THE Scottish Socialist Alliance yesterday accused New Labour of planning to take up the Conservative agenda if Tony Blair's party wins the General Election.
The attack came as the SSA, an alliance of left-wing parties and protest groups, announced its candidates for all 10 constituencies in Glasgow.
Alliance leaders highlighted the warning issued earlier this week by Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown that there would be no extra funds for local authorities in the first two years of a Labour government.
Councillor Tommy Sheridan, SSA convener and the sole Militant member of the city's council, said: ``With Labour insisting that it will continue where the Tories are about to leave off, a gaping vacuum has opened up on the left of Scottish politics. The SSA is now poised to fill this vacuum.''
Mr Sheridan, who will contest Pollok, added: ``After 17 dark years of destruction, everyone with a shred of human decency will rejoice to see the back of this Tory Government. But in the war on local government jobs and services, Labour is offering no ceasefire.
``In the coming General Election, we must get rid of the Tories. But we must also reject the new Toryism of Labour and the watered-down tartan Toryism of the SNP.''
Mr Alan McCombes, who will contest Govan, said: ``There is a groundswell of cynicism towards Labour and a growing feeling that replacing the Tories with them would be like replacing Vito Corleone with Michael Corleone.'' (A reference to the father and son from the Mafia family in The Godfather).
The SSA made it clear that the main plank in their election campaign in Glasgow will be the effect of Government restrictions on local authority spending, and the alleged lack of resistance by the Labour-ruled city council.
Mr Sheridan said: ``We are calling for total opposition to the Tory cuts and for the council to set an illegal deficit budget.
``The council has a choice between destroying jobs and services or defying the Tories, and we stand for defiance.''
As well as contesting all the Glasgow seats, the alliance, which was formed only a year ago, will field candidates in both of the Dundee constituencies and in Dumbarton, and possibly seats in Cumbernauld and Paisley and one in Edinburgh.
``We are restricted not by any lack of willing candidates but by the money needed to pay the #500 deposit each time,'' said Mr Sheridan.
He added that they were having to raise deposit money through ``pennies and pounds from ordinary people - we do not have any big backers''.
The Scottish Labour Party last night reacted dismissively to the SSA's accusations. General secretary Jack McConnell described the alliance as ``an irrelevance'' and added: ``This team of left-wing extremists will go nowhere in the election because New Labour is in touch with the people of Glasgow and Scotland who want to bring change to our country.''
oThe SSA's 10 Glasgow candidates are: Anniesland, Bill Bonnar; Baillieston, Jim McVicar; Cathcart, Ronnie Stevenson; Govan,Alan McCombes; Kelvin, Allan Green; Maryhill, Mandy Baker; Pollok, Tommy Sheridan; Rutherglen, Rosie Kane; Shettleston, Christine McVicar; and Springburn, Carol Herron.
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