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RISE - The "Scottish Syriza"


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RISE have announced their candidate slate for Holyrood 2016. Current independent MSP Jean Urquhart will stand for them. She was elected as an SNP MSP but left following the change of policy regarding NATO membership.

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RISE have announced their candidate slate for Holyrood 2016. Current independent MSP Jean Urquhart will stand for them. She was elected as an SNP MSP but left following the change of policy regarding NATO membership.

I'm assuming Cat Boyd is near the top of the list? She's surely the highest media profile of any of them (does RISE even have a leader, as such?)

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I'm assuming Cat Boyd is near the top of the list? She's surely the highest media profile of any of them (does RISE even have a leader, as such?)

Think she's top of their list in Glasgow.

It'll be interesting to see if they make any impact. The danger, as usual, is that their vote is split. You have to assume that Tommy Sheridan will run in some capacity and the Greens are also competing for the same section of the electorate.

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Fox top in Lothians, Boyd on Glasgow and Urquhart in Highland. The rest a bunch of no marks.

They have a presence amongst the pro Indy twitterati but nothing in the general public. I don't see them doing any better than the SSP lastvtme.

I really doubt Urquhart will get in. Fox is also unlikely.

I was looking at the last election results, the Socialist Labour Party (Scargill's party) got 16,000 votes!

Unsure if they were pro-Indy. A distraction on the road to pure Stalinism probably.

ETA - Here's the list of candidates http://www.rise.scot/rise-candidates-2016

Edited by ICTChris
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I really doubt Urquhart will get in. Fox is also unlikely.

I was looking at the last election results, the Socialist Labour Party (Scargill's party) got 16,000 votes!

Unsure if they were pro-Indy. A distraction on the road to pure Stalinism probably.

ETA - Here's the list of candidates http://www.rise.scot/rise-candidates-2016

I'd imagine most of the 16,000 voted for them by accident.

I might actually vote for Fox. There's an empty seat in Edinburgh that used to go to Margo MacDonald and it'd be nice to see someone other than the mainstream parties get into parliament, the Greens already have one here so it's between Fox or another SNP seat.

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I'd imagine most of the 16,000 voted for them by accident.

I might actually vote for Fox. There's an empty seat in Edinburgh that used to go to Margo MacDonald and it'd be nice to see someone other than the mainstream parties get into parliament, the Greens already have one here so it's between Fox or another SNP seat.

Polling suggests the Greens might get a second in Lothians.

Rise are yet to break the magic 0% mark in any polling yet.

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I'd imagine most of the 16,000 voted for them by accident.

I might actually vote for Fox. There's an empty seat in Edinburgh that used to go to Margo MacDonald and it'd be nice to see someone other than the mainstream parties get into parliament, the Greens already have one here so it's between Fox or another SNP seat.

Go for Foxy.

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I know a lot of the RISE candidates personally. I think it's a damn shame than Jean Urquhart is on the list as she is a capable politician and this coalition is going nowhere. It hasn't helped that several RISE activists have been called out by other activists for their behaviour towards women which has been roundly ignored based on a paralysed fear of the leadership of 'splitting' the non-existent 'movement'. I think the Scottish left is crying out for a left-wing party that challenges the SNP on a lot of their regressive policies but this group are not the ones to do it. After knowing a lot of these activists personally for almost ten years it disappoints me to say this, but there's a reason I'm not involved (living overseas aside) anymore.

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I had a look at their list today and as stated Jean Urquhart is top of the list in the Highlands, along with only one other candidate who looks like he's not much older than a sixth former. Presume he's the only other one who volunteered which doesn't really suggests that they have any strength in depth at all. I wonder if Urquhart and Colin Fox would be better off standing as independents, as this mob don't look like they'll ever be elected......probably ever.

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I know a lot of the RISE candidates personally. I think it's a damn shame than Jean Urquhart is on the list as she is a capable politician and this coalition is going nowhere. It hasn't helped that several RISE activists have been called out by other activists for their behaviour towards women which has been roundly ignored based on a paralysed fear of the leadership of 'splitting' the non-existent 'movement'. I think the Scottish left is crying out for a left-wing party that challenges the SNP on a lot of their regressive policies but this group are not the ones to do it. After knowing a lot of these activists personally for almost ten years it disappoints me to say this, but there's a reason I'm not involved (living overseas aside) anymore.

We definitely need a left-wing party to challenge the SNP, I don't think this is a true united front. RISE are more an SSP front.

It's missing Tommy.

Not sure how or if they could be a meeting of the ways? The ruling class did what it does best to preserve itself by divide and rule.

