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

The Better Together Economy Shrinks Yet Again

Circulating the media today like wildfire there has been the news that the UK economy has shrunk in the last quarter of 2012 by 0.3%. Do you know what that means folks? The double-dip recession could well now turn into a triple-dip; as a recession is indicated by a contraction by at least 0.2% for two consecutive quarters. The reasons for the decline are still a little hazy. The ONS (Office for National Statistics) claims that the dip is largely due to a drop in North Sea oil production.

UK economy growth, as a % of GDP. 

I strongly suspect that the Quisling-sphere is already blazing alight with bold claims that this drastic news foreshadows cataclysmic effects for Scotland's economy if we do vote to become independent in 2014; as this must signify the fall of the oil industry. Further reading into this news however, reveals that this was due to delayed maintenance at the UK's largest oil field off the coast of Aberdeen.; the Buzzard oil field which produces around 10% of the UK's yearly oil output. The company who owns the field, Nexen, said that:

"The shutdowns occur every five years, [they] are planned, and are required in order to comply with regulatory requirements. The shutdowns enable us to repair and upgrade equipment that cannot be accessed when the facilities are operating."

Therefore it can be seen clearly that the drop in oil production is due to scheduled maintenance, necessary in order to keep the fields operational. I would hope that the Unionist imperial keyboard army will read this obvious reason for a drop in production, and steer themselves away from the rhetorical scaremongering about how any drop in production means the doom of the oil industry; sadly however, that is never the case.

It is the nature of an oil industry for it to fluctuate whenever a plant is shut down. It is however a much more secure base for an economy than the current UK economy has; which is 60% reliant on the banking sector. Without the drop in oil production, it has been reported that the UK economy would have only shrank by 0.1%. Not enough the merit a recession, yes, but it is still barely missing a recession, and it does indicate stagnation; which is not good enough.

Evidence to show that the Scottish economy, in contrast, is not failing as some Unionists will undoubtedly try to have the whole country believe, can be found in recent statistics over Scotland's exports. Scotland's worldwide exports have recently rocketed, seeing a £1.6 billion rise in the value of goods sold overseas. A shining example of such growing strength in Scottish exports is the Edinburgh-based electronics firm, MESL Microwave. The company produces components for the growing space industry, including the US agency NASA. The company currently exports 70% of the products they make, and despite a global slowdown, Scottish exports have seen a higher rate than in 2010.

As expected the Coalition government is already reeling in discontent as to why their policy of cutting is still not working, and throwing out the excuses. The best I personally have heard today is that the bad weather, lack of Christmas shopping, and EU sabotage are to blame. It is time for the Coalition government to stop using excuses, and to stop going through with their damaging cuts like petulant children wanting to prove that they were right all along.


An example on how our society could be mended differently can be found in Iceland. Most people when hearing about Iceland will instantly spring to mind thoughts of how Iceland is still a country hit harshly by the recession and is an example of what Scotland would be like following independence .What most people do not know however is that since the financial crash, Iceland has been making a remarkable recovery and is now the fastest recovering nation in Europe; with 7 straight quarters of growth.

What the Icelandic government has done is to pursue a much different path than that taken by Westminster. To start with, unlike Westminster, Iceland tackled the real cause of the crash, the banks. The government, and the people, jailed the bankers who ruined their economy, rewrote their constitution in order to pursue a different path, and most importantly bailed out their population, not the bankers. They have also taken a much different path than Austerity, the Icelandic government effectively slapped taxes on almost everything, even fizzy drinks, to keep a stable stream of income.

This enabled the country to keep their broad welfare state wholly intact. When quizzed about this, the Icelandic government said that it is ultimately important that they keep their welfare state intact, in order to keep their workforce healthy, and educated. Interestingly enough, BBC Scotland interviewed the former mayor of the wealthiest suburb in Reykjavik , who is very much on the right-wing and follows Thatcherite thinking. She says that, even though she believes in the free market, the welfare state is vital, and to harm it would severely hinder recovery. And look at what we have in the UK, no recovery until 2017, and a Prime Minster on course to raise the UK national debt more than any other Prime Minister in history; more than Brown and Blair put together.

