GLASGOW — An opinion poll, commissioned by the Glasgow Herald has revealed that support for the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) is running at 9%. Support for the party has continued to grow steadily since scoring 2% of the vote in the 1999 election for the Scottish Parliament.
The SSP's MP Tommy Sheridan has a high profile due to his championing of the the concerns of his working-class constituents. He has also been very vocal in opposition to the British Labour government's drive to join the US war on Iraq.
With the Greens support at 6% and "others" at 4%, support for small parties and independents is at an unprecedented 19%. This shows that a large section of Scottish people no longer intend to automatically give up their vote to the big parties.
Another aspect to the poll is that 44% of Scots are now committed to parties that favour Scotland's independence. This is further underlined by 59% being in favour of the Scottish Parliament having tax raising powers, with 61% of Labour voters going against their party's policy of keeping these powers in Westminster.
Support for the SSP is consistent across all age groups and regions. However, there is a peak of 12% in the 18-24 age group, showing more and more young people are becoming attracted to radical politics.
[From the Scottish Socialist Voice, Visit <http://www.scottishsocialistvoice.net>.]
From Green Left Weekly, October 23, 2002.
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