Israel-Palestine will be at centre of Scots socialist debate

Submitted by AWL on 8 February, 2003 - 10:38

The Scottish Socialist Party conference will take place on 22-23 February in Glasgow. Angela Paton reports

A mix of issues will be debated at the SSP's conference, from the contentious motions on Israel/Palestine to mundane and unnecessary reaffirmation of existing policy, from the downright bizarre to the sensible motions, reflecting the life of a proper political party. Here are the low/highlights:

  • There are motions about the conduct of the party's MSPs - including one entitled "anti-sleaze" (surely stating the obvious!)
  • A truly terrible one motion from Tayside branch which says the SSP should be looking towards merging its agenda with that of the Green Party, while replacing part of our constitution with the old Labour Party Clause Four!
  • There are many (seemingly) benign, innocuous motions: on road equivalent tariffs for island communities (opposing competitive tendering on ferry services and a re-organisation of the publicly-owned Cal Mac ferries); for good quality, universal, accessible childcare with childcare tax credit paid at 100%, and well-paid, trained and qualified childcare workers; and for the SSP to organise a demonstration in March/April for the Scottish service tax. Does that meant that there won't be a demo if conference votes against it? Bit of a pointless motion if you ask me.
  • All delegates should support the Women's Campaign motion calling for the SSP to launch a UK wide campaign to reform the Abortion Act so that doctors can't block access on the grounds of moral opposition.
  • Secular education is on the agenda, with current SSP policy in favour of secular education, and a motion in to make it a prominent campaign during the elections. Although it's a current issue in Scotland, I wouldn't necessarily make it a prominent campaign for the elections.
  • The motion on PPP/PFI is sensible, calling for continued opposition to PFI, cancellation of all PPP contracts previously entered into with no compensation for big business and an upgrade of wages and conditions of the private sector in line with the public sector (although quite how this would be done it doesn't say).
  • There's a hotch-potch campaigning motion, on childcare and the childcare tax credit, also mentioning nationalisation of industries, free fuel for pensioners, free school meals for all children and a "decent" minimum wage.
  • Energy policy may provide a less obvious flashpoint at the conference, with a motion calling for legislation to prohibit domestic standing charges, no bulk discounts for big business and to provide sufficient funding for "local authority housing improvement grants to pay for insulation, double glazing and other energy efficiency measures, with a target of completion within six years". The division will be in the detail, not the substance I expect.
  • We will revisit that old chestnut - Scottish independence - with a Tay Coast motion. This further exposes the misnomer of "an independent socialist Scotland", with some very skewed logic... "In the tradition of striking at imperialism at its weakest link outlined by McLean, Connolly and Lenin among others we believe that Scottish socialists not only need to support Scotland's right to self-determination and independence but have an international duty to do so and thus weaken British imperialism".

    The "RCN Scotland" (not to be confused with the RCN which covers the whole of Britain) has a motion on socialist unity, although likely to be manoeuvred off the agenda. Shame, as it is a sensible motion calling for the SSP to aid socialist unity with England and Wales, twin with Socialist Alliance branches, launch joint campaigns and have the SSP paper the Voice cover SA activities. I would foresee a problem in the resolve to have a common platform with the SA for Westminster and Euro election.

  • The Executive have put forward a trade union strategy which at first glances seems to merely re-iterate last year's policy. But it also calls for a stepping up of the Make the Break campaign which aims to get trade unions to break from Labour and get their funds transferred to the SSP.
  • The anti-war motions will produce a heated debate, with a motion from the CWI platform (which I personally find rather sensible) going head-to-head with a motion from the Socialist Worker Platform (imperialism is the root of all evil, Saddam and those who use terrorist tactics aren't as bad as America and Britain).
  • The real crux of the debates will centre around Israel/Palestine, with the ISM (SSP majority faction) proposing an awful motion, advocating a democratic secular state in Israel/Palestine and "victory to the intifada", to placate the SW Platform. That motion will be counterposed to a two-nations, two-states position in a motion from the CWI Platform.

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