If we in Scotland really want to see our country mend, we need independence. There is no sense in saying that the long-term decisions about Scotland are better made by a government which Scotland did not elect, and by a parliament which has shown time and time again that it cannot see further than the edge of its own bridge (to paraphrase Brian Cox at the Yes Scotland launch). We will benefit from being able to plan how we want our society to be managed, and how to prevent our country from slipping into the drastic financial situation which we are currently in again. The UK recovered faster out of the Great Depression in the 1930's, is this recent news not surely a sign that Scotland needs to take back the powers that were stolen from us, and to pursue a path which benefits the people of our country; not the rich few of a corrupt parliament and banking system?

The Horror of £1 for Independence

Recently there has been chaos in the Yes campaign as they try to get their heads around the catastrophic information that every Scot would be £1 a year worse off if we were to be independent. This is surely the sign that our country would be thrown into third-world status, doomed to an existence of poverty and economic turmoil. This is what the No camp will have you believe. Even now the top brass at No HQ are painting a picture of economic disaster for Scotland, claiming that Alex Salmond and his cronies are liars, and that Scotland would be astronomically better off staying in the UK.

Let's take a look at what the cost of £1 a year for independence will be shall we? First of all, that is £1 a year for the removal of trident, a written constitution that would ensure a home for everyone in Scotland, 100% reliance on renewable's by 2020, a government we elect, policies made to benefit Scotland not London, an end to a corrupt banking sector controlling our economy, a more equitable country, an economic asset worth 10 times more than our share of the UK national debt, an end to politics being controlled by the upper classes of society, a more diversified economy, an oil fund ensuring welfare for all generations ,and a chance to represent ourselves 100% on a global scale. All that for £1 a year? Now, I don't know about you, but I'm a sucker for a bargain.

It is clear to me now that the No camp are really scarping the bottom of their already worn-out barrel. Scottish independence is fast becoming the only option to end the plague of corporate-controlled politics poisoning our country today. As the referendum draws closer, it will become apparent to the Scottish population that independence is not an end, it is a means to decide what country we want to be. Do we want to live in a a country where the most wealthy in society control politics? Do we want to live in a country where bankers who have ruined this country keep getting wealthier through recessions, all the while the poor are being demonized by the government? I think it is time to say no to these outrageous practices in our society.

Scotland, with independence, has the chance to show the world that there is a different path to prosperity, than the one offered by the current UK government. We will have the chance to work alongside our European neighbors, to work for the interests of our people. If you were to look at the most prosperous countries in the world, they are all small European countries in Scandinavia, and countries such as Iceland, and Ireland. What do they have that we do not currently? Full control over their economic resources, full representation on a global scale, and policies that are made to benefit the people of their country.

All of the above listed countries have pursued an equitable, social-democratic path, that ensures that everyone in their country has public services that work for the benefit of the people they serve, not shareholders, and a welfare system that ensures no one will fall into destitution and will not be demonized for being less-fortunate than the top 100 of society that made enough money in 2012 to end world-poverty 4 times over. It is time to choose a different path, all you have to do is vote Yes in 2014.

A Chance To Diversify Our Economy.

There has been a heated debate over the past few weeks concerning a new report published by the IFS (Institute of Fiscal Studies). Both sides have been claiming to have the upper hand when it comes to what the report says. Overall, for me anyway, the report has not revealed a lot more new information about the economics of the independence debate. The main points I have gathered are that:

•  The GERS report clearly states that Scotland contribute more than it gets back percentage wise, yet due to the fact that the UK is in a recession Scotland get slightly more numerically from Westminster than we pay back in taxes, yet is still in a healthier financial position to the rest of the UK to the tune of £90 billion.
• Following independence, Scotland's fiscal position would be slightly better than that of the UK, due full control over economic resources resulting in higher tax revenues for the Scottish Government.
• We would inherit less debt to GDP per head compared to the rest of the UK.
• A major asset for the Scottish economy would be our oil revenues, which would provide a significant initial boost to our economy, but due to the finite nature of the resource, could be less of an asset to us  in later decades. 

