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In the document Scottish Socialist Party Conference and Conclusions, the faction comrades claim that we have had the atomisation of our forces within a broad party.

But yet again they cannot come up with any evidence. There was much greater political preparation for this conference than for any previous Scottish Socialist Party or Scottish Socialist Alliance conference or event. In fact, the political intervention of the International Socialist Movement comrades on a whole range issues was outstanding. The political positions we argued for were all carried overwhelmingly - by much greater margins incidentally than was the case in the old Scottish Socialist Alliance.

The comrades claimed that only the Dundee comrades sold the International Socialist. This is untrue. Ally Black has explained that the new members from Edinburgh as well as other comrades were selling the journal. Ally also explained the work that was done by the Edinburgh comrades in advertising and building the fringe meeting. The Committee for a Workers’ International had a bookstall where the material from the comrades in Northern Ireland was also sold.

The statement complains about the lack of attendance at the fringe meeting of a number of leading comrades. But as Frances Curran explained in a letter to Niall Mulholland and Peter Hadden which raised exactly the same points, our leading comrades are also leading members of the Scottish Socialist Party.

In the lunch hour the Full-timers were all tied up with organising the conference, dealing with the press, being interviewed for TV, getting interviews for the Socialist Voice, or using the lunch hour to discuss with Scottish Socialist Party members about campaigning in the imminent by-election campaign in Ayr.

As Frances also explained, all of these comrades are involved in political discussions within the International Socialist Movement and in building the International Socialist Movement. Incidentally Ally reported that when he was trawling the coffee bars to get comrades to attend the fringe meeting some of those he had problems persuading were the comrades from the Dundee branch of International Socialist Movement, most of whom have signed the faction statement.

Comrades did vote different ways on the constitutional amendments. This was a debate which unfolded on the conference floor and it was clear that some of the points put forward required further consideration. Any leadership worth its salt would take these points on board rather than ramming through an organisational measure that Scottish Socialist Party members - including some of our comrades - were unhappy about.

These points only came to light in the discussion. As the debate developed it was obvious that real issues had arisen. How do the comrades suggest we should have responded? Should we have run round our comrades on the conference floor demanding that they support the constitutional amendments?

Such an approach would be sterile and would not increase our influence in the Scottish Socialist Party; it would lead to a backlash, particularly among the non-aligned members who will not take kindly to decisions being railroaded through by force of numbers rather than convincing people through argument and debate.

In any case, the issues raised on the constitution are not political issues, they are organisational issues. The International Socialist Movement majority are completely relaxed about these decisions. We believe that it is healthy that the leadership of any party are kept on their toes by the rank and file.

But we are concerned about the hypocrisy and double standards of some of the faction comrades. For example, at last year's Scottish Socialist Party conference, the comrades from Dundee voted with the Red Republicans (i.e. the Republican Communist Network) on various constitutional amendments against the majority of the Scottish Militant Labour comrades.

We had no problems with that. But neither do we have any problem with comrades voting in different ways on constitutional detail at this conference either. In general the International Socialist Movement acted in unison at the Scottish Socialist Party conference, not because discipline was imposed but because of political clarity.

After much huffing and puffing about atomisation and disintegration of our forces all that the faction comrades are left with to back up their argument is that; "No one identified themselves as members of the International Socialist Movement / Committee for a Workers’ International"

In the first place, that is not true. Frances Curran and Murray Smith both said they were members of the Committee for a Workers’ International when they stood for election as international organisers. And both were subsequently elected overwhelmingly in the ballot.

Other comrades wove it naturally into their contribution. But we are opposed to the method which is being proposed here: that comrades every time they reach the rostrum give their name, branch and International Socialist Movement membership.

The Dundee comrades themselves did not approach the conference in that manner. Nor have they approached other Scottish Socialist Party or Scottish Socialist Alliance conferences in that way - and they are right not to adopt that approach. That is not the way we intervened in the anti-Poll Tax campaign, the Hands Off Our Water campaign, the Save Our Services campaigns or the various workers' solidarity campaigns we have been involved in.

We have all had experience of this approach with the Socialist Workers Party in the anti-poll tax campaign, at union conferences and in many other situations. It completely grates on workers and we do not believe that it is the correct way to intervene.

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