More than 120 branch delegates and a substantial number of visitors attended a conference in Glasgow on March 3 to finalise the Scottish Socialist Party's manifesto for May's Scottish Parliament elections.
The SSP will be contesting seats in all eight regions as well as more than 150 council seats. The manifesto will be centred around six main radical pledges:
* To build a nationwide resistance against war and the upgrade of Britain's Trident nuclear weapons system: "A vote for the SSP is a vote for mass civil disobedience to get Scotland out of Iraq and Afghanistan and to get nuclear weapons out of Scotland."
* To fight for a referendum on independence by the end of 2007: "A vote for the SSP is a vote to get Scotland out of Britain."
* To fight for a national free public transport system, with funding saved by "scrapping the £4 billion [$10 billion] of prestige transport projects such as M74 and the Edinburgh airport rail-link".
* To fight for 100,000 new affordable homes for rent and an end to misery, overcrowding and homelessness caused by high property values.
* To continue the fight to replace the Council Tax with a progressive, income-based Scottish Service Tax.
* To continue the highly popular campaign for free nutritious school meals for all Scottish schoolchildren.
According to the SSP website: "All our candidates stand on a platform of taking no more than the average wage of a skilled worker because the SSP views it as an obscenity that MSPs are amongst the highest earners in Scotland, many representing some of the most impoverished areas in Europe."
The March 9 Scottish Socialist Voice reported that "delegates were boosted by a message of support from film-maker Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty and the concession by the First Minister on school meals which will give free lunches to a further 80,000 children".
On March 3 BBC News reported that SSP national convener Colin Fox had used his speech at the conference to launch a scathing attack on Labour First Minister Jack McConnell. "He loyally apes everything [PM Tony] Blair does. Blair supports Trident Two, so wee Jack McConnell says 'I support Trident Too'. Blair supports 20 more nuclear power stations, Jack says 'I support 20 more nuclear power stations too'. Blair supports the illegal and barbarous war in Iraq, Jack McConnell supports it too. Blair supports rendition flights, so does Jack. Blair supports dawn raids, so does Jack. Blair builds private hospitals, schools, prisons etc, so does Jack. Blair says we cannot afford pensions, Jack McConnell says likewise. Blair widens the grotesque inequalities and so does Jack McConnell."