On face value, the report is pretty balanced, both sides can lay claim to have valid points to shout about. Yet, as you might have expected, the same old rhetoric prevails from the unionist side, points which I have most certainly rubbished at an earlier stage. 

One of the arguments presented by the unionist side when referencing the report is that Scotland's economy would be too reliant on North Sea Oil revenues (around 20% of our GDP comes from oil revenues), and due to the volatile nature of the resource, a price fluctuation could be disastrous for the Scottish economy. And that the oil will run out at some point in the next 50 years, so it is not a wise resource to base your economy on. 

First of all concerning the point made about the over-reliance the Scottish economy would have on oil, the very notion that the oil revenues are a bad thing to base our economy on is nonsense. A quick look at how much debt we would inherit from the UK proves just how much of a valuable asset this is to Scotland. We would inherit approximately £80 billion of the UK national debt, 8.4%. We would also inherit 90% of UK oil and gas reserves, which amount to 24 billion barrels and wholesale value of £1.5 trillion.

This would mean our economic assets, just from oil, would outweigh our debt by ten times. This is a safety net every country in the world would want to have right now in this time of economic uncertainty. It is certainly better than having our economy 60% reliant on a banking sector in which the money can stop almost instantaneously, and is precisely the thing which ruined our economy in the first place.

Recent analysis has show that our economy is not as reliant on oil as the most successful nation in Europe per head at the current moment, Norway. The statistics were compiled by the Scottish Parliament's Information Center (SPICe), and they clearly show that, over the past 12 years, the Scottish economy has been 2.2 times less reliant on oil revenues than our Nordic neighbour. The Nordic economy was 30% reliant on oil revenues, whilst Scotland's is 13.6% reliant.  Having control over its own economy, Norway has managed to build up a $600 billion oil fund to ensure that the revenues gained will last far into the future from when the resource runs dry. 

Then there is the question of, what happens when the oil runs out? Well, that will not be as remotely as bad for Scotland as it first sounds. With full control over our economic resources, Scotland can use the extra capital gained from the industries which flow down to Westminster at the current moment, to diversify our economy and make it not reliant on North Sea oil.

The obvious first investment would be in our renewable energy sector. Currently Scotland has 50% of Europe's wind power, 25% tidal, and 10% wave. Any country choosing not to invest in a sector with so much potential would be daft. Independence would give Scotland the chance to re-industrialise our nation again into researching, developing, and producing renewable energy. The Scottish government are preparing to achieve 50% of Scotland's energy from renewable sources by 2015; and 100% by 2020. Recent progress has shown that to be well on track, with 40% already being met from renewable's.

To bring this to a conclusion, it can therefore be seen that the unionist claims that our economy is reliant on, or to put it how they say it 'better together', in the UK are wrong once again. With full control of our economic resources we, the people of Scotland, can reshape our country into a more profitable, equitable, equal, and greener society, that aims to direct its revenues into raising the standard of living, and the general well being of our population. Rather than spending it unnecessarily on nuclear weapons, bloated defence budgets, and illegal foreign wars. 

The Economics of Independence.

The economic impact of independence for Scotland is the largest and most heated part of the debate. Facts, figures and opinions and flung around anywhere and everywhere to the point where someone who is impartial to the debate really does not know where to start or what side to trust. Thankfully for these people I have researched the economic side of the debate in great detail since the independence campaign started gaining real traction in 2007 with the first SNP government.

What I have found most in the economic part of the debate is that it is the most rife with ignorance. People tend to look at the debate and assert almost automatically that Scotland must be completely subsidised by Westminster, and the fact that we have an annual budget from Westminster must mean that Scotland has nothing in the way of exports to support its economy. Both these claims have been found time and time again to be completely false; and something which I hope to prove in this article, as it only takes a quick look at the bare numbers to see that they add up favourably towards independence.

Let us firstly deal with the importance of the annual budget which Scotland receives from Westminster every year. Currently our budget stands at £29'266.8 million (£29 billion), this budget pays for everything in Scotland. It isn't hard to look at this budget and reach the conclusion that: "This obviously must be the only thing which the Scottish economy depends on!". A quick look at the GERS (Government Expenditure and Revenues Scotland) report in 2010 however, reveals that claim to be wrong.

