The Scottish Socialist Party has marked a significant electoral breakthrough as support for the SSP continues to grow ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections.
Amidst collapsing confidence in the parties of the status quo, the result in the Southside Central by-election in Glasgow confirms that the Scottish Socialist Party is the alternative to the establishment parties in Scotland – and to the false anti-establishment lies of the far-right and their billionaire backers.
SSP campaign organiser Richie Venton said:
“The outcome of Glasgow’s Southside Central council by-election was an outstanding electoral breakthrough for the Scottish Socialist Party; the best result for about 20 years, in the days when we had six MSPs. It bodes well for our future, including in the 2026 Holyrood elections, where the SSP’s National Council recently agreed to stand in all 8 regional list seats.
“The facts speak volumes.
“We suffered a total blanket of silence about our campaign (or even our existence) in the mainstream media, including papers which claim to be on the left. A conspiracy of silence which they’ve all sustained even after the result, where none of their reports even mentioned the SSP, let alone our vastly increased vote.
“Despite this, we came a clear 4th, behind the successful SNP, Labour and the Scottish Greens.
“Very significantly, we not only outstripped the divisive demagogues of the far-right Reform UK but also exceeded the combined far-right votes of Reform UK and UKIP.
“Nor should it be understated or underestimated when a hard-hitting, full-blooded socialist alternative defeated the centuries-old Tories and LibDems, despite us working to a shoestring budget.
“Our excellent young candidate, Olivia Murphy, stayed in the race until the 6th of 8 voting stages, under the Single Transferable Vote system.”
Turnout collapses – SSP rises
“In the context of the overall turnout of voters collapsing by more than half compared with the 2022 council elections in the same seat – from 39% to a paltry 18.7% – it is all the more remarkable that the SSP’s absolute vote increased (from 154 to 271), as did our percentage share of the votes cast.
“Our vote share almost quadrupled, from 2% in 2022 to 7.23% this time round.
“Apart from the LibDems (who we decisively beat) the SSP was the only party which stood in 2022 and in this by-election increased both its vote share AND its absolute vote!”
Mass disgust with ‘the politicians’
“A few other statistics underline the overwhelming disgust with all the mainstream parties – the parties of the political establishment, as most people rightly view them.
“The paltry turnout of less than one in 5 voters. The collapse of the ‘victorious’ SNP vote from 2,645 in 2022 to 1,126 first preference votes this time. Labour’s equivalent fall from 2,432 to 1,027. And even the Scottish Greens, who replaced the SNP for one of the four councillors’ seats in 2022, and pushed Labour quite close this time, saw their vote fall from 1,395 to 805.”
First and second preferences for SSP
“Whilst it being a by-election for just the one councillor’s seat somewhat distorts people’s use of their Single Transferable Votes – with many voting for one party only – another encouraging feature of the by-election was the large number of 2 nd preference votes for the SSP.
“The most observable pattern of this was the large number who gave the SSP their 2 nd preference after voting Green, likewise with a big number of SNP voters, and substantially less so from Labour voters – of whom over 60% voted for Labour only.”
The roots of the rising SSP vote
“What are some of the roots of the vastly improved SSP vote, and of the result generally? We predicted a likely SNP gain from Labour, given the brutal policies being implemented by Starmer’s government; a prediction we became more certain of as Liz Kendal, Rachel Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer openly declared war on the sick and disabled during the by-election.
“We predicted a low turnout due to disgust, despair and disengagement from ‘the politicians’, whose broken promises and total lack of vision for a better future deeply alienates huge swathes of the working class and young people.
“That prediction became all the more evident once the campaign began, with bitter condemnation of ‘politicians out for themselves’, frequent remarks that ‘they’re all the same’, and ‘I don’t trust any of them’ being common currency on the streets.”
Fakes of the multi-millionaire far right
“The danger – as is well known across the country and indeed internationally – is that the far right would tap into that disgust, with their fake pretences of being ‘anti-establishment’ and‘anti-politicians’, when of course Reform UK is owned and run by multi-millionaires (including 4 out of their 5 MPs); backed by the richest multi-billionaire on Planet Earth, the Nazi-saluting Elon Musk; and led by a former banker, a chancer who ‘earned’ another £572,000 in the past 6 months, on top of his £91,346 MP’s salary and accumulated personal wealth of at least £3.2m, ‘Nine Jobs Nigel’ Farage.
“We hammered home these points in our leaflet, and in numerous street stalls and street meetings, tackling Reform UK head on by denouncing the parties and governments whose policies have created the conditions for Reform to thrive.
“And more to the point, we blasted out socialist measures to counter the poverty, inequality, cuts, wars, and environmental destruction caused by all the pro-capitalist parties.”
Hard-hitting socialist leaflets
“The SSP was the only party to hand-deliver leaflets to every home in Southside Central – an achievement which leading SNP and Green party activists praised us for, in person, at the election count.
“Our leaflet pulled no punches, denouncing the betrayals of the working class by Labour, but also by the SNP/Green coalition at Holyrood up until recently, and their ongoing alliance in the City Council.
“The leaflet spelt out concrete, socialist measures on a range of issues of deep concern to the daily lives of working-class people: health, rising Council Tax bills, cuts to council services, public transport, housing, fuel poverty, wages, pensions and benefits, and the environment.”
