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The 2005 Scottish Socialist Party leadership election was triggered by the resignation of Tommy Sheridan in November 2004. [1] After a period of collective rule, an election was held at the party's Perth conference in February 2005 to find a new National Convener. It resulted in the election of Colin Fox as Sheridan's successor. [2]
Any member of the Scottish Socialist Party was eligible to stand in the election. [3] Nominations were to be accepted until the first week in December, [1] though this deadline eventually became 23 January 2005. [4] Two candidates contested the election. [5]
Fox announced his intention to stand for the position shortly after Sheridan's resignation, saying he was "prepared to step up to the plate and offer my services to the party for consideration as the national spokesperson". [6] His sole opponent, McCombes, announced his candidacy five days before nominations closed. [2] McCombes joined the race in order to avoid the "coronation" of an unopposed candidate. [7] Carolyn Leckie was, for a time, thought likely to stand [8] but did not.
Sheridan initially refused to name his preferred successor, [3] but later emerged as one of Fox's backers. Fox was supported by two of the party's other MSPs—Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne —while McCombes was backed by three: Rosie Kane, Carolyn Leckie, and Frances Curran. [9]
In the grassroots membership, Fox found greater support in the east of Scotland and McCombes found greater support in the west. [10] Fox had been a full-time organiser for the party in the Lothians for five years before his election in 2003, [10] and said those who had voted for McCombes were based "principally in Glasgow". [2]
A principal issue in the election was whether or not the party should be led by an MSP. The Scotsman reported: "There is little separating [Fox and McCombes] ideologically, so the contest is largely a matter of style and personality. And one of the key issues has become whether the SSP should be led from inside the Scottish Parliament or outside." [10] McCombes said he wanted the party to engage with non-voters who had "been abandoned by the political elites", and argued that he was "a real political heavyweight, capable of standing up to big beasts of the jungle like Alex Salmond, Charles Kennedy and John Reid". [4]
Fox argued that "electing a non-MSP as convener would make the job ten times more difficult" and that he didn't think McCombes "would get invited to many meetings because he wouldn't be an elected representative". [10]
The party formally decided to end collective rule and proceed with the election in a National Council meeting in December 2004, at which there was "a full and frank discussion on the options for the leadership". [8] Regardless, the question was revisited at the party conference, which discussed four options for governing the party: [11]
The conference eventually voted through a motion proposing the establishment of a commission to "investigate the existing structures, organisation, culture and constitution of the party", [12] then proceeded with the election of a single convener. Delegates were invited to cast a vote for either of the nominated candidates. There were 406 votes cast for either Fox or McCombes, with a total of 9 abstentions and 1 spoilt ballot. [2] Fox won by a majority of 98, despite speculation that the vote would be close. [10] [2]
After his election, Fox said the party would "unite and focus on regaining the confidence of the 130,000 people who voted for us in the 2003 election". He also said he would ensure no division between the party's MSPs and its grassroots activists, saying: "I want to go to those who voted for Alan, principally in Glasgow, and reassure them that rank-and-file democracy is safe in my hands."
Sheridan said he would strive to "unify the party behind Colin's convenership", and said Fox's 98 vote majority "makes it all the more likely that this party will now get back to what it is good at, which is fighting the Tories, fighting capitalism, fighting wars, instead of having internal squabbles". [2] By August 2006, however, Sheridan began manoeuvring to retake the party leadership and said he had absolutely no confidence in Fox, who lacked the "steel" to lead the SSP out of its present crisis. [13] Sheridan eventually formed a splinter organisation and left the SSP before another leadership contest could take place.
John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2014 to 2023. He held various Scottish Cabinet roles under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon from 2007 to 2023. Swinney has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Perthshire North since 2011, having previously represented North Tayside from 1999 to 2011. He was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2000 to 2004.
Colin Fox is a national co-spokesperson of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP). He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothians region from 2003 to 2007.
Thomas Sheridan is a Scottish politician who served as convenor of Solidarity from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) from 1998 to 2004 and as co-convenor of Solidarity from 2006 to 2016. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region from 1999 to 2007.
John McAllion is a campaigner for the Scottish Socialist Party, as well as a former Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP), Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), and convenor of Tayside Regional Council. He is also convener of the Scottish Fairtrade Forum.
Carolyn Leckie is a Scottish politician. She was a member of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP), and held a number of senior positions in the party, but has since left the SSP. From 2003 to 2007 she was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region, having been elected on the SSP list.
Rosemary "Rosie" Kane is a Scottish Socialist Party politician. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow Region from 2003 to 2007.
Rosemary Byrne is a Scottish politician who served as co-convenor of Solidarity from 2006 to 2019.
Dr William Laurence Wilson is a former Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He was a regional list Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West of Scotland region from 2007 to 2011. He left the SNP in 2017 and now serves as co-convener of the Edinburgh Branch of the Scottish Green Party.
Campbell Martin is a Scottish journalist and former politician.
Lloyd John Quinan is a Scottish broadcaster and pro-independence politician. He was a Scottish National Party (SNP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West of Scotland region from 1999 to 2003.
Alan William McCombes has been a leading member of the Scottish Socialist Party for several years, and was the editor of the Scottish Socialist Voice until 2003. With Tommy Sheridan, he was also author of Imagine: A Socialist Vision for the 21st Century, described by Tony Benn as "one of the very best books I have ever read on the subject of socialism".
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Sheridan v News Group Newspapers is a civil court case brought by Tommy Sheridan against the publishers of the News of the World, which began in the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 4 July 2006. He alleged that the News of the World defamed his character through a series of articles in their publication.
Solidarity – Scotland's Socialist Movement was a political party in Scotland. The party launched on 3 September 2006, founded by two former Scottish Socialist Party MSPs, Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne, in the aftermath of Sheridan's libel action.
In Scotland, the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) is a left-wing political party. The party was formed in 1998 from an alliance of left-wing organisations in Scotland. In 1999, it saw its first MSP returned to Holyrood, with five more MSPs elected in 2003. It lost all MSPs in the 2007 elections and has lacked representation in the Scottish Parliament ever since.
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. Local elections in Scotland fell on the same day.
The Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an independent socialist Scottish republic.
RISE – Scotland's Left Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance and political party created ahead of the 2016 Scottish Parliament general election. The name was a contrived acronym standing for Respect, Independence, Socialism and Environmentalism. The Party name was registered as 'RISE - Respect, Independence, Socialism and Environmentalism'. The party was deregistered in November 2020.
The Alba Party is a Scottish nationalist and pro-independence political party in Scotland, founded in February 2021, led by former first minister of Scotland Alex Salmond. Salmond launched the party's 2021 Scottish Parliament election campaign in March 2021, with the party standing list-only candidates. Two members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK House of Commons defected from the Scottish National Party (SNP) to the Alba Party on 27 March 2021, and several former SNP MPs also joined the party. No Alba Party candidate has been elected at any election.
2005 United Kingdom party leadership elections | ||
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