Alex Miller
On August 4 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Tommy Sheridan, Scottish Socialist Party MSP and former national convener of the party, won a defamation case he had brought against the right-wing tabloid newspaper the News of the World. In 2004, the newspaper had printed stories alleging that Sheridan had attended swingers clubs, participated in orgies, been unfaithful to his wife, and indulged in champagne- and cocaine-fuelled group sex. By a majority of 7-4, the jury awarded Sheridan the equivalent of A$600,000 damages.
On the face of it, this might seem like a victory the left should cheer, but the court battle has brought the SSP to the brink of destruction. Sheridan accused 11 key members of the SSP leadership of lying under oath and engaging in a political conspiracy to destroy him, and similar accusations have been levelled against a substantial segment of the most active part of the SSP rank-and-file.
In a detailed bulletin circulated to the SSP membership on August 7, Alan McCombes, the SSP's press and policy coordinator, set the record straight.
On November 9, 2004 an emergency meeting of the SSP executive committee (EC) was held in Glasgow after the publication of a News of the World article alleging that a married MSP had visited a swingers/sex club in Manchester. Rumours had been circulating that the MSP in question was Sheridan, and according to the minutes of the meeting that were ratified by subsequent EC meetings, "Tommy admitted to the meeting that he had in fact visited the club on two occasions, in 1996 and 2002 with close friends. He acknowledged that this had been reckless behaviour and had, with hindsight, been a mistake."
The EC's concern was not with any moral issue pertaining to Sheridan's admission, but with the strategy he proposed for dealing with the newspaper's allegations, which was to deny them regardless of their truth or falsity and to pursue legal action against the newspaper. The minutes record that "Without exception all contributors disagreed with the strategy of denying the allegations. All felt that this would be the most damaging strategy for the party. The general feeling was that this was a bad situation, and that the 'least worst' option must be found. All agreed that it would be better if Tommy changed his mind ..."
Sheridan's resignation
In the EC's view, there were three acceptable options for Sheridan: to simply ignore the allegations when the newspaper revealed his identity; to apologise for anything truthful in the allegations but deny anything false; or to admit to anything truthful but state that this was a private matter for himself and his family.
McCombes explained: "If Tommy handled the allegations with dignity and a degree of contrition, any damage would be temporary. People respect those who are prepared to take responsibility for their own actions. They would forgive, and over time forget, private indiscretions. What could destroy Tommy, however, would be precisely the course of action he appeared to be intent on taking — a sustained campaign of lies, including perjury."
The EC voted unanimously in favour of a motion giving Sheridan until November 13, 2004 to accept one of the three options or else resign as SSP national convener. Sheridan announced his resignation on November 10.
At a meeting of the SSP national council on November 28, 2004, two motions were carried by large majorities. The first, carried by 85 votes to 20, stated that the council "recognises the difficult decisions faced by the Executive Committee at the November 9 special Executive Committee meeting" and supports the decision regarding Sheridan's resignation. The second, carried by 93 votes to 10, accepted Sheridan's resignation and stated that "Tommy remains a valued member of the most dynamic team of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament. The National Council completely dismisses the rumours that have circulated in the press that Tommy's resignation was provoked by a leadership challenge, a factional power struggle or any other form of internal in-fighting."
Sheridan himself issued a press release following the November 28 meeting stating that "I wholeheartedly support the SSP Executive Committee statement agreed at today's meeting. The Scottish Socialist Party has today showed great maturity in reaching a unified position on the way forward." Sheridan confirmed that his resignation "has nothing at all to do with internal power struggles. There is not and never has been any internal squabbles or back-biting about a leadership challenge."
Vilifying the SSP
Sheridan subsequently completely changed his version of events and claimed in court that he had been the victim of "the mother of all stitch-ups" and that the EC meeting minutes were a forgery. As McCombes reported, "From day one of the trial, Tommy set about vilifying his own party. His campaign of denigration reached its depths when Tommy accused 11 SSP members of committing perjury in pursuit of a political vendetta against him. In an outburst that was reported on the national news, he attacked Keith Baldassara as 'bitter and twisted', 'the mother of all backstabbers' and the 'chief character assassin'. This about the man who has been the lynchpin of the socialist movement on the ground in Pollok — and who has for seven years carried out the demanding and non-glamorous work of dealing with people's problems on the ground on behalf of Tommy Sheridan."
