 |
'Solidarity leader Tommy Sheridan has confirmed he will stand as a candidate in the European elections taking place in June. But the socialist politician and former celebrity Big Brother housemate will not take up his seat in the European Parliament in Brussels if he wins.' BBC News, 17 th April 2009. |
 |
 |
1. Professor John Foster-Grime |  |
| No2EU | ||
| Professor John Foster is a history professor. He is the secretary of the Scottish Campaign Against Euro Federalism and the lead candidate on the Scottish list for NO2EU which includes Solidarity, the Communist Party of Britain, the Socialist Party, Morning Star newspaper and Indian Workers Association. The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) trade union, led by Bob Crow, is sponsoring the coalition. Recent electoral experience | ||
 |
2. Tommy Sheridan | |
| No2EU | ||
| Tommy Sheridan was born in Glasgow in 1964 and educated at Lourdes School. He graduated from Stirling University with a BA in Economics and Politics. Initially a member of the Labour Party, Sheridan came to prominence as an Anti Poll Tax protester and was jailed in 1991. He won almost 20 % of the vote in Pollok in the 1992 general election as a Militant Labour candidate, while still in jail, and was elected a month later as Glasgow District councillor for Pollok, a ward which he held until 2003 when he was succeeded by his agent Keith Baldassara. In the 1994 European elections he came third in Glasgow with 7.6 % of the vote as a Militant and in the 1997 general election he took 11.1 % for the Scottish Socialist Alliance. He was elected as Glasgow's fifth list MSP in 1999 when the Scottish Socialist Party took 7.25 % of the vote in the city, coming just 1,658 votes behind the Tories and 108 votes ahead of the Liberal Democrats. Sheridan proved to be an effective and popular campaigner. His Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Bill Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on the 6 th December 2000 and Royal Assent was given on the 17 th January 2001. At the 2003 election, Sheridan was joined by five colleagues. However, these proved to be much less effective than Sheridan as a lone MSP with the SSP group becoming plagued by in-fighting. The new SSP MSPs were also perceived by many of the public as being more interested in engaging in high profile publicity stunts than working to defend the poor and disadvantaged - for example when they allowed themselves to be suspended from the Parliament on the 30 th June rather than using their votes to prevent Labour and the Liberal Democrats from blocking a motion to compensate the families of 80 victims who died after contracted hepatitis C in blood transfusions. Tommy Sheridan resigned as leader on the 11 th November 2004 to clear himself concerning allegations published in the News of the World, winning £200,000 of damages from the newspaper in August 2006, but later facing accusations of perjury. The SSP group split over the issue with Tommy Sheridan and South of Scotland MSP Rosemary Byrne quitting the party in September 2006 to found Solidarity - Scotland's Socialist Movement. In the electoral battle in 2007, Solidarity beat the SSP in every one of the eight electoral regions, however, none of the SSP or Solidarity MSPs were re-elected. Solidarity Posts: 3 rd September 2006 - Co-convenor with Rosemary Byrne Scottish Socialist Party Posts: 12 th June 2003 - 2 nd September 2006 - Spokesperson on Communities, Finance and Public Services 11 th November 2004 - 13 th February 2005 - Joint leadership (shared by all six SSP MSPs) May 1999 - 11 th November 2004 - leader of the SSP Recent electoral experience As a Solidarity candidate: 2007 Scottish Parliament election, First on Solidarity's Glasgow list, 8,574 votes (4.13 %) (Not elected) As a Scottish Socialist Party candidate: 2003 Scottish Parliament election, Glasgow Pollok, 6,016 votes (27.93 %) 2003 Scottish Parliament election, First on Scottish Socialist Party's Glasgow list, 31,116 votes (16.02 %) (elected) 1999 Scottish Parliament election, Glasgow Pollok, 5,611 votes (21.51 %) 1999 Scottish Parliament election, First on Scottish Socialist Party's Glasgow list, 18,581 votes (7.25 %) (elected) 1999 City of Glasgow Council election, Pollok, 1,214 votes (44.01 %) (elected) As a Scottish Socialist Alliance candidate: 1997 Westminster Parliament election, Glasgow Pollok, 3,639 votes (11.09 %) As a Militant candidate: 1995 City of Glasgow Council election, Pollok, 1,019 votes (48.04 %) (elected) 1994 European Parliament election, Glasgow, 12,113 votes (7.59 %) 1992 Glasgow District Council election, Pollok, ? votes (52 %) (elected) 1992 Westminster Parliament election, Glasgow Pollok, 6,287 votes (19.26 %) | ||
 |
3. Leah Ganley | |
| No2EU | ||
| Leah Ganely is a member of Solidarity. She is also a student at Dundee University. Recent electoral experience | ||
|
4. Stuart Hyslop | |
| No2EU | ||
| Stuart Hyslop is a retired seafarer and member of the RMT. He was fourth on the Socialist Labour Party's South of Scotland list at the Scottish Parliament elections in 1999 when they came fifth with 4.4 % in the region and narrowly missed picking up a regional list seat. Recent electoral experience As a Socialist Labour Party candidate 1999 Scottish Parliament election, fourth on SLP South of Scotland list, 13,887 votes (4.36 %) | ||
|
5. Ajit Singh Uppal | |
| No2EU | ||
| Ajit Singh Uppal represents the Indian Workers Association (pc) Recent electoral experience | ||
|
6. Thomas Morrison | |
| No2EU | ||
| Thomas Morrison is the Secretary of Clydebank TUC. Recent electoral experience | ||
Return to home page