The great Scots socialist Jimmy Reid makes a succinct argument for
independence
"It is in truth not for glory, nor
riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom -- for that
alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself."
From the Declaration of Arbroath: 1320
Normality
Independence basically
means normality.
Most countries around the world are independent and most of
them prefer it that way. The only normal and appropriate status for any nation
is independence.
The end of the British
Empire should now lead to the end of the British Union
Scotland's unique history
led her eventually to be bribed, bullied and threatened into the treaty of
union.
While some people in
Scotland financially benefited from the British Empire most ordinary Scots were
poor at the beginning and just as poor at the end. It no longer serves Scotland
to be locked into an unequal marriage with a country ten times her size.
Scotland has no interest
in being an imperial power, we want normal powers for our own nation and that's it.
Just how 'equal' is the
union?
Scotland has one tenth of
the UK's population. 59 seats out of 650. With one 'partner' so much larger the
union can never be equal and never has been.
Our distinctive voice
is not heard internationally
In the modern world
our distinctive political voice will not be heard unless we are
individually represented on all international bodies, in particular the
United
Nations and the European Union (if we choose to remain within it).
This will
only happen with independence. As a nation with massive oil reserves we may also
choose to be a part of OPEC.
We would probably choose not to be a part of
NATO since all our independent political parties are strongly against nuclear
weapons. We need our own embassies all around the world, separate from the UK,
so our voice is properly heard on the international stage.
Our Media and
politicians follow an English agenda
Our news
media is mostly
based in London and therefore politically we have been dominated by political
parties controlled by England. While Labour the Liberal Democrats and the
Conservatives call themselves Scottish when they operate within Scotland, in
reality they follow an agenda which favours the majority of people in the UK, in
other words the south of England. Too often if our political views are heard at
all, they are simply ignored.
Scotland's athletes are
being treated as second class
Recently Scotland
did
extremely well in the Commonwealth games, which is the only international
competition (outside of football and Rugby) where we are given the opportunity
to compete as a nation. Surely our athletes should have the opportunity to represent our
nation at World Championships and the Olympic games? (See the
C-Scot campaign)
St Andrews Day isn't
properly celebrated
The
Scottish Executive
recently refused a cross party campaign to have Scotland's national day
(November 30th, St Andrews Day) properly celebrated. If they can't even take
this simple step, how can they ever hope to represent Scotland with confidence
abroad? Jack McConnell has no clear sense of Scotland as a nation whatsoever,
both he and his party are happy to accept effective colonial status for their
own country. He says
we're the
best small country in the world, if that's so, why can't we run our own
affairs? It doesn't make any sense.
Financially we CAN
afford Independence
"If you tell a lie long
enough, it becomes the truth."
Joseph Goebbels (Minister
of Propaganda for the German Nazi regime.
The British state has
taken Goebbels advice to heart and repeats at every opportunity that
Scotland is too wee and skint to be independent and that England is subsidising
our economy. In actual fact however the figures prove the exact opposite as has
recently been shown (again) by the
SNP.
Here's a few quotes
from Scots on the subject of independence:
"Without it's own culture, Scotland (or any
other country dominated by another) will remain a slave."
- Hugh MacDiarmid
"All must center in London... What are we esteemed by
the English? Wretched drivellers, incapable of understanding our own affairs; or
greedy speculators, unfit to be trusted? On what ground are we considered either
as one or the other?"
- Sir Walter Scott
"Alas, I have often said to myself what are the boasted
advantages which my country reaps from a certain Union that counterbalance the
annihilation of her Independence, and even her name!"
-
Robert Burns
“The opening day of the Scottish Parliament on 1st July
1999 was one of the proudest days of my life. However, nearly seven years on, it
is obvious that the powers are inadequate to do a real job for Scotland."
- Sean Connery
"I agree that we should have tax breaks for
artists in Scotland. They have been a huge success in Ireland. That was the
start of it all. It seemed to signal a different mindset within the Irish
government. I believe Scotland should be autonomous. It should be a separate
nation."
- John Byrne
"Independence is simply the only way for any nation to
control its own affairs and produce optimal results for its people. For me
Independence is still the freshest, most precious and most compelling of ideas:
for it is the only way in which we can deliver a more prosperous, more robust,
fairer and more risk-free Scotland."
- Jim Mather
"Scotland should have more powers. It should be much
more like Ireland and a Celtic haven for artists. We should be making it easier
for people to exist, with tax breaks not just for musicians to live in their
home country but artists like Jim Lambie who shouldn't have to live in New
York."
- Alan McGee
"Speaking as somebody born and brought up in
England but having spent the last 20 years in Scotland, if you had asked
me 20 or even ten years ago, I would have said the future of Scotland lies
in the Union. But I think with the unaccountability of the British
Government, which does not reflect the views of the vast majority of
Scottish people, I think people are becoming more inclined towards
independence as time moves on.
"I think it is unfortunate. I do not believe in
divisions or national boundaries. But with the war in Iraq, a lack of
civil liberties, legislation dictated by Westminster rather than Scotland,
I think it is not if, but it is when Scotland will be independent."
- Aamer Anwar
"Our nearest neighbours to the east and west, with
similar populations and fewer resources than us, both of whom gained
Independence in the Twentieth Century, are now richer than the states (Sweden
and the UK) of which they were formerly part."
- Graeme McCormick
"I would like to see an independent Scotland as I
believe that all nations, regardless of how big or small, should be able
to shape their own destiny and not be told what to do by a larger
neighbour. However what does concern me is the SNP slogan of Independent
in Europe which is an impossibility. It's like jumping over the moon. It's
bad enough having a layer of numpties in Westminster without the numpties
in Brussels. The problem is I have no confidence in politicians."