We currently have 8.4% of the UK population, contribute 9.6% of UK tax revenues and receive 9.3% of Westminster spending, this right away disproves the claim that we are indeed 'subsidy junkies'. The more crafty unionists however will try to play off the fact that Scotland, although contributing more, runs a budget deficit of around £9 billion per year.(That is the nature of a worldwide recession where spending is higher than revenues) When you compare our economic standing with that of the rest of the UK however, one can see that we are in a much healthier financial state. The rest of the UK as a whole runs a deficit close to £100 billion per year; this means that Scotland's public finances are £90 billion better off than the rest of the UK.

One can then quickly turn that around by saying: "Well, even if we are in a healthier financial state than the rest of the UK, if we were independent we would have nothing else to support our economy... other than oil, which will run out anyway". Well yes, the nature of a finite resource is that they will run out eventually, that does not mean however that the revenues from it will somehow disappear the day the oil runs out. Even without the oil revenues anyway, the Scottish economy exports tens of billion more than we receive from out current budget.

The North Sea oil and gas revenues are Scotland's largest economic resource, but it is not our only one, and despite common opinion, it does not make up the majority of our economic resources. UK Oil & Gas values the North Sea reserves at £1.5 trillion. If Scotland were to go independent. We would inherit 90% geographical share of the reserves; this would account to £1.35 trillion worth of reserves.If we now take Scotland's 8.4% population share of the UK £1 trillion national debt, then it is easy to see how quickly we could pay off that debt, just using the oil revenues.

Our share of the debt would be £84 billion. If current production levels maintain after 2014, then Scotland could pay off it's national debt within a matter of at least 6 years, as per annum revenues are around £30 billion. This would then mean that a debt-free Scotland could save up our revenues to ensure that Scotland would be ready to deal with any future crises with ease. This has already been demonstrated in Norway, who, having complete control of their economic resources, was able to develop an oil pension fund worth £600 billion, and were able to bail out their banks with ease; and are currently the only country in Europe not in debt and not running a budget deficit. But it is no use however dwelling on the past economic mismanagement of Scotland at the hands of Westminster, the more relevant question is: What can this do for a future Scotland?

The creation of an oil fund would ensure that an independent Scotland would always have enough finances to fund its public services, and ensure that Scotland would never have to undertake the savage public finance cuts demonstrated by the Conservative Westminster Government of today. It would also ensure that even after the reserves run out, in 50-100 years, the revenues would benefit countless future generations. Instead of being squandered on funding the failed London banking sector, harbouring nuclear weapons 30 miles away from our largest city, and sending young men to die in pointless foreign wars. We would have a real chance to benefit our society.

Moving away now from the issue of oil in an independent Scotland, what else does Scotland have to sustain its economy? It turns out to be quite a lot. The latest Global Connections Survey published by the Scottish Government in 2010 reveals that, other than oil, Scotland does have a lot of economic resources and exports to rely upon. A quick look at the report reveals that Scotland's international exports account to £22 billion, and our exports to the rest of the UK would are £44 billion; together this puts our exports at £66 billion, more than twice our current budget. The Global Connection Survey however does not include oil reserves, as they are treated as extra-regio resources. The inclusion of oil revenues would bring our exports to over £100 billion per year. The report states that:

"The combined value of international and rest of UK exports in 2010 (excluding oil and gas) are provisionally estimated at £66.9 billion, of which £31.0 billion is attributable to service sector companies and of which £26.7 billion is attributable to manufacturing sector companies.  The increase in total exports of +£2.3 billion since 2009 is due to a rise in the manufacturing sector of +£1.7 billion and a rise of +£955 million from the mining, and quarrying & extraction of petroleum sector, despite the a very slight decline of -£150 million from the service sector."

As you can see, in recent quarters the GDP for Scotland has been rising.

