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scottish socialist editorial FOR REVOLUTIONARY UNITY The weakness of the Left in Scotland, never mind Britain as a whole, is a tendency to equate political struggles with trades union struggles. This is a mistake one makes at one's peril. There may be a new rise of worker's struggles, and the Devolution Bill might be dead, but the National Question is still very much with us. The May District Council elections were a timely reminder of this truth. The election results emphasise what everyone knew already: the right-wing course of the Labour Government, and the corruption in Labour-controlled Councils, hands of the ruling class parties especially are driving working class voters into the the SWP.
Those parties to the left of the Communist Party which claim to offer a socialist alternative to the Labour Government were conspicuous by their absence during the elections. Yet in Aberdeen - where a supporter of Scottish Socialist was the only opposition to Labour - a vote of 17% was recorded for revolutionary socialist policies. In Birmingham, a member of the far-left Asian Socialist League beat both the National Front and the Liberal. The reflex on the factory floor against the Social Contract can be channelled in a socialist as well as a nationalist direction.
However, the canny Scottish voter, while he might admire the SWP of Scottish Socialist supporter in his shop stewards committee, is looking for a general solution to the capitalist crisis. Apart from the small size of the far left, which is not confidence inspiring in itself, the average worker is not likely to be impressed by the knowledge that there are, at last count, twenty four different Trotskyist
groups in Britain. The tactical differences between these groups is often obscure even to the participants. Faced with an SWP candidate and a Scottish Socialist candidate standing in the same seat, the vote will be tempted to treat the far left as a bad joke and give his vote to the SWP.
We do not pretend this disunity can be overcome easily. In some cases a great deal of debate and common experience will be necessary. What is possible immediately, and is a vital necessity, is co-operation in elections. The May National Committee of the Scottish Socialist League took the decision to stand three candidates at the General Election, in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Scottish Socialist invites all other parties of the far left and other organisations opposed to the Social Contract such as cuts committees, anti-racist committees and tenants committees, to discuss with us both to avoid a clash of candidates and to explore the possibilities of a joint campaign. Elections are too important to be abandoned te the Nationalists.
As a further contribution to unity of the far left, the SSL National Committee agreed to give support to the new SOCIALIST CHALLENGE newspaper being launched by the IMG and other political and workers groups in England. SOCIALIST CHALLENGE will be committed to the fight for unity of the far left and serve as an open platform for ideas on how this unity can be achieved. SOCIALIST CHALLENGE will not overcome the divisions on the left overnight, but it will be another modest step in the right direction.