Apparently Scotland Doesn't Exist.

Recently there has been controversy surrounding the rather extraordinary claim made by a UK government report that states Scotland would not carry on any of the UK's current obligations and treaties, as Scotland was "extinguished" as a country following the formation of the union in 1707. The exact wording used by the report on page 75 states that:

"For the purpose of this advice, it is not necessary to decide between these two views of the union of 1707. Whether or not England was also extinguished by the union, Scotland certainly was extinguished as a matter of international law, by merger either into an enlarged and renamed England or into an entirely new state".

This may seem baffling for a lot of Scots, as we already all know that the UK is a union of nations, not regions, and certainly not an enlarged England. Isn't that why Scotland has its own legal, health, educational sectors and its own parliament after all, as it is a nation? Well, according to Westminster it is not, which certainly reveals a lot about the current attitude Scotland is receiving from Westminster.

The report, as always, is a clear attempt by guffawing Westminster peers to ramp up the scaremongering surrounding Scotland's constitutional future; to make Scots scared that their country is the only nation in the world that cannot become independent. This time by insinuating that Scotland is so entangled within Britain that it cannot possibly be independent without spending millennium renegotiating thousands of international treaties. With some quislings stating that up to 14'000 treaties would have to be completely reworked from scratch.

As always, however these claims have been falsified and found to be nothing but shallow scaremongering. The claim that Scotland would not carry on any of the UK's current obligations, by definition, means that Scotland would not have to shoulder any of the UK's current debt obligations. So that would actually work in Scotland's favour, cheers Westminster! No two countries on Earth would want to go through the situation which Westminster is proposing; as for the rUK that would entail reworking thousands of treaties to exclude Scotland.

This rigmarole brings to light a very important point in the independence referendum. To many at Westminster, Scotland is still considered to be a region; subservient and nonexistent. With independence, this condescending attitude handed to us by a government we did not elect would stop. We would be a nation again, having all the means necessary to run our own affairs to work for the citizens of our nation, and to elect government we actually want; not to be swamped out by millions of votes south of the border.

The dire nature of Scotland's current position within the United Kingdom can be effectively exemplified by referring to the vote by Scottish MP's on whether or not the Coalition should have went ahead with benefit cuts. A total of 81% of Scottish MP's in Westminster voted against the damaging cuts going through, and what happened? Yup, we still received the damaging cuts.

Unsurprisingly, Scotland's only Tory MP was interviewed by Scotland Tonight  and was asked whether or not he felt comfortable with the claim that Scotland was basically no longer a country; he unequivocally replied "Yes". It truly is a sad state of affairs when a democratically elected representative of a country is happy saying that his country does not exist and is subservient to a government which it did not elect. This fully brings to light the damaging relationship some Scottish MP's have with Westminster; fully willing to go against their nations interests and natural state as an independent nature to please the party their country did not elect, and has consistently voted against.

The Path to a Fairer Society

One of my main driving points for desiring an independent Scotland is the prospect of my country being able to properly deal with societal issues issues such as inequality and rampant greed; both of which are extremely prevalent in modern day Britain. It is no secret that the UK is one of the most unequal countries in the modern industrialised world. The UK social equality currently sits at 28th out of the 34 OECD countries ranked on the Gini Coefficient; making the UK the 6th most unequal country in the industrialised world. Since the beginning of the recession, this has been the elephant in the room for Westminster.

Ever since the coalition was formed in the 2010 elections we have heard nothing but "we'll all have to suffer together", and the "Big Society". All the while we have seen every single millionaires earnings rise by £90'000 per year, and working families' incomes decrease by £800 per year. This to me, is a clear signal that Scotland needs full control over its economics, political, and social levers. It has already clearly been shown since Devolution Scotland has pursued a different path compared to the rest of the UK. In England & Wales we have seen public services being privatised; with areas of the NHS being outsourced to private companies, and talks of all Fire Services in England being handed over to private companies.

