This is a list of Scottish Socialist Party MSPs. It includes all members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who have sat as Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) members of the Scottish Parliament.
A total of six people have served as SSP MPs. Tommy Sheridan was elected at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election, and five more SSP MSP were elected at the 2003 election. Two of the MSPs left the party in August 2006, and all six MSPs were defeated at the May 2007 Scottish Parliament election.
Name | Constituency or region | Type | Start year | End year | Reason |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rosemary Byrne [1] | South of Scotland | Region | 2003 | 2006 | Left the SSP [note 1] |
Frances Curran [2] | West of Scotland | Region | 2003 | 2007 | Defeated |
Colin Fox [3] | Lothians | Region | 2003 | 2007 | Defeated |
Rosie Kane [4] | Glasgow | Region | 2003 | 2007 | Defeated |
Carolyn Leckie [5] | Central Scotland | Region | 2003 | 2007 | Defeated |
Tommy Sheridan [6] | Glasgow | Region | 1999 | 2006 | Left the SSP [note 1] |
The 2003 Scottish Parliament election was the second election of members to the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell, the Labour Party MSP, remained in office as First Minister for a second term and the Executive continued as a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition. As of 2022, it remains the last Scottish Parliament election victory for the Scottish Labour Party, and the last time the Scottish National Party lost a Holyrood election.
The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Donald Dewar becoming First Minister.
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.
Glasgow is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Thus it elects a total of 16 MSPs.
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.
South of Scotland was one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament when it was created in 1999. The region was replaced with South Scotland in 2011 following a review.
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".
Hugh Kerr is a Scottish politician and a former lecturer in social policy at the Polytechnic of North London. He was elected a Labour Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in June 1994 to represent the euro-constituency of Essex West & Hertfordshire East until 1999.
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.
Her Majesty's Advocate v Thomas Sheridan and Gail Sheridan was the 2010 criminal prosecution of Tommy Sheridan, a former Member of the Scottish Parliament and his wife Gail Sheridan for perjury in relation to the earlier civil case Sheridan v News Group Newspapers. Tommy Sheridan was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison, whereas Gail was acquitted.
The 2005 Scottish Socialist Party leadership election was triggered by the resignation of Tommy Sheridan in November 2004. 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.
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.