Democratic Green Socialists: A New voice in Solidarity, a New voice on the Left.

The Democratic Green Socialist Group is a new organised political voice within Solidarity – the main party of the left in Scotland. 

Solidarity, which has made such an impact in Scottish politics since its formation less than two years ago, finds itself under attack from Rupert Murdoch, the legal establishment and - disgracefully - former comrades in the Scottish Socialist Party. Make no mistake about it, there is an organised political witch hunt taking place that is directed against socialists who are guilty of no crime. All members of our party will do what we do best; we will stand in solidarity with our fellow socialists.

Nevertheless, despite these attacks, politics moves on, and the process of building a broad party to the left of Labour and the SNP continues. Solidarity since its formation has been pluralist and recognises that there is not one singular socialist tradition. From this perspective, it is inevitable – and should be welcomed - that new formations will emerge in the party. This should be seen as a sign of growing political maturity.

Up until now Solidarity has benefited from the support of two Marxist organisations that have played an important role in building our party. Furthermore, both of these organisations have developed their political ideology over a period of decades. As a consequence, their experience, combativity and theoretical insight enriches Solidarity.

However, it must be recognised that there is a broad layer in the party who were either part of other political traditions prior to the SSP/Solidarity experience, or who were never members of another political party prior to joining those bodies, and are not from Marxist/Leninist traditions. There are also comrades who do hail from those ‘vanguard’ traditions, but who now believe firmly that other forms of political organisation and discourse are absolutely vital, both to the theoretical re-arming of the left, and for the building of the broad socialist party Scotland needs and deserves.

As this section of the party evolves it will inevitably want to find its own voice in the movement. We believe now is the time for a new formation, the Democratic Green Socialists - representing the views of these comrades - to emerge in Solidarity.

From its inception, this new formation will aim to promote ideas and debates within the broader party whilst contributing towards a healthy political culture, fully participating with our other comrades to build Solidarity as the broad democratic party of socialism in Scotland

What’s the politics?

We have agreed we will not refer to ourselves as a ‘platform’.

We believe that terms like ‘platform’ and ‘tendency’ carry too many political and organisational implications from experiences of the past, when our intent is to look towards the future.

We wish to make it clear from the outset that we are not a democratic centralist organisation committed to a ‘party line’ or block vote at conferences. Instead we see ourselves as a formation that will contribute to the campaigning work of Solidarity, and towards a discussion about the way forward for Solidarity and the left in general.

      The new grouping is firmly pro-Solidarity. Our aim is to work positively

      with other comrades towards becoming the broad party of the left in

      Scotland in the same sense and scale that the SSP was at its height, and

      then to take that to an even higher stage. 

      The Democratic Green Socialists will:

·         Be committed to an independent Scotland as a fundamental democratic

                    right of the Scottish people

·         Stand for an independent socialist Scotland based on democratic social

                    ownership of key sectors of the economy and the values expressed in         

                    the founding statement of Solidarity

·         Be committed to an electoral strategy and campaigning politics that

                    recognises that the huge space vacated in Scottish politics by the SSP

                    remains, and deserves to be filled

·         Promote a principled and pragmatic politics for Solidarity, in a

                    language and mode that relates to ordinary working class people, their

                    desires, concerns and needs, opposing – with others, we hope – any

                    tendency to slide backwards to the politics of ultra-leftism and left

                    sectarianism

·         Promote internationalism, a red-green environmental politics, and peace

·         Support genuine equality while developing a constructive critique of the

                    type of simplistic gender and identity politics that led the SSP down a

                    blind alley

·         Be informed by the ideas of Marx and the giants of the socialist

                    movement, but not beholden to or confined by already existing platform

                    narratives. We believe modern socialism also needs to be informed by

                    other thinkers and disciplines including science, philosophy, psychology

                    and the arts. In all things, we will support a genuine discourse on

                    complex issues and oppose the politics of shibboleth.

·         Work to dissolve false dichotomies between libertarianism and

                    collectivism, recognising that a free, socialist and environmentally

                    stable society can only be guaranteed on the triple basis of social

                    ownership and control of the major means of production, democracy and

                    human rights.