I'm back from Suffragette City!

And it was, as the song goes, outta sight!

Although starting late, the event was fantastic – it was really inspiring to see a number of diverse groups pull together and put on a show, explain what it is they stand for and begin to build a support network with each other.

The night consisted of a number of musicians and performers, with poetry and comedy thrown into the mix, as well as speeches given by a representative of each group present. I spent much of the night in a state of nervous panic, awaiting my turn on the soapbox. Somehow, I managed to string together a few coherent sentences on the SSP and what we at the Aberdeen branch have achieved so far, what we hope to achieve in the future and how the people of Aberdeen can band together with us and start making a change today. I got a bit of a cheer and a clap; people signed up for our mailing list, took stickers, bought badges and copies of the Voice, and were generally up for a good discussion, a bit of banter and some home-made cake.

Highlights of the night were: Euan B giving hell to a poor bloke who disagreed with the SSP stance on Afghanistan; the Communist Party of Great Britain not even coming inside the room and just lurking at the door with their stall; making friends with the anarchists and then returning from the stage to discover the cheeky fuckers had eaten all my brownies; getting some inital signatures on the mailing list for the Aberdeen Socialist Women’s Network (never heard of it? that’s cos I’ve just started it!); getting chatted up by a drunken, middle-aged anarchist who really seemed to like the SSY “Take out the Tories” stickers; and watching Ewan and his Dad play a really great set, then joining in when the entire room started stamping feet in time. Who knew that bagpipes could be such a crowd pleaser?

It was amazing to have these different groups, different people, in the same room and for everyone to be interested in what the others had to say, to listen and to converse, without any major argument or disagreement. It can be difficult, sometimes, for those on the Left to organise as a larger, more cohesive movement. The differences between our groups are slight; we have more in common than our in-fighting would suggest. If we are to overcome struggle and achieve anything, we must work together and find points upon which we can agree. There are some major issues, both locally, nationally and internationally, that Aberdeen SSP is concerned about and could be involved in tackling. The cuts that our public services are facing; the worrying trend in our city and shire councils to ignore the wishes of the people and to only listen to those with big money; the continuing war in Afghanistan, and the conflict and unrest in the Middle East. By building links with groups like Aberdeen SPSC, Aberdeen Stop the War, Tripping Up Trump and Friends of Union Terrace Gardens (to name just a few), the Aberdeen branch can throw their weight behind these campaigns and work with as many people as possible to gain empowerment and equality, and to make our voices heard. Suffragette City helped us on our way to building these relationships, and hopefully we will see some worthwhile activism come to fruitation because of it.