Tommy Sheridan Time To Go Demo 23 Sept 2006

http://www.solidarityscotland.org/ Tommy Sheridan of the organisation Solidarity : A new movement for socialism in Scotland Below is a statement taken from the solidarity website We share a historic responsibility to provide people in Scotland with a socialist alternative to the pro-market agendas of New Labour, Tories, Liberal Democrats and the SNP. Many working class voters are so disillusioned with politicians that they do not vote at all. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan continues its deadly course and Lebanon lies in ruins; this is the latest stage in a regional conflict at the root of which lies the same free-market agenda that has devastated working class communities the length and breadth of Scotland. Immigrant communities are under attack, Islamaphobia is on the rise and our civil liberties continue to be undermined. The scale of anger and disillusionment with New Labour is growing and the need for that socialist alternative is more urgent than ever. Sadly, the SSP is no longer able to play that role. We agree it is now only possible to take the socialist movement forward by immediately launching a new political party that will become, in time, the broad party of socialism in Scotland : bigger, better and bolder than that which has gone before, a fresh movement with an attractive, pioneering, and inclusive spirit, welcoming to all who join, irrespective of ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability. We will demonstrate SOLIDARITY WITH those fighting against low pay and oppression. SOLIDARITY AGAINST poverty and discrimination in all its forms. SOLIDARITY FOR an independent socialist nuclear free Scotland. Our new party will be A campaigning movement against social injustice and poverty, for a decent living wage and pensions for all, against hospital closures and local service cuts, for empowered communities and trade union rights, in opposition to racist discrimination and bigotry and all forms of oppression, for our civil liberties, and for public ownership and democratic control of our major industries, land and assets. A democratic movement for an independent socialist Scotland, a modern pluralist republic that harnesses our collective energies, talents and wealth for the benefit of all our citizens while safeguarding and respecting individual freedom in all its aspects. A workers movement that will support trade unionists and all workers in struggle, fighting for the rights of workers in Scotland and internationally whether or not they are already organised in a trade union, for the repeal of all anti-trade union laws. An anti-war movement opposing all imperialist wars wherever they occur and the current occupations of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine. A grass roots movement that will be active in campaigning around the issues that matter in all parts of Scotland, from the borders to the Northern Isles, from the Hebrides to the oil rigs of the North Sea, in our streets, in our communities and our workplaces