- Alan Grant
"I have believed in independence since before I can
remember. In fact, I've never really been able to take seriously the arguments
against independence. The arguments offered against independence are all based
on the assumption that the Scots, uniquely among the peoples of the world, are
incapable of making their country better. Independence, by contrast, is the most
positive idea in Scottish politics because it's based on the belief that the
Scots are no better - but just as good - as every other people."
- Alasdair Allan
"I have written two pamphlets called why Scots
should rule Scotland. They were written two general elections ago and I
have not stopped wanting Scottish independence.
"The kind of parliament we have now, is not
enough, is irresponsible in the sense that it hasn't full responsibility
for Scotland and is still able to fob off the most important decisions, to
push them south to London."
"I'd personally like to see an independent
Scotland within Europe. I'm not a member of the SNP but I think it would
be good to be responsible for going our own way."
- Liz Lochhead
"Scotland is a country which wants to stand on
its own two feet and have control over its own affairs, especially on
issues such as asylum seekers and dawn raids.
"We have a situation where we Scots are told by
Westminster that asylum is a reserved issue. This leads directly to
disgusting instances where children are dragged out of their beds causing
great distress to them and everyone else who is affected by it such as
neighbours and teachers. And we can't do anything about it.
"These young children and their parents are the
future lifeblood of Scotland especially since the population is in
decline.
"I would like to see Scotland deal with its own
affairs and do so in a humanitarian way to reflect the humanity inherent
in way the majority of ordinary Scots behave.
"If Scotland claims to be able to manage its own
parliament then it can manage its own affairs separate from Westminster."
- Robina Qureshi
"There are not a lot of arguments that can be
made for the Union anymore. Proponents of it are reduced to bleating about
"divorce" and "separation".
"They say we're too wee to look after ourselves.
It's an implicitly racist argument that Scots uniquely cannot run a
country, when there are far smaller nations than ours in the world that do
it just fine.
"The subsidy proposition is also equally absurd,
as if Westminster is a charitable organisation that bails Scotland out
annually from the goodness of its heart. London has done really well from
Scotland, particularly from the oil. It makes me angry to think how much
more advanced Scotland could be if only 30 years of oil had been spent
here rather than frittered away.
"The original rationale behind the Union was that
we would have access to the markets of the British Empire. This certainly
no longer applies in a world with globalised borders. As an independent
nation, Scotland could market itself better, as well as sitting at the EU
table, rather than being the perpetual Cinderella.
"Most powerfully, we could dissociate ourselves
properly from the foreign policy blunders - past and possibly future -
emanating from Westminster.
"They have killed many and put us in ever greater
peril. Without the ties that bind, we could play a far more constructive
role in creating a more peaceful world."
- Osama Saeed
"Are we 'a People'? To Ukania, Scotland is 'a
part of the United Kingdom'. Accepting such annexation is betrayal of both
our forefathers and our children. Any Unionist ministry of Ukanian
components is a hanging offence.
"The need for self-determination is strengthened
by recent Anglo-American acts in Scotland. The Lockerbie munitions
cover-up, the Skye fraud, the McKie scandal, the abductions and arms
dealing via Prestwick - all are judged a public disgrace to the Kingdom of
Scotland's good reputation in the world.
"Three hundreds years of shame and abuse is
enough. The battered wife must escape Ukanian violence and recover
Caledonian self-respect."
- Robbie the Pict
"My views are quite straightforward and quite
pragmatic. You have to look at the structure that gives you
the world that you want to live in and the simple problem we have is that
the British state is too much in thrall to big money interests.
"The reason why Scotland should be independent is
that we need to be able to control policy at a level closer to the people
and further from big money interests."
- Robin McAlpine
"Having been a strong unionist, I
have more recently been finding myself being drawn to the side of
independence, especially with regards to issues such as health and
education. I have been seriously impressed by the way Scotland has taken a
lead in improving public health, and in particular with its smoking ban.
"The health service is generally in a better state than England and is
less target obsessed. I am fundamentally against the notion that students
should pay fees and Scotland has held firm on that.
"It is a fundamental human right and Scots have always held dear the right
to free healthcare and education."
- Professor Gordon McVie
"I think the United Kingdom is a fossilised remnant from the days of
the great nation states of the 19th century, and I have never been happy
with the imbalance in Britain created by the huge numbers of English
compared to the rest of us - it does us no favours.
As one of the oldest and most
distinguished nations in Europe, independence should be our natural state
of being. We have made such an impression on so many cultures in so many
countries that it is outrageous that so many Scots are still not educated
in their own cultural history, and that would change dramatically for the
better with independence.
I have always supported
independence instinctively. It is a slow but, I think, an inevitable
process which is comin' yet for a' that."
- Billy Kay
"I would not get too involved in
the politics of independence, but I am happy that, if it is the wish of
the people, Scotland becomes an independent country."
"Ireland would be an example of a country which has prospered since
achieving independence. Additionally, other northern European countries
such as Norway and Denmark exemplify the prosperity which
self-determination can bring."
"I am aware of a growing sense of nationhood and national identity in
England, exhibited recently during the World Cup campaign and reflected in
the increasing appearance of the St George Cross at such sporting fixtures
and other gatherings. In this context, Scottish national identity has
always been strong. Ultimately multinational identities are harder to
express than national ones."
"The recent debate on Trident is instructive. The groundswell of feeling
in Scotland against the Trident missile system has highlighted a deep
sense of frustration among many Scots. We have no wish to pay for or host
these evil weapons, yet we have no power to remove them."
- Keith O'Brien, Roman Catholic Cardinal for Scotland
"In England, people
quite rightly resent Scottish Labour MPs bossing them about on English
domestic legislation. England has as much right to self government as
Scotland does."
