A statement from the SSY National Committee after the groundbreaking victory of Reform UK in the English council elections.
Winning 677 councillors and an estimated 32% share of the vote, yesterday Reform UK achieved a historic breakthrough in the English local council elections. Nigel Farage’s party now controls almost half of councils in England, making Reform no longer a protest party, but a party of government which scapegoats immigrants, sabotages climate action and defends billionaire wealth.
For months, election polling has predicted huge Farage gains. Starmer’s Labour Party has left a gaping vacuum where there should be working class resistance. His refusal to tackle disgusting wealth inequality or challenge the ruling elite has allowed Reform to grow.
But we’ve seen what happens when the left rises too. When Jeremy Corbyn came close to Downing Street, the rightwing alliance between the Tories and Reform scrambled to stop him. It showed us that socialist ideas still have power — and that when we organise, we can inspire millions.
So far, Scotland has escaped the Reform surge. Our anger at the economic violence of the past decades — the auctioning off of our industry, the bank bailouts, vicious Tory attacks on the poor — has fueled our independence movement. After a dramatic collapse in 2024, support for the SNP is climbing once again, and support for indy continues to grow.
But make no mistake: Reform’s message can take root here too.
When the SNP fails to deliver independence — and continues to pass down Westminster’s austerity and union busting laws — people will look elsewhere. And without a strong socialist alternative, that space may be filled by the far right.
The SSY is clear in its warning. Reform will not stop south of the border if socialist Scots do not act now to build an alternative.
That’s why the SSY is building something different. In 2027, Scotland will go to the polls in our own local elections. We must not repeat the mistakes of England, where no popular socialist force stood in the way. The gap for working class resistance left by the SNP and Labour must be filled by bold, socialist candidates — by workers, tenants and young firebrands ready to face down the elites and the far right.
If you tremble at the thought of Farage as prime minister and the implications that will have for Scotland: fight back.
Join the SSY. Help us build a powerful, left-wing resistance to Reform, the Tories and Westminster’s elite. Help us build a movement for a socialist Scottish republic.
