The only way to develop and build a party of a new type that in any way threatens capitalism is at the same time to develop and build the mass movement around it, argues BILL GREENSHIELDS

CONGRATULATIONS to the Scottish Labour Party (SLP) for its part in the victory over the despicable Tories on July 4. It won 37 seats (65 per cent) on a 35.3 per cent share of the vote, higher than Labour’s Britain-wide share of 33.7 per cent.
Although, as in England and Wales, it was a victory gained in the face of a spectacular collapse of its main rival, in Scotland’s case, the Scottish National Party (SNP) which lost 39 seats on a 30 per cent share of the vote, leaving them only 9 MPs in Westminster (16 per cent).
The victory was also won on a reduction in turnout of 8.4 per cent from the 2019 election to only 59.2 per cent and in a few constituencies the turnout was down by as much as 10 per cent. That was a bigger reduction than the UK turnout which fell by 7.6 per cent to 60 per cent.

VINCE MILLS says Scottish Labour has adopted better positions than its Westminster counterpart — but unless it starts to fight for them that will count for nothing

VINCE MILLS cautions over the perils and pitfalls of ‘a new left party’

VINCE MILLS says politicians of various parties are interpreting the result in self-serving ways, but it contains little comfort for the left

VINCE MILLS gathers some sobering facts that would inevitably be major obstacles to any such initiative