Socialist explanations based on class
“We didn’t rely on empty 3-word soundbites, but succinctly explained socialist measures to tax the millionaires, take wealth into public ownership, and transform lives with free public transport; council house building for affordable rent; cancellation of all PFI schemes in hospitals and schools; a £15 minimum wage; public ownership of energy to combat profiteering, pollution and the jobs massacre, etc.
“At our regular street meetings, we connected domestic and foreign policy, demanding a 5% wealth tax on all millionaires to invest in people’s welfare, not profiteers’ weapons and warfare – which hit several target audiences amidst Labour’s vicious cuts of £5bn from the incomes of sick and disabled people whilst re-arming for war.”
The only consistently anti-war party
“Whilst this was a local council by-election, the SSP didn’t shy away from blasting Labour’s record of arming the right-wing Israeli government, nor the record of the SNP/Green coalition and subsequent SNP government in using public funds to subsidise arms companies who profit from the genocidal war on the Palestinians.
“We went further, visiting local shops – often owned or staffed by Scots Asians or Muslims, who mostly agreed to display our anti-war posters and leaflets – and staged a public screening of the film ‘Censoring Palestine’ in the Roma Cultural Centre. In essence, we fought an unashamed, proud, bold socialist campaign.”
Street meetings for socialism
“We held an open-air street meeting, followed by teams leafleting doors and shops, to mark International Working Women’s Day, featuring our young female candidate, nurse and UNISON member, Olivia Murphy.
“We staged several street stalls and street meetings every week of the by-election campaign – including on election day itself.
“All this undoubtedly encouraged people into seeing there is indeed a genuinely anti- establishment, insurgent party, a party that dares to be different, the SSP … rather than fall for the lies of the Reform UK fakers.”
Far-right danger remains
“Having said that, the danger of the far right has certainly not disappeared.
“On the same day, in the other council by-election, in Glasgow North East, Reform UK came 3rd, behind the SNP and Labour, gaining 23.6% of votes cast – an increase of 5.3 percentage points even on the first version of this (re-run) by-election in November.
“And of course, in Southside Central they still got 222 votes, primarily as a confused backlash against the ruling parties at city, national and UK levels.”
Socialist policies drive back Reform UK
“But what the SSP’s electoral defeat of Reform UK proves is that it takes working-class socialist policies on key economic, social and political issues to stave off the seductive falsehoods of a party seeking to scapegoat the greatest victims of the crises in housing, services and job opportunities – immigrants and ethnic minorities.
“We instead championed working-class unity to win decent homes, health, transport and other public services, by targeting the millionaires with our call for a 5% wealth tax, instead of Reform UK’s attempts to target minorities and divide working-class people as they laugh at us all the way to their banks.”
We all need to ponder the SSP’s breakthrough
“This marvellous election result for the Scottish Socialist Party should give cause for thought amongst many different forces.
“The parties currently holding office at local, national and UK level may well begin to pay a bit more attention to us – and show a little less of their customary contempt for the SSP – as they see their voters attracted to a bold socialist alternative.
“Those on the left who have spent much of the past 20 years sniping, scoffing and seeking to undermine the SSP should re-examine their attitude towards the party which was built in the first place to establish socialist unity.
“Those who lost heart during the many difficult years we have fought through should feel great encouragement and consider rejoining the SSP.
“Members of the SSP – both those brand new to the party and those of us who have stuck at it through thick and thin – should feel immensely proud and encouraged to renew and step up our collective efforts to embed the SSP in working-class communities and the minds of trade unionists and young people.”
SSP can win MSPs
“Elections are not the only form of socialist struggle, and indeed it’s when working-class people put up collective resistance to the class war on workers that socialist ideas have and will find the greatest resonance – provided there’s an organised, well-established party there to offer a fighting socialist alternative.
“As we head towards 2026, those who ask the question of whether ‘a left alternative’ can conquer a place in the Scottish Parliament – and thereby further popularise socialist ideas – must surely conclude that the policies, methods, longstanding track record, and clean reputation of the SSP does indeed offer a chance of getting socialist MSPs elected.”
SSP’s approach to combating Reform UK vindicated
“The SSP’s approach to fighting the far right have been vindicated in this by-election.
“We have recognised that the roots of the rise of these dangerous, divisive, multi-millionaire chancers lie in the entirely justified anger – indeed rage – of working-class people at the bitter betrayals by Labour in particular, but increasingly also at the policies and practises of the SNP government.
“In turn, the SSP has hammered out radical socialist policies and fighting demands to tackle the appalling conditions of poverty; slum housing; a collapsing, increasingly privatised health service; and unaffordable public transport, Council Tax and energy bills.
“A growing minority of voters have heard our case through the media’s thick fog of silence, seen the SSP in action, and find our undiluted socialist solutions attractive.”
Build the SSP ahead of 2026
“We now need to build on that.
“Those who voted SSP should join the party, as several already have.
“Trade unionists who know our unrivalled track record of building solidarity with workers in struggle and advocating clear working-class policies should break any residual allegiances to Labour, or indeed the SNP, and help the Scottish Socialist Party build a powerful force for socialism in Scotland.
“Those who regard themselves as socialists in either Labour, the SNP, or indeed the Scottish Greens, should accept the harsh reality that in their existing parties they are political prisoners.
“The place for all socialists is in a socialist party. In the case of Scotland that is the SSP. Join us today to build on what we’ve just achieved.”