Grimbo

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We definitely need a left-wing party to challenge the SNP, I don't think this is a true united front. RISE are more an SSP front.

It's missing Tommy.

Not sure how or if they could be a meeting of the ways? The ruling class did what it does best to preserve itself by divide and rule.

Grimbo

I don't think there will ever be a meeting of the ways between Tommy Sheridan and most of the Scottish Left. Certainly you can't see him joining a coaltion with Colin Fox, who he accuses of lying in court to destroy him. It'll be interesting to see what Sheridan does in terms of standing a slate, there was talk of him registering 'Hope Over Fear' as a name.

There are actually a couple of pro-Sheridan activists on this list - Pat Smith was a witness for him in his trial and is on the list for Edinburgh.

I know a lot of the RISE candidates personally. I think it's a damn shame than Jean Urquhart is on the list as she is a capable politician and this coalition is going nowhere. It hasn't helped that several RISE activists have been called out by other activists for their behaviour towards women which has been roundly ignored based on a paralysed fear of the leadership of 'splitting' the non-existent 'movement'. I think the Scottish left is crying out for a left-wing party that challenges the SNP on a lot of their regressive policies but this group are not the ones to do it. After knowing a lot of these activists personally for almost ten years it disappoints me to say this, but there's a reason I'm not involved (living overseas aside) anymore.

Menzel, do you have any more details on people being called out about their treatment of women?

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I know a lot of the RISE candidates personally. I think it's a damn shame than Jean Urquhart is on the list as she is a capable politician and this coalition is going nowhere. It hasn't helped that several RISE activists have been called out by other activists for their behaviour towards women which has been roundly ignored based on a paralysed fear of the leadership of 'splitting' the non-existent 'movement'. I think the Scottish left is crying out for a left-wing party that challenges the SNP on a lot of their regressive policies but this group are not the ones to do it. After knowing a lot of these activists personally for almost ten years it disappoints me to say this, but there's a reason I'm not involved (living overseas aside) anymore.

I know a few of the RISR candidates personally, I was involved in RIC and the SSP pre referendum but to be honest the wind came out my sails so much I've only attended 3 SSP and 1 RISE meeting since and don't intend to get involved (at most I'll put my name down for some door knocking/leafleting before the election).

It is well intentioned, has excellent democratic structures, has excellent policies, has excellent candidates and whilst the SSP form a large part of it there's a plenty other groups, UK individuals and organisations involved.

RIC made a big impact in Glasgow, mass canvases had huge turnouts, etc. I'd like to hope Boyd and Fox get in (second in the Glasgow list John Davidson would be an excellent MSP also).

I didn't see much infighting. There is understandably resentment to Sheridan, Solidarity have sod all members but Sheridan's name will get them votes from RISE which will probably scupper their chances.

A rainbow parliament with socialists and greens is what I want. I'll be voting for them on the list for sure.

You sound like you were scorned by someone, this is very much a 'movement', just taken a while to get organised. They've not started campaigning or appeared on any polls yet. They will get more than SSP imo.

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People I know involved in the feminist societies around Glasgow and Strathclyde University have said the same thing regarding treatment of women but I think it's an issue around the radical left in general. I'll try and find out more though.

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NtP is pretty right on this. I was involved in the ISG, which was an organisation that ended up pretty much folding into RIC and whos former members are playing a leading role within RISE (including featuring IIRC two top-list candidates for the upcoming election). I ended up leaving the ISG and not getting involved too much in RIC after certain practices within the ISG which amounted to a pretty poisonous political atmosphere, including a very misogynistic and bullying environment towards several comrades in the organisation. A complaint made to RIC from several woman activists based on inappropriate conduct (including advances, behaviour towards etc) of an activist within RIC was not acted upon, the backlash of this culminating in friends receiving harassing Facebook messages from several other people involved within RIC. This stopped me and many other people declining to get involved further in the project (I'm not a great example as I left Scotland in the summer of 2014, but had stopped doing RIC stuff months before due to this). From what I know, a fair few faces involved in this, including those who said they would act on the complaint but did absolutely nothing, in my view paralysed by 'fear' of causing any controversy and disruption, are now parts of RISE.

I understand I'm not being particularly helpful in the sense that I'm not at liberty to divulge names at the request of several comrades affected, but the overall thing I'm trying to get over is that I see very little progress made on these issues, as somebody who became involved in politics in 2003 and has seen their fair share of shitty practices and crap, ineffectual organisations (I was close to being a list candidate in 2007, too!).

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