Guardian, Thursday May 17, 2001 Slow march to success for Scottish socialists Party fights high-profile campaign with eye on Holyrood poll in 2003 Kirsty Scott Tommy Sheridan was in characteristically forthright mood at the launch of the Scottish Socialist party's election campaign. "We're no gonnae win the election, and we're no gonnae win any seats," he told supporters and journalists squeezed into the Scotia bar, Glasgow's oldest pub. It's a monumental effort for a lost cause. The SSP are putting up candidates in all 72 Scottish seats and have almost bankrupted themselves to meet their expenses; �70,000 on soon-to-be-lost deposits and a further �30,000 to put a leaflet through every door. But Mr Sheridan is playing a long game, and there are few politicians left in Scotland prepared to mock him and his growing band of followers. In four out of the last five Scottish byelections, the SSP have beaten the Liberal Democrats. Their presence this time round could be enough to upset a few key marginals, and come the Scottish parliamentary elections in 2003, they might just be in a position to swing the balance of power at Holyrood. "What we want from this election is to assert ourselves as the fifth party in Scotland," says Mr Sheridan. "We want 100,000 votes and we are confident that by 2003 we will be fighting the Scottish elections on actual seats. We are confident we will get between six and eight seats and that will certainly be a problem for the established parties." Recently merged with the Socialist Workers party, the SSP has been boosted by a new System Three poll which shows increasing support outside their traditional base in Glasgow's industrial heart and grim peripheral estates. The study found 26% of voters in the Highlands and Islands were considering voting for the SSP, compared to 21% in Glasgow and 7% in the Edinburgh area. Mr Sheridan said the key to the party's growing appeal is simple. "We set out to drag socialism back on to the political agenda in Scotland and we've done it," he said. "We have doubled our support in the space of two years and we are now looking a very credible presence. "If the Labour party were doing what they are supposed to do, then there would not be a place for us. But Labour has abandoned its socialist soul and the principles and policies that went with it." Since he burst to prominence during the poll tax revolts of the early 1990s, Mr Sheridan, 36, has delighted in rattling Scotland's political establishment. Jailed twice for his participation in anti- nuclear demonstrations, the activist with the penchant for snappy suits and sunbeds became the SSP's only elected representative in the Scottish parliament and took his oath of office with a raised fist. But he has also made his mark at Holyrood. Last year he introduced the parliament's first private member's bill to abolish warrant sales, a much-hated method of debt recovery. Three committees backed his move but the executive opposed it. Under revolt from Labour backbenchers who lined up behind Mr Sheridan, the executive was forced to allow the bill to go through. In this election the SSP manifesto includes a �7 an hour minimum wage, the scrapping of Trident, and the replacement of the council tax with a service tax for the rich, which, they point out, would leave Stagecoach boss Brian Souter with an �88,000 annual bill rather than the �1,500 or so he currently pays. Mr Sheridan denies it is an indulgent wish list from a party with no chance of power. "When someone says to me �7 an hour is unrealistic, my answer is that �4 is unrealistic because no one can live on that. We have got to start raising people's sights. There is a lack of vision in the parties today and a lack of ideals." Frances Curran, 39, a former member of Labour's NEC before she was expelled from the party, is standing in Paisley South for the SSP. She says: "What we're doing is putting down a marker for all those who don't want to vote for a society that's led by corporate greed. There is a growing mood internationally and we are going to build on that in Scotland." Analysts have warned the mainstream parties not to overlook the SSP in their election calculations. It is thought they could just tip the scales in Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber where Labour are vulnerable to the SNP. "I have been saying for some time, don't ignore the far left in this contest," said John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde university. "Potentially, they are going to cost Labour the odd seat. They are going to be player number five in Scotland and they will potentially be a refuge for disillusioned traditional Labour voters." To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
