SSP 2015 – candidate microblogs
Paisley and Renfrewshire South – Sandra Webster
As we move into the last few frantic weeks of campaigning we continue to challenge the status quo. We have at least two stalls a week one in the constituency and others in the areas we are targeting for the election. These have all been very successful and we continue to meet new voters. We are building for a public meeting on 9 April in Glenburn (where Sandra lives) and are grateful for the offer of support from other branches. With blue skies coming we are looking forward to canvassing all through the month ahead. We have to say a huge well done to Lindsay Brown for all his fundraising on local stalls which have helped us to arrange printing and other costs. Also a thank you to all at Strangeways Night who raised a magnificent £250 for the election. We are overwhelmed by others’ kindness. So we look forward to the door-chapping and the continuation of Sandra’s soapbox and reaching out to so many new people who are keen to hear about our policies and how they can transform lives.
Edinburgh South – Colin Fox
Around six weeks remain to the General Election, and the SSP campaign in Edinburgh South continues apace with leafletting, canvassing and stalls. With each passing week many of the new activists we recruited during and since the referendum campaign are displaying increased signs of confidence as they gain the campaigning experience and develop the practical skills that will prove so crucial for the party our and our cause, not only now, but in 2016. The latest drive has been to build for our upcoming meeting covering the Marchmont and Bruntsfield area to the northern end of the constituency, looking at the additional powers the SSP works to see devolved to Holyrood. Between the Edinburgh branches we’ve delivered all 5000 leaflets in only five days. Further, we’ve held successful stalls in the area itself, whilst still running stalls four times a week on Princes Street. The response? Positive and heartening. These stalls for the meeting have found further evidence of what our canvassing already shows: in Edinburgh concentrated and consistent campaigning has done a great deal to raise the profile of the party and our programme, and continues to do so. At one recent stall in the constituency, the question of replacing the council tax was raised several times – our proposal for the income based Scottish Service Tax on each occasion proved popular, and a number of votes were wholehearted pledged to the SSP. We’ve raised the SSP’s banner high as the clear and credible alternative to austerity. The time and opportunity to be building the SSP as Scotland’s alternative to austerity is now. Don’t miss it!
Glasgow South West – Bill Bonnar
The SSP campaign in the Glasgow South West constituency is now in full swing. In fact, it could prove to be a biggest campaign on the ground of all contesting parties other than the SNP. Already the first batch of 10,000 leaflets have been delivered door to door. This highlights , among other things, the Scottish Socialist Party campaign for a £10 per hour Living Wage. The party is holding regular street stalls, primarily in Govan and have just held the first of two public meetings. This was on the issue of UKIP and Immigration and took place in Govan with National co-spokesperson, Colin Fox the main speaker. The meeting was very successful and another public meeting is planned for the end of the month. The SSP is also using the local media to great effect, particularly the community radio station; Sunny Govan Radio which will broadcast an interview with SSP candidate, Bill Bonnar, prior to a major hustings with the other candidates. The party is also planning to carry out some very specific canvassing. Financially the campaign is going well with the deposit secured through some good election fundraising and more money on the way. The contest should prove to be a tight battle between the Labour Party and SNP with sitting MP Ian Davidson no doubt hoping that enough Tory voters will tactically vote Labour to secure his seat. So much for ‘vote Labour to keep the Tories out’. For the SSP this election is about creating a real presence in the constituency and continuing the efforts to build the party.
Glasgow East – Liam McLaughlan
Since the last issue of the voice, it’s been a pretty hectic few weeks here for Glasgow East SSP. As I write, we’ve just came in from a leafletting session in an Easterhouse ‘scheme’ promoting this coming Monday’s public meeting to highlight our £10 an hour minimum wage demand and end to Zero Hours Contracts with myself, Christine (an ex-councillor for the area) and our national co-spokesperson Colin Fox. Tomorrow, we’ll be outside Easterhouse Shopping Centre with our regular stall and our leaflet to promote the public meeting while we’re at it. With six weeks to go, we will hope to be an ever-present campaigning force in the area and hope to raise as much publicity and recognition for the party as possible. With several local hustings on the way, many more leafletting and canvassing runs to come, and the possibility of another public meeting, there’s plenty to be done. Any and every bit of help is greatly appreciated, and we remain confident of shifting the debate in the area to the left and once again highlighting the SSP’s unwavering commitment to bettering working class people’s lives. As well as this, in having the only locally based candidate and the only candidate pledging to take no more than the wage of a skilled worker in Scotland if given the privilege and honour of representing the East End, we’ve got plenty to shout about.
Scottish Socialist Voice 
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