During the trial, 11 members of the SSP were given court citations to appear as witnesses by the News of the World. They had no choice but to attend and did so under protest: failure to do so would have left them open to the possibility of jail sentences and heavy fines. In anticipation of the citations, the EC voted in June that SSP members cited should tell the truth in court to avoid prosecution for contempt of court. The SSP witnesses confirmed that Sheridan admitted to the EC meeting that he had visited Cupid's sex club. These witnesses included MSPs Colin Fox (national convener), Rosie Kane and Carolyn Leckie, as well as McCombes, Allan Green (national secretary), Richie Venton (Glasgow regional organiser), Baldassara, Jo Harvie (editor of Scottish Socialist Voice), Barbara Scott (minutes secretary), Catriona Grant (EC member) and Allison Kane (national treasurer). During the court case, Sheridan accused all of these SSP comrades of lying and of participating in a political conspiracy against him. After his victory they are now open to perjury charges.
The London-controlled Socialist Worker and CWI platforms in the SSP have been supporting Sheridan in his onslaught against the leadership, but aspects of their position would suggest that they are doing so for narrow and purely sectarian reasons. A document dated June 21, 2006 and circulated to the International Socialist Tendency by Socialist Worker platform members claims that the decision in 2001 of SWP members in Scotland to unite with the SSP was based "on a recognition that, under Sheridan's leadership, the Party was genuinely seeking to break with the sectarian politics of Militant from which many of its leading members came, and to reach out to those disaffected with New Labour on the one hand and those involved in the growing anti-war and anti-capitalist movement on the other".
Yet as McCombes pointed out, "Prior to November 2004, Tommy's principal opponents inside the SSP were groups who are now among his most uncritical supporters. The Socialist Worker platform, for example, repeatedly attacked Tommy as a 'nationalist', especially from 2003 onwards. The CWI had for long denounced Tommy as a 'left nationalist' and a 'parliamentary reformist'. In contrast, those who have been accused of 'assassinating' Tommy Sheridan were on the same side as Tommy in all the political battles fought out within the party prior to November 2004."
By the SW platform's own admission, the SW platform representative at the November 9 EC voted in favour of the motion to ask for Sheridan's resignation, and only later had a "change of heart". The combination of lies, lack of political principle, and willingness to develop a cult of the "great leader" exhibited by these platforms can truly be described as Stalinist.
Titanic battle?
A statement signed by many Socialist Worker and CWI members prior to the court case described it as a "titanic battle" between Sheridan and the News of the World. But according to McCombes, "This was never a titanic battle. The miners' strike was a titanic battle. The Poll Tax campaign was a titanic battle ... These were major struggles against injustice and inequality involving vast numbers of people. In Tommy Sheridan versus News Group newspapers, the only principle at stake was the right to hypocrisy."
Despite setting up the court victory as a one-man win over the right-wing press, Sheridan immediately sold his story for £25,000 to the New Labour-supporting Scottish tabloid the Daily Record. The August 7 Record carried pictures of Fox, Kane, Leckie and Frances Curran, with the word "scab" superimposed on each. The headline read: "Sheridan exclusive: I'll destroy the scabs who tried to ruin me."
In a statement issued on the same day, Fox called on "all SSP members, regardless of their views during this court case, to immediately, today, disassociate themselves from Tommy Sheridan's scurrilous smear".
It is unclear as yet if and how the SSP can survive the catastrophe brought down upon its head by Sheridan's actions. One thing that is abundantly clear, however, is that if the project of building a genuine mass socialist party in Scotland has a future, it will be in spite of Sheridan's actions, not because of them.
[Alex Miller is a member of the SSP and the Australian Democratic Socialist Perspective. On June 11, SSP United Left was launched to counter the attacks from Sheridan and his newly-acquired political allies. For more information, visit <http://www.ssp-ul.org>. Messages of solidarity for the SSP 11 can be emailed to <scottishsocialistparty@btconnect.com>.]