The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP; ; ) is a left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an independent socialist Scottish republic.
The party was founded in 1998. It campaigns for Scottish independence, against cuts to public services and welfare and for democratic public ownership of the economy. The SSP was one of three parties in Yes Scotland, the official cross-party campaign for Scottish independence in the 2014 referendum, with national co-spokesperson Colin Fox sitting on its advisory board.
The party operates through a local branch structure and publishes Scotland's longest-running socialist newspaper, the Scottish Socialist Voice. At the height of its electoral success in 2003, the party had six Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and two councillors, but since 2017 it has had no councillors or MSPs.
Democratic structures The party had two national co-spokespersons, Colin Fox and Róisín McLaren, who were elected by party members at the 2018 annual national conference, which also determines party policy. The day-to-day business of the party is handled by a small Executive Committee, which is also elected by the membership. The primary decision-making bodies are the following: National Conference, convening yearly National Council, convening four times a year Executive Committee, convening regularly
History
Formation and initial electoral success The Scottish Socialist Party was founded on 20 September 1998. It emerged from the Scottish Socialist Alliance (SSA), a broad-based group of left-wing organisations in Scotland. Tommy Sheridan, then convener of the party was elected through the Glasgow region list. The period following that election saw sustained growth for the SSP, where it doubled in size in twelve months, and the RMT trade union affiliated to the party. The Scottish Republican Socialist Party also decided to narrowly merge with the SSP.
One of the first bills the SSP put forward in Holyrood was the Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Act 2001, aimed at reforming the debt recovery systems in Scotland. The party also presented bills to replace the council tax with an income-based alternative, for the abolition of prescription charges, and the introduction of free school meals.
On 11 November 2004, Sheridan resigned as convener of the party, citing personal reasons. He was replaced by Colin Fox, a Lothians MSP, in the 2005 leadership election. Following Sheridan's resignation, the News of the World revealed that he had an extramarital affair and visited a swingers' club in Manchester. Sheridan denied the stories and launched legal action against the newspaper. During the high-profile media involvement, Sheridan publicly referred to those who refused to support him as "scabs". Sheridan won the initial legal action but eventually went to jail for perjury in 2010.
An appeal to launch the Scottish Socialist Party United Left grouping took place on 13 June 2006. Despite bearing many of the hallmarks of a platform within the SSP, United Left did not view themselves as such, and described themselves as a network rather than a platform. Within the wider SSP, however, they were widely regarded as a platform. The grouping was formed amid crisis, involving both the Sheridan v News Group Newspapers Ltd court case and concerns over the efficacy and unity of the party at the time.
Electoral performance after 2007 Neither the SSP or Sheridan's breakaway party Solidarity won seats in the 2007 elections to the Scottish Parliament. The SSP did experience a recovery in by-elections from 2008 to 2009, increasing its vote share compared to the 2007 national result. The party contested the 2009 European elections around the slogan of "Make Greed History", campaigning for a Europe-wide tax on millionaires, and also achieved a higher vote share than in the Scottish Parliament election.
The party ran ten candidates at the 2010 general election, and said the blame for the eventual Conservative victory lay "with New Labour and the failure of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown these last thirteen years, who have, quite frankly, exploited working people, with the poorest and most vulnerable being hit hardest". Fox said his party's manifesto would tackle the "worst economic crisis in eighty years" without punishing ordinary people.
The SSP launched their manifesto for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election with promises to oppose cuts and tax the rich. The party contested all eight Scottish Parliament regions.
2014 Scottish independence referendum
Following the 2011 elections to the Scottish Parliament and the resulting Scottish National Party majority, the Scottish Government announced its intent to hold an independence referendum in 2014. In May 2012, a cross-party organisation called Yes Scotland was established to campaign for a "Yes" vote. The SSP's national co-spokesperson, Colin Fox, was invited to sit on its advisory board at the insistence of Yes Scotland's non-partisan chief executive, Blair Jenkins, in the face of SNP opposition. During the referendum campaign, the party continued to campaign on other issues including the bedroom tax, fuel poverty, equal marriage, and the latest Israel-Gaza conflict.
On 11 September 2013, the SSP launched a pamphlet called The Case for an Independent Socialist Scotland, the publication of which was welcomed by MSPs. It became the party's fastest-selling pamphlet ever. In June 2014, the party published another pamphlet outlining its case for "a modern democratic republic". In response to the publication of Scotland's Future, the party said the Scottish Government had set out a vision that represents "significant advance for the people of Scotland", but reaffirmed the SSP's commitment to socialism.
