Scottish Republican Socialist Party
Encyclopedia
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. They were formed out of the Scottish Republican Socialist Clubs, formed in 1973 to introduce socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
to the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
(SNP) and grow support for Scottish independence
Scottish independence
Scottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become an independent sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland....
amongst left-wingers who supported the retention of the Union with the rest of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The expulsion of the 79 Group
79 Group
The 79 Group was an internal faction within the Scottish National Party , named after the fact that it was formed in 1979. The group sought to persuade the SNP to take an active left-wing stance, arguing that it would win more support, and were highly critical of the established SNP leaders...
from the SNP led to the Republican Clubs deciding to form as a coherent political party and they formed themselves into the SRSP in 1982.
Whilst agreeing with the SNP, insofar as they believed in independence, the SRSP believed that this should be combined with support for socialism. They argued that independence for the working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
is meaningless unless it is socialist, and adopted an abstentionist position towards Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
elections.
The SRSM has been active, not only campaigning for Scottish independence via the Independence First
Independence First
Independence First or Independence 1st is a political movement in Scotland, first proposed through internet discussions in September 2004, then formally constituted on 19 February 2005...
initiative, but by its Annual 1320 Declaration of Arbroath
Declaration of Arbroath
The Declaration of Arbroath is a declaration of Scottish independence, made in 1320. It is in the form of a letter submitted to Pope John XXII, dated 6 April 1320, intended to confirm Scotland's status as an independent, sovereign state and defending Scotland's right to use military action when...
Rallies, Annual Glencoe
Massacre of Glencoe
Early in the morning of 13 February 1692, in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprising of 1689 led by John Graham of Claverhouse, an infamous massacre took place in Glen Coe, in the Highlands of Scotland. This incident is referred to as the Massacre of Glencoe, or in...
Rallies, John MacLean
John Maclean (Scottish socialist)
John Maclean MA was a Scottish schoolteacher and revolutionary socialist. He is primarily known as a Marxist educator and notable for his outspoken opposition to the First World War....
commemoration and campaigning at a grassroots level.
SRSM & SSP
In 1998, the Scottish Socialist PartyScottish Socialist Party
The Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
(SSP) was formed and the SRSP narrowly decided to join them, and reformed as a cross-party movement called the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement. Many members ended up within the SSP, but not exclusively. In 2005, the SNP proscribed membership of the SRSM, claiming it was "SSP".
The SRSM was active in campaigning against attempts within the SSP to ditch the policy of supporting independence. It succeeded at persuading high profile SSP members like Alan McCombes
Alan McCombes
Alan William McCombes has been a leading member of the Scottish Socialist Party for several years, and was the editor of the Scottish Socialist Voice.-Background:...
, Rosie Kane
Rosie Kane
Rosemary "Rosie" Kane is a Scottish Socialist Party politician, and former Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Glasgow Region....
and Kevin Williamson
Kevin Williamson (politician)
Kevin Williamson is a writer, publisher, and activist originally from Caithness. He is a Scottish socialist and republican and was an activist for the Scottish Socialist Party , and was the architect of their radical drug policy, which includes the legalisation of cannabis and the provision by...
to speak at its rallies and for its cause.
In October 2006, the SRSM announced that it was disaffiliating with the Scottish Socialist Party
Scottish Socialist Party
The Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
and becoming a cross party organisation.