A team of Scottish Socialist Party candidates have issued a joint public pledge of measures they will prioritise if elected on 7th May from the eight regional list seats – through the so-called second vote on the peach voting paper.
The eight top-of-the-list SSP candidates jointly signed this statement:
“If elected by the people in each of our regions, through them voting Scottish Socialist Party on the peach-coloured voting paper for the regional list MSPs, we will immediately lodge Private Member’s Bills to confront the biggest cost-of-living crisis in living memory.
“On the streets, on picket lines, at election hustings, and in community forums, we have encountered the horrendous impact of extortionate bills for food, heating, housing and public transport.
“We have also found the SSP’s Socialist Action Plan to cut household bills, raise people’s incomes and vastly improve universal public services are widely popular.
“As part of a wider Action Plan, we will prioritise three Bills in Holyrood, immediately after being elected.
“We will renew the SSP’s attempt in a previous parliamentary session to immediately abolish the hated, unfair Council Tax and replace it with a Scottish Service Tax, based on income, on ability to pay, which our latest costings show would mean 8 out of 10 people paying less, but tax funds for Scotland’s 32 local authorities being doubled through vastly increased taxation of the super-rich.
“We will revive the SSP’s efforts over 20 years ago to introduce plans for a publicly-owned Public Transport Service, free at the point of use for all, on buses, trains, subways, ferries and trams, to combat poverty, pollution and social isolation.
“And we will demand the parliament declares a guaranteed minimum Scottish Living Wage of £15-an-hour – rising with inflation – for all 600,000 public sector workers and the 130,000-plus who work in private firms with public sector contracts, as a step towards a statutory minimum wage for all workers after we help win the powers that come with independence.
“We will not sit passively as poverty and inequality blight the lives of millions. And as socialist MSPs who will remain on the average skilled worker’s wage, we will be even more committed to tackling the cost-of-living crisis.”
Co-signed by the 8 Scottish Socialist Party lead candidates:
Colin Fox (Edinburgh & Lothians East); Collette Bradley (Central Scotland & Lothians West); Mark Sands (South Scotland); Veronica Edgely (West Scotland); Liam McLaughlan (Glasgow); Willie Hamilton (Highlands & Islands); Ross Kenny (North East Scotland); Paolo Caserta (Mid Scotland & Fife)