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Solidarity (Scotland)

Solidarity – Scotland's Socialist Movement
gaelic name Dlùthachd - Gluasad Sòisealach na h-Alba
Scots name Solidaritie - Scotland's Socialist Muivement
co-convener Rosemary Byrne
co-convener Pat Lee
Founded 2006
Split from Scottish Socialist Party
Headquarters Glasgow, G42 2DN
Membership  (2012–13) Decrease Exact number unknown
Ideology Socialism
Trotskyism
Scottish independence
Euroscepticism
Political position Left-wing to Far-left
National affiliation Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
Colours Red, Green, White
House of Commons (Scottish seats)
0 / 59
European Parliament (Scottish seats)
0 / 6
Scottish Parliament
0 / 129
Local government in Scotland
1 / 1,223
Website
solidarity.scot

Solidarity – Scotland's Socialist Movement is a political party in Scotland. The party launched on 3 September 2006, founded by two Scottish Socialist Party MSPs, Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne, in the aftermath of Sheridan's libel action.

On 23 December 2010, Tommy Sheridan was convicted of perjury during the 2006 libel action, and sentenced to three years imprisonment on 26 January 2011. Solidarity performed poorly in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, achieving only 2,837 votes or 0.14% of the overall regional list vote.

Solidarity has one elected official in Scotland; councillor Pat Lee in South Lanarkshire. Lee was elected as an SNP councillor and defected to Solidarity in May 2015. Solidarity has been accused of using entryist tactics in North Lanarkshire, with it being claimed that activists close to the party have infiltrated SNP branches in the area.

The Scottish Socialist Party returned six MSPs in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election. At the end of August 2006, the SSP's leader Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne, a SSP MSP for South of Scotland led a breakaway. Solidarity launched on 3 September with 600 people attending the first meeting in Glasgow. Most SSP members and branches in the Highlands and Islands defected to the new party, while the Shetland membership voted unanimously to stay in the SSP. 250 people attended the founding conference on Saturday 5 November 2006.

The new party was backed by the Socialist Workers Party and Socialist Party Scotland (part of the Committee for a Workers' International). The two groups clashed at the first Solidarity conference on the political orientation of the party. After a close vote the interim title of "Solidarity - Scotland's Socialist Movement" was adopted as the name of the party, and Rosemary Byrne and Tommy Sheridan were unanimously endorsed as co-convenors.


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