As part of the party's campaign for independence, it held dozens of public meetings across Scotland with a range of speakers. The party's final meeting, scheduled to take place in Drumchapel Community Centre, was cancelled after unionist protests. In the aftermath, Richie Venton said: "Those demonstrating may have learned that their support for a Westminster regime was impoverishing themselves and their communities. But what they should know is we shall continue to fight against austerity and the tyranny of the Tories over communities like Drumchapel, Govan, Easterhouse, and, indeed, Scotland."
In an interview with the Sunday Herald in late-August 2014, Colin Fox said: "The SSP has brought a proletarian sense to Yes Scotland and reminded people the decisive issue is whether people think they're going to be better off. It's not the currency, it's not the EU, it's not those highfalutin' chattering class issues." He said that the party brought "a sense of the schemes, the workplaces, the unions" to the campaign.
After the referendum
After the announcement of the referendum result, in which the pro-union Better Together campaign won; the SSP was amongst the political parties that reported significant increases in their membership levels. Prominent new members included Labour for Independence founder Allan Grogan. The Scottish section of Socialist Appeal left Labour to join the SSP.
When the make-up of the Smith Commission was announced, Colin Fox protested the decision to "uniquely exclude" the SSP from proceedings. He wrote to the Smith Commission: "The argument some use to justify our exclusion on the grounds that we currently have no 'parliamentary representation' fails to appreciate that the referendum was not a parliamentary process, but an unprecedented public debate that resulted in an extraordinary level of engagement from all sections of society." The SSP made a written submission which called for wide-ranging fiscal autonomy, with all tax revenues raised in Scotland to be spent by the Scottish Parliament.
The SSP's annual conference in 2014 was the party's biggest conference in several years, and the first to be streamed live over the Internet. Members called for the abolition of the Offensive Behaviour Act, for fracking to be banned, a lowering of the State Pension age to 55, scrapping TTIP, and to support a pro-independence electoral alliance for the 2015 Westminster election in Scotland, which failed to emerge. The SSP started the process of mounting an SSP challenge in that election in November, while remaining "open to discussions" on a formal alliance until December. The SSP stood four candidates at the election on a manifesto pledging to introduce a £10 minimum wage, ban zero hour contracts, nationalise the energy industry – including oil and gas fields – and end austerity.
Following the party's failure to make a breakthrough at that election, the SSP's annual conference voted "to begin negotiations with other socialists about presenting an electoral alliance for 2016". By August, the party announced it would field candidates as part of RISE – Scotland's Left Alliance. SSP spokesman Colin Fox secured the support of former SNP depute leader Jim Sillars, who told The National: "If Colin Fox is on the list for Rise, I will be voting and supporting Colin Fox on the list system."
RISE also failed to win any seats in the Scottish Parliament. The SSP's subsequent conference in June 2016 passed a motion which "recommends the SSP re-evaluates our relationship with RISE to find a sustainable role for left unity going forward", while asserting that the party's priority over the coming year "must be to grow the influence and authority of the SSP itself". The party did not stand at either the 2017 snap general election or the following 2019 snap general election. For the first time since devolution the SSP also did not contest the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, either on their own or as part of a wider alliance.
The Young Scottish Socialists (YSS) was a youth wing affiliated with the party; however, in 2021 the YSS disbanded, and ex-members have since formed the Scottish Socialist Youth, which is not affiliated with the SSP.
Electoral return
The SSP stood candidates in the 2022 Scottish local elections. On 4 April 2022, the party launched its manifesto for the election. One of the core policies of the campaign is a plan to scrap council tax and replace it with an income-based alternative. The party claims the plan "not only shifts the burden of council funding from poor and average earners to the better-off, but generates an extra £2 billion for hard-pressed council services." The party's candidates have pledged to oppose all cuts to public services. Other commitments include demanding that 100,000 new homes for rent are built in the public sector in Scotland, demanding energy firms are returned to public ownership, demanding the restoration of the £20-a-week cut for Universal Credit recipients and that its councillors will campaign for a national minimum wage of £12 an hour. During these elections, National co-spokesperson Colin Fox stood in the ward of Liberton/Gilmerton in the City of Edinburgh. The party stood several other candidates in these elections: four in Glasgow, and one each in Paisley, Cumbernauld and Irvine. On 28 March 2025, Olivia Murphy stood as an SSP candidate in the Glasgow Southside Central by-election, gaining a higher voteshare than Reform UK, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
The SSP entered a period of increased activity in British parliament elections when Bill Bonnar stood for the party in the 2023 Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election. The party also fielded candidates in Rutherglen and Glasgow East for the 2024 United Kingdom general election, their first contested general election since 2015.