Perhaps
it is high time the embattled factions within the
leadership cadre of the Scottish Socialist Party
cooled down somewhat, and took a deep breath before
they blow their party asunder and, by doing so,
once again leave the more militant sections of the
Scottish Working Class without a political party
to lead them in struggle. Not since Stalin's bloody
purges of the Russian Communist Party, when the
old butcher had the majority of those who had led
the October Revolution at Lenin's side purged from
the party and then murdered in the cellars of the
Lubyanka (Moscow headquarters of the Soviet Unions
KGB), has a European Socialist Party descended into
such a leadership crises through sheer egotism and
foolishness.
The
catalyst for this crisis was the decision of the
former leader of the SSP, Tommy Sheridan, to sue
the Murdoch newspaper News of the World,
against the advice and wishes of the majority of
his comrades on the party's Executive Committee,
after the paper printed a salacious series of articles
accusing him of promiscuous sexual behavior. When
Sheridan refused to abide by this advice and went
ahead and sued the paper, the SSP leadership were
thrown into turmoil. Not least as Sheridan actions
went against all previous practice and experiences
of revolutionary socialists not to engage with the
bourgeois courts, unless it was forced upon them;
not least because historically no good has ever
come of it. During the course of Mr Sheridan's hearing
in the Scottish Courts, almost the entire leadership
of the SSP were to find themselves being called
before the court to testify for one side or the
other in the the libel case Mr Sheridan brought
against the NoW.
The
outcome of the case was that the Jury found in favor
of Mr Sheridan, who had claimed to the court that
there was a massive conspiracy to discredit him
and remove him from the SSP and the Scottish political
scene. Those who he claimed were party to this conspiracy
included the News of the World and its sources,
former close comrades within the SSP leadership,
and various bit part players like the cleaner employed
by one of the hotel's in which he was said to have
had a sexual liaison.
That the News of World suffered a major defeat
will delight many people, certainly former trade
union activists like myself who remember the damage
that Murdoch did in the 1980s, when, assisted by
Thatchers anti trade union legislation, he moved
his printing plant from Fleet Street to Wapping
East London. Plus the grubby and despicable role
his media Empire has played when giving support
to the likes of George W Bush and Tony Blair in
their military adventures in the Middle East and
beyond.
However,
whether the jury find for or against in my experience
is nether here nor there and proves little as to
guilt or innocence. Thus I am somewhat saddened
that many on the left have based their political
position on the kerfuffle within the SSP leadership
cadre on the Jury's verdict, which seems extremely
naive to me and goes against the grain of history,
especially recent Irish history.
The
fact is, in Jury Trials you win some, you lose some.
Whilst the jury system should be defended as it
is still the best chance of gaining justice via
the law, it is far from infallible and certainly
not an exact science, as all sorts of factors come
into play, and only one of them will be whether
you did the deed or not. In many cases this will
not be the over-riding factor which decides guilt
or innocence. The type of crime you may or may not
have committed, the class and sex of the jurors,
the competence of the prosecution and defense and
how they marshal their briefs and who they decide
to call; the degree the police or State wish to
nail you; last, but certainly not least, the Beak
who sits upon the bench. All of the aforementioned
and many lesser but just as important issues will
decide whether the jury finds in your favour. Thus,
I was positively amazed at the comments by some
members of the Scottish Socialist Party when Tommy
Sheridan won his libel suit against the News
of the World in Edinburgh last week.
Instead
of walking off cheque in pocket thinking they had
a result here, those who supported Sheridan started
prattling about purges of the party and mass expulsions
whilst praising Scottish Justice, in the process
spreading the illusion the Scottish legal system
is less corrupt than its English counterpart, which
is nonsense as they are both based on class prejudice.
The anti Sheridan section within the SSP were little
better and raged on about a miscarriage of justice,
as if all that was needed was a change of Jurors
who would bring in a different verdict. In reality
what is needed is for the class base of the Scottish
Judicial system to be turned on its head and in
the process the whole wretched edifice of the Scottish
legal system receiving a hefty shake up.
As
to the future, as far as the Scottish Socialist
Party is concerned it might help if for the coming
year a provisional leadership were to take office,
made up of people who have had nothing to do with
the Sheridan court case, including Tommy Sheridan
himself. Anyone who either gave evidence for or
against the News of the World would be excluded
from senior office within the SSP for one year.
I say this not to endorse any allegations made against
these comrades but so that tempers and the dust
can settle. As to Tommy Sheridan, what is the point
of him returning to the leadership if the News
of the World intends to appeal, as the appeal
would only re-engulf him and the SSP in controversy
and allegations once again?
The
SSP membership should seriously consider whether
the aforementioned provisional leadership would,
in the short term, be beneficial to the Party. As
membership of any incoming leadership would be restricted
to the coming year, this would not be an indictment
of any comrade, it would simply be a means to make
sure the party gets through the challenging months
ahead. If this were to happen, all those involved
in this dreadful kerfuffle would be able to stand
for office in a year's time if they so wished. There
will be those who say this cannot be done, but if
the SSP is not to be a one man band or a party led
by a small ensemble, then there is no other viable
choice. There really is no alternative if the SSP
is not to be torn asunder as the political and personal
differences within the current leadership at this
time are too intense to be put to one side.
Before
we go to bed each night, perhaps it might help if
us leftists repeat three times, No Gods, No Masters!
