The Scottish Socialist Party

The SSP are in the news once again. BBC News reports that Rosie Kane has been arrested for non payment of a £150 fine imposed after a faslane anti-nuclear demo. Apparently she fully expects to be jailed. It seems that this is what the Scottish Socialist Party live for. Above all else, they seem to like spending time in prison. Like a one trick pony this soon gets tiring and like their antics in the Chamber which resulted in the Hep C sufferers being denied compensation it becomes boring and predictable. Rosie Kane said she was going to make the Parliament "like Big Brother". Well in this respect she has far exceeded everyone's expectations.

The Scottish Socialist Party are also in the news for dropping their threats of legal action against the Scottish Parliament over the suspension of four of their MSPs for the month of September. Mr Fox, the SSP Leader claimed this was because in order to proceed with a judiciall review, they would be required to apologise for their actions. The cynical among us may suspect it is rather the prospect of having to pay up to £100,000 in the event of losing the case.

There has been a general malaise about the SSP since Tommy Sheridan stepped aside as leader. Colin Fox often appears to be out of his depth and there are widely rumoured fallings out amongst the SSP parliamentary group. This was always likely, given the make up of the Scottish Socialist Party and the diverse and opinionated groups that gave rise to it. It would be no surprise if the SSP imploded before the next Scottish Parliament election and Tommy Sheridan stood for Respect, the party started by George Galloway MP.