'Political awakening' continues in Scotland

One of the Generation Fightback stalls at the Hope Over Fear rally, photo by GF (Click to enlarge)

Matt Dobson, Socialist Party Scotland

Over 10,000 participated in the Hope Over Fear pro-independence rally called by Tommy Sheridan in Glasgow's George Square on 12 October. The event showed the depth of the newly awakened political consciousness in Scotland with mass mobilisations still a possibility even after the result of a No vote.

Clear strategy

Socialist Party Scotland (SPS) member and Glasgow Unison branch secretary, Brian Smith, was the only platform speaker to put a clear strategy for a mass movement against austerity. He got one of the loudest cheers of the whole afternoon when he called for the major parts of the economy to be brought under public ownership. He pointed out that if the SNP government and local councils in Scotland refused to make the cuts they would receive mass support.

Unfortunately this is not the case at the moment so Brian called for people to attend the conference called by the Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition on 1 November to discuss standing anti-cuts candidates May's Westminster election.

Hundreds of young people signed up to Generation Fightback, a new youth organisation that fights for demands including a Ł10 an hour minimum wage without discrimination, the immediate introduction of votes at 16 and an independent socialist Scotland.

SPS distributed our open letter to SNP members calling on SNP leaders to stand up and fight austerity which was mostly warmly received. We had seventy applications to join SPS and two new members joined immediately and then helped us on the stall.

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