The SSP agrees to contact socialists in England, Ireland and Wales to discuss a republican socialist
strategy to counter current US and British plans to maintain imperial control over these islands on behalf of the global corporations. If the initial discussions prove fruitful then the SSP should, if possible, organise a conference in 2008 to bring together socialists from across the UK and Ireland.
The SSP suggests the following discussion points (to which others could add):-
- a) A socialist republican strategy to challenge US/UK imperial plans & to advance the break-up the UK state.
- b) Opposition to NATO and the ‘Partnership for Peace’.
- c) Opposition to the British state’s Crown Powers and plans to reform the UK constitution to stabilise imperial control of these islands.
- d) Opposition to moves by the nationalist parties, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein, and the Irish government, to collaborate with US/UK imperial plans.
- e) Support for the socialist principle of ‘People not Profits’ and opposition to ‘Social Partnerships’.
- f) Support for the republican principle of ‘Citizens not Subjects’.
- g) International support for the principles of the Calton Hill Declaration.
- h) Support for republican socialist advance in these islands based on the principles of democracy and secularism.
If the SSP organises a conference in 2008 to discuss a republican socialist strategy then the International Committee should decide on a full list of organisations and individuals who are to be invited to participate.
European Socialist Alliance
The SSP supports the creation of a broad-based European Socialist Alliance. Therefore, it calls upon the incoming national office-bearers to contact all those independent socialist parties/alliances in Europe to organise a joint conference, putting forward the following proposals for discussion:
- a) joint work and mobilisations directed against the EU leaders’ support for
- 1.massive job cuts to make the workers pay the price for the capitalist world recession,
- 2.privatisation, cuts in services, and casualisation,
- 3.state/employer/trade-union partnerships
- 4.the destruction of civil and trade union rights
- 5.the criminal scapegoating of asylum seekers by capitalist governments whose global policies create millions of refugees and the racist policies of the European governments.
- 6.the need for socialist measures to stop job losses and eliminate poverty including bringing the productive forces across Europe under the democratic control of the working class.
- b) drawing up a common manifesto to put forward a joint slate of candidates in the next European Parliamentary elections.
Conference reaffirms the principled socialist stance of the SSP to Europe agreed at the 2000 SSP conference. The EU was formed to create more favourable conditions for the big companies in Europe.
Our vision of Europe on the other hand is one of genuine cooperation between the millions of ordinary workers to create a socialist Europe and a socialist world.
We will carry this vision as a positive contribution into discussions on common ground between socialists in Europe, and the possibilities of forming a European Socialist Alliance.
