International Socialists (CWI Scotland)

£950,000 is a hellavu lot of money.  Especially when it comes on top off a salary of £1.2M. For a banker like Mr Stephen Hester, the Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) it is an obscene amount.  Against the background of families who will not receive anything like that income in their lifetimes and when they are on the sharp end of attacks on wages, pensions and welfare benefits, it is particularly obscene.

National tensions over the issue of Scottish independence were raised significantly following the blundering intervention of David Cameron and the ConDem coalition this week.The UK Westminster government attempted to force the hand of the SNP Scottish administration into holding a referendum within the next 18 months, rather than SNP First Minister Alex Salmond’s preferred option of late 2014.

In this special new year feature, Peter Taaffe looks back at 2011, a year of crisis, struggle and revolution. This article is based on a statement prepared for the Committee for a Workers' International, the world socialist organisation to which the Socialist Party Scotland is affiliated.

David Cameron was stoutly defending the 'nation'. This is what he claimed after he was humiliatingly defeated by 26 votes to one at the 9 December EU summit and withdrew from participating in discussions over a new EU treaty. Which nation?

Over 70 trade unionists, community campaigners and socialists gathered for a conference in Glasgow on December 10, to launch the Scottish Anti Cuts Coalition. The coalition will stand candidates across Scotland in the May 2012 council elections.

Millions of workers took part in the biggest strike seen in living memory against attacks on pensions and cuts by the Con-Dem government on November 30th. The next step in the battle against cuts is to prepare a further public sector shutdown in the new year At the same time many public sector workers will be discussing how we can build a political voice to represent us in elections. A meeting is taking place on Saturday in Glasgow to launch an anti-cuts coalition to contest the Scottish council elections next year.

We will see history being made on Wednesday when 3 million workers from 28 public sector trade unions strike against the ConDem attacks on pensions. As has become clear from the workplace meetings, the massive majorities for strike action in ballots and the response to Socialist Party stalls on this issue this is a strike that has huge public support. It's widely seen as an opportunity to hit back at the cuts and austerity programme of the government and not just on the issue of pensions.

The first important step in standing anti-cuts candidates in next year’s Scottish council elections was taken at a 70 strong meeting on Saturday. The initiative, led by prominent public sector trade unionists, is to establish an anti-cuts coalition that would aim to stand in as many areas as possible next May when all of Scotland’s councillors are up for election.

“November 30th will see millions of public sector workers taking strike action against the Con-Dem’s savagery. Our members have also seen an SNP government implementing year-on-year wage freezes and making deep cuts to public services in Scotland. By standing anti-cuts candidates we can begin to offer an alternative to all those facing cuts, while the bankers who created the crisis get off without a scratch.” Cheryl Gedling PCS NEC members in a personal capacity

As towns and cities across the UK basked in a record October heatwave, the 1st October “People First” demonstration in Glasgow took place in an unrelenting deluge of rain. The PCS emerged as the most popular union on the demo, not just for its leading role in fighting the cuts, but also for its generosity in handing out many “PCS poncho’s” for soaking marchers. (see picture)  

As the lively and colourful Scottish Anti-Cuts Alliance and PCS protest at the Scottish parliament made clear – we didn’t cause this crisis and it’s about time the elected politicians refused to make the cuts. The alternative would have been to set a needs budget and to have demanded a return of the billions stolen by the bankers and the Con-Dem government. Such a stand would gain mass support.

The Scottish Defence League sufered another defeat when they were unable to march or hold a static rally in Edinburgh on Saturday 10th October. The Scottish Defence League had planned to have a Rally and March from the American Embassy to the east end of Princes Street in Edinburgh. But Edinburgh Council banned the SDL from holding the march.  So the SDL, decided to have a static protest instead. Edinburgh United Against Racism and Unite Against Fascism held a counter demo.

Around 60 local residents in Ardler in Dundee attended a public meeting in the local community centre on Tuesday (06/09/11). The local GP Practice was closed following the retiral of the GP there a few weeks ago. Since then 1,700 local residents had been left without a service and NHS Tayside have been slow to address a number of concerns. There was no consultation with the local community.

By Peter Taaffe. Posted 7th September 2011

It is ten years since the twin towers came crashing down in New York. In the aftermath of that terrorist attack, US imperialism unleashed mass slaughter in Afghanistan and Iraq, leading some to believe that an era of total domination by the world's only superpower had arrived. But today's global economic crisis and US impotence in the face of revolution in North Africa and the Middle East has exposed the falsity of that view.

The Alpha Gannet oil leaks have been the UK’s worst oil spillage in a decade. The leak began 112 miles east of Aberdeen, on the 10th August after a routine helicopter flight over the North Sea spotted a large “sheen” on the surface. Despite Shell, the owners of the oil platform knowing there was a leak, no information was made publicly available for two days, until the oil spill covered a 20 mile by three mile area in the North Sea.