Tommy Sheridan

Tommy Sheridan (born on March 7th 1964 with Glasgow), is a Scottish politician of extreme left.

It made its studies in a Catholic school, then was graduate University of Stirling. He married Gail, an airline hostess, in 2000.

The militant

Tommy Sheridan was a militant credit of the tendency " The Militant" ploughing Party, resulting from the trotskism. It was made known while being opposed to the application of the " Poll tax " , a tax decided by Margaret Thatcher: he was thus imprisoned six months to be itself opposite with the sale of the pieces of furniture of the inhabitants of his district who resisted the payment of the tax. He was also imprisoned for his action of opposition to the presence of a nuclear fleet in the base of Faslane.

The founder of the S.S.P.

It founded SSP (Scottish Socialist party) of which he was the first deputy in 1999. In May 2003, with 128.026 votes (7.68%), the SSP manages to make elect 6 deputies at the Scottish Parliament of which Tommy Sheridan.

Problems and scission

But of the internal problems, relayed by the Tabloïd S British, led Tommy Sheridan to give up its station of spokesperson of the SSP, at the end of 2004. It was shown by the tabloïds to have light manners. In August 2006, Tommy Sheridan gained its lawsuit in slandering against the tabloïd News off the World, but this lawsuit revealed an internal crisis of the S.S.P., part of the leaders of the SSP agreeing to testify in front of British justice to the internal debates to the organization.

At the beginning of September 2006, Tommy Sheridan chooses to leave SSP with the majority of its members, to found a new movement called Solidarité (socialist Movement of Scotland). This party has two deputies at the Scottish Parliament: Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne, others remaining with the SSP. Most of the trade unions which had adhered to the SSP are disaffiliated. Solidarité held its first congress in November 2006.

An extremely heinous campaign is carried out in August and September 2006 against Tommy Sheridan, shown to be a liar, by the team remained with the head of what remains S.S.P. vidéos are diffused on the Net, of the declarations are made on the only question of the " Vérité" by these leaders. Militants of S.S.P. went until burning effigies of Tommy Sheridan.

With the head of a new party, Solidarity

Tommy Sheridan carried out the electoral campaign of 2007 to try to be re-elected in Glasgow like deputy at the Scottish Parliament. Its new party, Solidarity (socialist Movement of Scotland), also made countryside with the municipal elections. But if it succeeded in making its young organization the first of the organizations of the socialist left, it missed its re-election at the Scottish Parliament by less than 1%, at the time of the poll of May 3rd, 2007.

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