SSP Election Communication

Dalry SSP Public Meeting

Scottish Socialist Party Election TV Broadcast

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Fox claims big four parties 'failing voters' on Afghanistan

Press release sent on 19 April.

Scottish Socialist Party leader Colin Fox will tell a public meeting in Wester Hailes on Thursday that the four main parties in Scotland are now 'completely out of touch with public opinion on Afghanistan.'
His remarks come after an opinion poll published at the weekend showed 77% of people want British troops to be brought home and believe their presence in Afghanistan makes UK streets less safe from terrorist attack.*
The former Lothians MSP believes the four main parties in Scotland are failing to represent voters wishes on the matter.
'This poll in the Independent on Sunday simply confirms what we already know, namely that Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem and SNP MPs who support the continued military occupation of Afghanistan do not speak for the people of this country. They are completely out of touch with public opinion on Afghanistan. The vast majority of voters simply reject the view of our elected politicians on this issue as with so many others. People are sick of the warmongering of Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. They see this as an unwinnable and senseless war that involves Britain occupying another country. Moreover we are occupying a country that has seen 50,000 innocent Afghan civilians killed as well as 281 young British soldiers.
'The Scottish Socialist Party supports the immediate withdrawal of our troops because we believe it is time to give Afghanistan back to the Afghans and we clearly have the backing of 77% of voters.'

Notes
*The poll referred to was published in the Independent on Sunday 18/04/2010
**Public meeting details: 'Bring Home he troops from Afghanistan', Murray Suite, The Westsider, Westside Plaza, Wester Hailes, Edinburgh. Thursday 22 April, 7.30pm.
Speakers: Colin Fox, National Spokesman, SSP and John McAllion, Former Labour MP and now SSP

Public Meeting on Afghanistan

Darling rich on rhetoric, poor on performance

Press Release sent on Sunday 18 April 2010.

SSP leader Colin Fox used World Poverty Day to slam Alistair Darling for failing to keep promises he made to the world's poor.
Campaigning in the Wester Hailes district of the Chancellor's Edinburgh South West constituency, Mr Fox told us 'Here in one of the poorest areas of Britain's second richest city the evidence of Alistair Darling's failure to keep his promises to children and pensioners in need is all around us.
In June 2005 as the huge 'Make Poverty History' protest snaked through this city the eyes of the world were on Edinburgh. Alistair Darling made grand rhetorical promises that day about combating primary deprivation and lifting the burden of debt. Today on 'World Poverty Day' our attention is drawn to how little he has made on what were in fact very modest promises made at the G8 in Gleneagles. Gordon Brown admits the shortfall in the aid actually delivered to the world's poor was £13.5billion. Oxfam tell us that money could have saved the lives of 2million women in the developing world who have died in childbirth since 2005 or sent another 72,000 children to school.
For his part Alistair Darling provided the City of London with £200bn in 'quantitative easing' in 2009. This money could have wiped out the entire debt of the developing world in one fell swoop. Choices like these tells us everything about New Labour's priorities. They are not my priorities, not those of the 250,000 who joined me on that march through Edinburgh back in June 2005.
Labour clearly has no intention of combating poverty in West Africa or Wester Hailes. They prefer to bail out bloated, blackmailing bankers. The malnourished and impoverished women and children of the 3rd world and here at home they abandon to the markets.
On World Poverty Day I ask people to think carefully about who is to be trusted to help lift the world's poor and deprived out of hell because Alistair Darling and New Labour have made it eminently clear they are not.'

Protecting the right to provide safe asylum and sanctuary

Dr Keith Baker and Cindy Courtillier are members of an organisation Citizens for Sanctuary and they approached me as the SSP's Parliamentary candidate for their constituency Edinburgh South West to sign the organisation's Pledge which seeks to protect the right to asylum in Britain for those fleeing persecution.
I offered my support and that of the SSP for the Pledge seeking to safeguard the right of a safe haven for people seeking such sanctuary.
More information on Citizens for Sanctuary can be found at www.citizensforsanctuary.org.uk.