Scottish Republican Socialist Party
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Scottish Republican Socialist Movement | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leader | Donald Anderson |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Headquarters | n/a |
| Political Ideology | Scottish independence, Marxist-Leninism |
| Political Position | Republican Socialism |
| International Affiliation | none |
| European Affiliation | Scottish Socialist Party |
| European Parliament Group | Scottish Socialist Party |
| Colours | Yellow, Red, Blue (Pantone 300 - official colour of the Saltire) |
| Website | http://srsm.port5.com |
| See also | Politics of Scotland |
The Scottish Republican Socialist Party (SRSP) was a political party operating in Scotland. They were formed out of the Scottish Republican Socialist Clubs, formed in 1973 to introduce socialism to the Scottish National Party (SNP) and grow support for Scottish independence amongst left-wingers who supported the retention of the Union with the rest of the United Kingdom. The expulsion of the 79 Group 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, in so far 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 is meaningless unless it is socialist, and adopted an abstentionist position towards Westminster elections.
In 1998, the Scottish Socialist Party (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 has been active in campaigning against attempts within the SSP to ditch the policy of supporting independence. The SRSM has been active, not only campaigning for Scottish independence via the Independence First initiative, but by its Annual 1320 Declaration of Arbroath Rallies, Annual Glencoe Rallies and campaigning at a grassroots level. It succeeded at persuading high profile SSP members like Alan McCombes and Kevin Williamson to speak at its rallies and for its cause.
In October 2006, the SRSM Announced that it was disaffiliating with the Scottish Socialist Party and becoming a cross party organisation.
The SRSM also puts out a bi-yearly magazine called "Scottish Worker's Republic" as well maintaining a visible online presence.