Gini Coefficient for the UK

This is very damaging for Scotland. Although we do under devolution control an array of powers that help us to distinguish ourselves form the rest of the UK and pursue policies which benefit the people of our nation; it is still not nearly enough. Pretty much all "Big Three" parties in Westminster heavily influence their Scottish subsidiaries, pulling strings behind the scenes to make Westminster policies flow, from a government we did not elect, directly into Scotland. There is clear evidence of these damaging practices happening.

Johann Lamont the Scottish Labour leader recently caused major controversy when she openly opposed universal welfare by stating that "Scotland is the only country in the world where we get everything for nothing". This came as a shock to many Labour voters who felt betrayed by the party they support, as this claim went against pretty much all traditional Labour values of social-democracy. After this rigmarole, Johann was quickly given a seat on the Labour Cuts Commission down in Westminster; I don't know about you but I smell a sell-out. This is a prime example of why Scottish politics need to stop being influenced by Westminster politicians.

Under Independence, all parties operating in Scotland would cease to be influenced by Westminster politics. This would mean that Labour, the Lib-Dem's, and even the Tories, would have to work for Scotland. They would have to put out policies which would appeal to the Scottish population; a population which has already shown to want to pursue a different path than that offered by Westminster. A more social-democratic, equitable path that would ensure that Scottish society, and politics, would not be influenced by the greed and corruption of Westminster.

Independence would also guarantee Scotland the proper powers in order to effectively tackle inequality in our country. It would enable a government, which the Scottish people actually elect, to use the full range of powers to put our views into our society. This claim is backed up by Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz who says that without independence Scotland cannot hope to effectively deal with problems such as wealth distribution, welfare, and inequality.

He presented his information, along with other leading economists, in the first Fiscal Commission Working Group Report. The report clearly states that since 1975, inequality in the UK has risen faster than any other industrialised country; and continues to do so. This has a stifling effect on prosperity and growth; it is no surprise that the most equal nations on Earth are among the most prosperous.

In conclusion, it can be surmised that Scotland needs independence if we, the people of Scotland, want to have a hope at addressing the growing problem of inequality in our nation. The full range of powers offered by independence would enable us to fully put to practice our views, and would enable us to build a society around the ideals we hold dear; without them being tarnished and influenced by Westminster.

New Independence March and Rally Website

Last year in September as many of you will probably know there was an independence march and rally in Edinburgh. This was the first of 3 march & rallies that are taking place every year up until the referendum in 2014. Despite a lack of awareness in mainstream media, no doubt thanks to the Beeb, around 10'000 people showed up to show their support for the independence campaign.

Attending the march & rally myself, I have to say it was one of the best days of my life so far. The marchers assembled in the Meadows the marched through Edinburgh until we reached the Princes Street Gardens where the rally took place full of speakers, music, and a great atmosphere. Despite what you may have heard from the BritNats, the march was one of the most civilised demonstrations I have ever seen. Apart from the scuffle in the Gardens that took place when three right-wing SDL members set up camp at the back of the rally with union jacks and proceeded to hurl abuse at the crowd. When one person had enough and went to remove the union flag, he was attacked and the SDL members were taken away by the Lothian and Borders Police.

Now the march and rally in 2013 is set to become exponentially larger than the previous one; which despite its lack of coverage still turned out to be a great success. There is to be a larger venue, more coverage and campaigning to raise awareness, and a host of new speakers and bands to be announced. This however, cannot happen without people who support independence pitching in and all doing their part to raise awareness and funds. The march is not funded by either Yes Scotland or any of the political parties that support independence. It is a grass roots campaign that is wholly reliant on the people of Scotland working together to make it happen.

It is vitally important that all of us who support independence put as much effort as we can into making this happen. It represents the non-partisan collective voice of Scotland that says that we as a nation wants the chance to control our own future and destiny. And that it is a movement supported by the whole length and breadth of our nation; regardless of race, nationality, gender, class, sexual preference. It represents the civic voice of Scotland that says:

 "We have the will and the means to control our own future, and we're not afraid to take control."

MARCH AND RALLY WEBSITE