The SNP is expected to become the largest party in Soctland after the May 3 election. This has both Labour and the Tories in a dither because, you see, the SNP favors independence.
From the SNP manifesto:
The SNP believe Scotland and England should be equal nations â┚¬â€œ friends and partners – both free to make our own choices.
This has the British ruling class upset while the Scottish ruling class appears to be onboard. WSWS says the whole thing is Tartan Tories, a right-wing ploy cloaked in left-wing rhetoric while Red Squirrel says, let’s fight for real change.
We need to fight against the SNP’s vision of Scotland as a corporate tax haven and promote the idea of a socialist republic. If the Scottish people are to be mobilized in strong numbers against the British state, they must be offered something more than a smaller Britain with a nice fresh coat of tartan paint.
On May 3rd, the only alternative to job losses, pay cuts, public sector decay and environmental destruction on the ballot paper is the Scottish Socialist Party. After May 3rd, the only viable vehicle for the fight against both the British state and capitalism will remain the Scottish Socialist Party.
The SSP, who has six members in the Scottish parliament, also takes a considerably stronger line on independence, calling for –
A referendum on independence within twelve months, to give the people of Scotland the right to decide whether they want to remain part of the UK, or move towards an independent state with the power to pull Scottish troops out of Iraq, end dawn raids, and get rid of nuclear weapons.
WSWS is as usual wide off the mark when dealing with concrete prospects. As all isolated ortho Trots, they have little contact with reality, as their views are only informed by theoretical musings, rather than practical action, of which one hour, is worth days of theorizing (Trotsky’s words not mine!). The result is that instead of joining the SSP as a platform and arguing their points inside a united vanguard, they run for election to Scottish parliament on their own and their campaign consists in handing out leaflets about lectures on Trotsky’s life to workers. As if the biography of the old man is of any concern to people struggling for their livelihoods.
Exactly. The “More Red Than Thou” factions generally don’t actually do much except to criticize those who are for being insufficiently doctrinaire.