 Another part of our economy that can demonstrate how Scotland is not reliant on oil to survive can be seen in our GDP. In 2011, our Gross Domestic Product stood at £124 billion. This excludes extra-regio resources. When including the extra-regio resources. The figure rises up to £154 billion. Therefore it can bee seen that Scotland is only reliant on oil for 20% of our economy.  We only see £30 billion of this back per year... does that sound like a fair deal to Scotland, when we are told we must all suffer together?

To draw this to a conclusion you can see that the Scottish economy is indeed diverse, and made up of many components and industries. We are not 'subsidy junkies', our economy is not reliant on just oil. Scotland has all of the necessary parts in place to create a progressive and successful 21st century social-democratic society. All you have to do is vote Yes.  

It's a Debate About Prosperity, Not Survival.

Hearing Unionist talk on a daily basis, there seems to be a prevalent conception that the entire independence campaign is based on the question of "How will Scotland be able to survive after independence?". This seems rather odd to me, there has been countless admissions from the unionist side that there is no doubt that Scotland would be able to at least stand on its own two feet. The most prevalent in my memory comes from David Cameron who said clearly: "Of course I am not saying Scotland could not survive on its own." If the largest and most public advocate of the benefits of the union, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, agrees that Scotland could survive, then that should be a sufficient clarification for the unionists... unfortunately it never is.

I find it a regrettable situation when the debate around Scottish independence comes back to Scotland's basic ability to survive as an independent country. Time and time again, on both sides of the debate, the claims that we are too wee, too poor, and too stupid to be an independent country have been proved to be based on nothing but total ignorance, and revealed to be a pathetic use of scaremongering.

No one in the mainstream debate surrounding Scottish independence makes the claims that we could not survive as an independent country. (even "Better Together" verifies that in their latest video) Everyone knows that Scotland is a resource rich, energy rich country which has some of the highest education levels in the world. The crux of today's debate is whether or not Scotland is more prosperous as part of the United Kingdom or not, I have much more respect for those on the unionist side who take an informed part in that debate.

I do not need to delve into the nitty-gritty details of how we will be a more prosperous country in the event of independence. - you will be able to find much evidence of that on this blog - What I do want to say however is that the Scottish people need to get away from the childish claims that we could not survive as independent country. Some of my favourite claims which I have heard along these lines are such things as:

"Sean Connery lives in America.", "When the oil runs out, all we'll have is whiskey and shortbread tins!", "How will we even be able to feed ourselves?!", "The only reason Switzerland does well is because they stole Nazi gold after WWII!", "Us Scots can't manage anything!".

While these claims are certainly full of comic value, they do raise a serious point. These are the things which people actually believe about their own country. I have often believed that in a debate the most important thing a person can do is educate those who are wrong, as if you do not, it is ignorance, not truth, that will win. And this is certainly true in the debate about surrounding Scottish independence. The most important thing we on the Yes side of the debate can do over these next two years it to educate those who still believe in these misguided, antiquated, and severely ignorant views.



Linked here, is some evidence of the sustainability of the Scottish economy:

·         http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0039/00390896.pdf

·         http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Business-Industry/Energy/Energy-sources/traditional-fuels/oilandgas

·         http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/Statistics/source/renewables/et6_1.xls

·         http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-16532440

·         http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2012/04/seveneconomicstrengths15042012

·         http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/political-news/the-myths-of-independence.15629679

·         http://www.newsnetscotland.com/index.php/scottish-economy/4235-would-an-independent-scotland-be-financially-sound

·         http://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/Home/Spare-us-the-phoney-analysis-Scotland-can-hold-her-own-7601111.htm

·         http://www.oilofscotland.org/mccrone_oil_reports.html

·         http://www.scotsman.com/the-scotsman/opinion/cartoon/george_kerevan_we_can_still_rise_and_be_a_triple_a_nation_again_1_2040202

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Economy

Believe in yourself, believe in Scotland.

