYD ON THE NEED FOR A
NEW LEFT
D
ESPITE WHAT THE media told us, voters
in the Scottish referendum weren’t simply
motivated by crude self-interest. Rather, for
many it was their first opportunity to take control, to
revolt against their alienation from the political and
economic system: to be independent and to shape
that independence. All of us at RIC are striving to
make sure it is not their last opportunity.
The referendum overturned “politics as normal”,
and transcended party leaders, manifestos and
traditions. The cutting edge of the independence
debate was democracy and collectivity. Sadly,
regardless of their political differences, neither
of the current Labour leadership candidates
understands this dramatic shift. They are cut adrift
from the emerging Scottish politics.
Scotland needs a social movement now more than
ever. RIC can demand that devolution is opened
up, that topics like employment law are devolved
to Scotland so we can eliminate the scourge of zero
hour contracts and Dickensian working conditions.
RIC must remain a movement of the street, holding
those elected to account.
But how can our movement exert more power
and influence post-referendum? During the
independence campaign, activists and writers often
looked to Europe for inspiration, particularly the
Nordic countries. But Europe is also producing new
types of Left organisation - United Left (Združena
levica) in Slovenia, Podemos in Spain, Syriza in
Greece - all commanding huge popular support.
In comparable countries to our own, the Left poll
upwards of 10% of the popular vote. In Scotland,
even after the referendum, the socialist left sits
on little over 0 percent in polls, having gained a
combined 0.6% last time.
It’s not that Scots are against socialism: we just
lack the right vehicle. Scotland deserves a New
Left, like the rest of Europe. We need the wisdom
of those who have struggled for decades and the
energy of those whose eyes are just opened. For
those who want to begin this dialogue, we’re
creating the Scottish Left Project.
To be clear, the Scottish Left Project is a project. It is
not a party nor do those involved presume to have all
the answers; but we want to begin the conversation
with other socialists, radical independence
campaigners and activists for social justice
about the best way to take left-wing and socialist
principles forward into 2016. We aim to present
an effective socialist option on the ballot paper in
2016 which is broad, inclusive and accessible. We
want to learn from the best of the social movement
for independence, and from the very best parts of
the Radical Independence Campaign, which was
based on education, empowerment, co-operation
and discussion.
In my view, we need this Project. It stems
from the very core of our beliefs: the desire for a
radical redistribution of wealth and power in a
Scotland freed from the history of Empire and
neoliberalism at Westminster. We want Scotland to
be independent. And we want working class people
to have a powerful voice.
A diverse Scottish Parliament with a multi-party
system is the best way to achieve a strong voice for
independence. I believe socialists have a huge role
to play in this process. That’s why I’m delighted to
begin this discussion, and I hope it can put us back
on the map.
WHY SLP?
I WAS DELIGHTED to be asked to support the left
project statement as it is my opinion it encapsulates
the aspirations of the majority of the people in
Scotland and sets out basic principles as a society we
should be striving to achieve. For a true democracy
the citizens must be engaged of all aspects of policy
formulation and debate. The referendum campaign
showed that when people were given an opportunity
to participate in public meetings and campaign for
what they believed could be possible they grasped
that opportunty with both hands. The Scottish Left
Project will enable a socialist perspective, free from
party political dogma, to be developed, debated
and pursued which will challenge the orthodox
thinking in politics today.
JOHN WILSON MSP
THERE ARE ONLY certain times in history
where the opportunity presents for people to
make a change in society, not a wee change but a
fundamental, transformative, all encompassing
change that creates an entirely new society.
Only certain generations get that chance. It
depends on how the economic, political,social and
cultural planets align.
Who is going to challenge the economic
establishment, the economic power concentrated in
unregulated global corporations, the economic elite
who continue to accumulate wealth as we see less
of it in our daily lives?
How do we shift wealth and power to ordinary
people and create a new economic model through
politics and parliament and through empowering
people at the grass roots.
That’s what the Scottish Left Project is about.
Tens of thousands of people consider themselves to
be left, to be anti-capitalist, interconnected across
the Yes campaign, Women for Independence,
Radical Independence, the Scottish Socialist Party,
The Common Weal, The Green Party, and many
more places.
Can we create a new left, learning the lessons of
the past and co-operating for the future? Let’s talk,
the planets are moving into alignment.
FRANCES CURRAN
OVER THE LAST two years, the people of Scotland
have changed in ways we could not have imagined.
People have dared to dream and work towards
a more equal, just and democratic country but
poverty and fear are a reality for many. It does
not have to be like that. The Scottish Left Project
comes at just the right time to bring people together
to struggle for the change we need.
PAT SMITH
WANT TO KNOW MORE AND HEAR FROM
MORE ACTIVISTS? Make sure and visit the Scottish
Left Project website: thepeopledemand.org.