The party that dared to tell the truth

Scott Macdonald

18 years ago

The Scottish Socialist Party has faced the biggest possible test of any political party in Scottish history; what do you do when the most charismatic individual leader of the left in generations demands that the party lies and covers up in order to protect his squalid secret life.

For people who believe in truth and honesty there was only one answer and that was to refuse to be a part of the lies and cover up that Tommy Sheridan demanded of them.

Here we document the crisis that the SSP faced with articles and relevant material. No Secrets – No Lies.

Alan McCombes: The Fight For The Truth

Alan McCombes was sent to jail for defending the right of the SSP to confidentiality

“Tommy believed he could turn his libel action into a pale imitation of the Moscow Trials, with a parade of SSP EC members colluding in their own political crucifixion, complete with public confessions of being involved in a fantastical conspiracy. Incredibly, some former members of the party have condemned SSP witnesses for refusing to turn themselves into abject sacrificial lambs for the greater glory of Tommy Sheridan. This version of socialism is straight out of Animal Farm. It replaces socialist solidarity with obsequious obedience to the will of a supposedly superior being. It is corrupt and bankrupt.”

‘The Fight For The Truth’, members bulletin issued after the court case (PDF file)

The Minutes of the Scottish Socialist Party Executive meeting at which Tommy Sheridan confirmed he was the MSP who went to Cupids nightclub in Manchester and demanded the SSP collude in a lie and cover-up.

Women Fightback

Katrine Trolle interview by Lorna Martin in The Observer

‘A Win For Machismo’. Veteran feminist Julie Bindel’s controversial article in the The Guardian that looked at the Sheridan court case from the perspective of women.

“There is an irony about this case that has not escaped the feminists involved. The women giving evidence in court to support the NoTW case were portrayed as those the paper is usually out to get – feminists, hookers, gold-diggers, witches and man-haters. On Sheridan’s side was his martyred mother and his near-perfect wife.”

Roz Paterson’s article in Red Pepper ‘No More Heroes’

Richie Venton: How Dare They Split The SSP

“Tommy was contracted by the anti-SSP, pro-New Labour tabloid Daily Record, paid £30,000, put up in a top hotel, and whilst in bed with these enemies of socialism, launched his front-page diatribe that he intends to ‘destroy the scabs’. This thuggish language has failed to intimidate those of us with the courage and integrity to tell the truth – however unsavoury the truth might be. Now, because he has no confidence that he would win a democratic election for SSP convener, he wants to split the party built by those whose blood, sweat and tears put him into parliament.”

Richie’s open letter to SSP trade unionists (PDF file)

Don’t sit back – fight back. Join the SSP today!

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