Editorial, by Ken Ferguson As we proudly take the 600th edition of the Voice to press we do so against a background of a people and planet crisis inflicting hunger, war, floods, fire and economic misery on millions. All this is taking place in a world of unprecedented technological development which would have been unimaginable even when the first Voice was published in 1996. The world that has...

by Richie Venton, SSP by-election campaign manager The Scottish Socialist Party is standing up for the working class and genuine, radical socialist change in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election. We are campaigning for emergency measures to tackle the crimes of poverty and inequality in this rich nation. For a massive transfer of wealth and power away from the rich to the rest of us. We...

by Colin Fox, SSP national co-spokesperson · Scotland’s NHS is in the grip of its worst crisis in 75 years. Waiting times and waiting lists are at record levels. Staff morale is at its lowest ever with vacancies at their highest. It survived the pandemic but in doing so exposed lethal shortcomings in this country’s social care provision. Unable to keep the promises made about the length of...

Editorial by Ken Ferguson On every hand — Tory, Starmer Labour and the increasingly divided SNP — mainstream politicians share one key characteristic, in that they claim to represent the moderate majority. So, as the climate crisis burns out of control, and tens of thousands face poverty pay and a cost of living crisis, our supposed “leaders” cling to the failed system which generated the...

Dear Voice readers, The by-election in Rutherglen & Hamilton West is on! And the Scottish Socialist Party is standing local resident, lifelong socialist, and trade unionist, Bill Bonnar, as our candidate, to ensure a vigorous socialist challenge to both Starmer’s Continuity Conservatives and the uninspiring, pro-big business agenda of the SNP. I hope you’d agree the SSP has a long,...

The Deadly Promise by Gilou Bareau. Published by Folrose Book review by Elizabeth Stitt · The Deadly Promise is so much more than an absorbing read — which it is. Important social issues such as dysfunctional families and the impact they have through generations, addiction, homelessness and, perhaps above all, racism and factionalism within religious communities are handled with insight and...

by Natalie Reid, SSP national co-spokesperson Last month, the Scottish Government announced an increase in Council Tax bands E-H. The SNP claim this is a bid to make taxation fairer, as the lower bands will remain at their current rates. SNP Public Finance Minister, Tom Arthur has claimed “nobody has to pay a Council Tax bill they cannot be expected to afford, regardless of what band they are...

Sennaya Swami Naickar moved to Scotland recently with his work as a statistician and risk assessor in a major bank. He was determined to join the Scottish Socialist Party when he got here and tells SSP national co-spokesperson Colin Fox why… Hello Sennaya. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview. Perhaps we could begin with some background. Tell us about yourself. Yes of course. My name...

by Richie Venton · The Scottish Socialist Party have been out in force in Rutherglen, Cambuslang and Blantyre, campaigning for the policy which we pioneered and uniquely campaigned in favour of for the past 20 years: free public transport for people of all ages. Five separate, simultaneous SSP street stalls were held on the first Saturday in Rutherglen Main St, Cambuslang Main St, and Blantyre....

Commenting on the use of the ’nuclear option’ against the gender recognition act, Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) spokesperson Colin Fox said: “Had I still been an MSP, I would have voted for the Gender Recognition Reform Act passed by Holyrood in December. “Its general principles were, as Nicola Sturgeon and most other MSPs argued, ‘minor amendments which would have added to the...

TORIES WANT TO BAN RIGHT TO STRIKE: they’re set to imitate the actions of the worst dictatorships (photo: Craig Maclean) · by Richie Venton, SSP national workplace organiser  The Tories are hellbent on turning workers into slaves. They are rushing through legislation on so-called Minimum Service Levels that would effectively ban the right to strike for countless workers, and drastically...

Album review: The Ultra Vivid Lament Manic Street Preachers Released on 10 September Sony/Columbia ★★★★ by Simon Whittle · “Words wage war, meanings being missed,” sings James Dean Bradfield on Orwellian—first single from the new Manics album The Ultra Vivid Lament—“I’ll walk you through the apocalypse.” What an apocalypse the past 18 months has been. Main lyricist Nicky...

by Ken Ferguson · You couldn’t make it up when commenting on the current Johnson gang but then, amidst U-turns, blunders and clearly unplanned policies you don’t have to. In just the last few days, we had the debacle of not isolating at 8am then isolating at 10am after the PM and Chancellor were pinged over Covid and a Health Secretary who had to grovel after he described those of isolating...

by Richie Venton · The world has lost a chunk of its warmth and humanity with the recent death of dear friend and long time comrade, Danny O’Donnell. Anyone who ever met Danny, regardless of their age, came away with one main, lasting impression: a lovely man. He would charm people, total strangers included, not in the false manner of a dodgy salesman, but with his warmth and sincerity; a...

An outright victory against fire-and-rehire at Forth Valley College by Richie Venton, SSP national workplace organiser · Strike action and solidarity has won an outright, astonishing victory for EIS-FELA union members at Forth Valley College. Fifteen months ago, 27 lecturers were fired from their jobs and rehired as instructor/assessors, actually doing the same work but on drastically lower...

We need decisive action to halt devastation by Richie Venton, SSP national workplace organiser · Nearly 500 workers and their families at the last major manufacturing site in Glasgow’s East End, McVitie’s biscuits, are facing the devastation of outright closure by the owners, Turkish giant, Pladis. This is the company who enjoyed rocketing sales, production and profits during the...

by Simon Whittle · Wullie McGartland, one of Scottish socialism’s brightest shining stars and former Voice deputy editor, has died at the cruelly young age of 52 in Malaga, Spain, where he lived with his soulmate and wife, former Voice editor Jo Harvie. Legions of adoring friends, comrades and family will also miss him dearly. Revealing on social media that he was suffering from throat cancer...

by Richie Venton, SSP national workplace organiser · Lecturers in Scotland’s Further Education colleges have won an important victory that should boost the fighting morale of all workers, as we square up to the worst assault on pay, conditions and jobs for many years. Overpaid FE college bosses were hell-bent on bypassing hard-won national terms and conditions produced by previous strike...

by Richie Venton, SSP national workplace organiser  · Workers in both the NHS and local authorities are balloting on pay offers from the Scottish Government and COSLA, the local government employers. SSP members in the unions are joining with others in the call to reject both deals and fight on for fair pay. The hundreds of thousands in these two public services have been through the living hell...

Demand industrial action to reinstate workers and their contracts – nationalise under workers’ control! by Richie Venton, SSP national workplace organiser · Within 3 short months of being appointed as the new chief executive of Centrica last April, Chris O’Shea launched the missile of fire and rehire at the dedicated, loyal British Gas workforce. Since July 2020, engineers and office staff...