Consolidating my recent musings, I have been thinking a lot about what the root cause of disbelief among Scots towards our ability to manage our country independently might be. When looking at modern day Scotland, it strikes me as odd that there is a common belief that there is no way we could possibly manage our own country. We are an established first world society, with a stable infrastructure, a world-class education system, a National health Service which is fully paid for and ran by us, a buzzing business world that is outperforming the rest of the UK in many sectors, a net production on food, (we export more than we eat) and not to forget a country rich in natural resources, both finite and renewable. Any person from the less-fortunate parts of the world would want to benefit from our social-democratic society in a heartbeat.

So, where does the pessimism towards our potential stem from? Well, if we take a look at what the state (not nation) of Britain was, and still is, we can quickly arrive at one of the root-causes. The state of Britain was formed as an imperialistic state made out of sub-servant nations. Its sole purpose was to take advantage of the opportunities for establishing an empire at the time of its creation. And what does any empire not want? Rebellion. An imperialistic state depends on its sub-servant nations being obedient and productive to maximise expansion, and the best way to do this is to consolidate the cultures of its member nations into a fabricated state culture. This is exactly what happened to Scotland. Our culture was taken away and replaced by British culture, leading to anyone who still involves themselves in Scottish culture being seen as alien and dissident. Up until recently, with the resurgence of nationalism, anyone seen to be indulging themselves in Scottish culture was seen as being extremely parochial and regressive. 

It is not nationalism which is regressive however, it is the British state. You do not have to look far to see the desperate attempts by Westminster to keep that fabricated 'British nation' going, just think back to the recent onslaught we received from the British media regarding the 'Jubilympics'. What Britain represents is an archaic imperialistic view of the world, and the consolidation of nations' cultures in the name of pragmatism. The fact of the matter is the British state was not born out of a unionist-fabricated romanticised love which each nation of the British Isles felt for each other – neither was it born out of a democratic vote - it was born out of pragmatism and the desire of the aristocracy to maximise their economic potential.

 I personally find it insulting when a Westminster politician tries to make out that it was the British public which chose to enter a union. That, is nonsense, the masses had no say in the matter. The people of Scotland and England were forced into a parliamentary union in 1707 by the top echelons of society in order to exploit the masses on a global scale. One of the founding principles of the British state was greed, after the union was formed the Scottish aristocracy received huge amount of capital from Westminster; no doubt arranged bribery. The people of Scotland were so annoyed at the loss of their independence, that there were months of riots in Glasgow, and marshal law had to be established in Glasgow. These initial rebellions were crushed however, and with time, British rule prevailed

So there's the historical reasons for modern disbelief among many Scots, and that's the thing about history it is harsh and unfair, but it does serve as good hindsight for how we can make progressive decisions for our nations’ future. What can be said then to make Scots believe in Scotland? Well, we have a very long list of our contributions to the world. These include industrial might (Glasgow once built a fifth of the world's shippage), creative prowess, and intellectual strength (Television, telephone, tarmac, penicillin and radar to name a few). In fact, to paraphrase the British prime-minister Winston Churchill: "Only the ancient Greeks may have contributed nearly as much too modern society as the Scots." 

Scotland can also be proud of its progressive social-democratic values. Scotland, throughout democratic history, has traditionally voted for social-democratic governments, where all citizens of our country, regardless of race, religion, sex or creed, receive equal welfare provisions. Where everyone can receive some of the best education in the world with primary, secondary and higher education provided based on the merits of the person, not their wealth. Where the most vulnerable in our society are provided the support they need by the government which we elect, not profit-driven corporations. Where all workers can be assured that the country they contribute to provides a safety-net for them for whatever ill fortune they may have. Where our public services, such as an NHS, police, fire-service, and councils are protected from cuts, and privatisation, so that they are focused on providing the best service they can to the people of their country, rather than trying to claw back the money they have lost from government cuts and not working for profit due to privatisation.

To bring this conglomeration of thoughts to a conclusion, I would say that Scotland does have a lot to be proud of, both in our history and in our modern day Scotland. Do not be fooled by the pessimistic ramblings of the unionist parties. Scotland is a country with a strong intellect, a hard-working population, a 21^st century economy that is not just stable but has the potential to become exponentially successful for our population size and progressive social-democratic values. Believe in yourself, and believe in your country; fear will only hold our country back, it is positivity that a modern Scotland needs.