Despite Alistair Darling’s refusal to admit during the recent televised debate that Scotland could be a successful independent nation, other prominent unionist politicians, including the Prime Minister, David Cameron, accept that it could be. How do we know that? We know that because David Cameron said so. He said:
“Supporters of independence will always be able to cite examples of small, independent and thriving economies across Europe such as Finland, Switzerland and Norway. It would be wrong to suggest that Scotland could not be another such successful, independent country.”
However, the Labour amendment seeks to leave out everything after the first “agrees” in the Scottish Government motion, including the first line, which says:
“agrees that Scotland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, is rich in human talent and benefits from vast natural resources”.
Sadly, the other unionist amendments are in similar vein. I wonder what makes people so unable or unwilling to see the obvious positives in their own country. Do they not believe that we are rich in human talent? Why can they not acknowledge our vast natural resources?
Scotland is the 14th wealthiest nation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and there is no doubt that it has a dynamic and successful economy, a highly skilled workforce, strong manufacturing, tourism, knowledge, and growing food and drink sectors. The most recent industry figures show that turnover in the Scottish food and drink sector alone reached £14 billion in 2012, which is a 40 per cent increase since 2007.
It is no wonder that, over the past five years, Scotland’s finances were stronger than the UK’s as a whole by £8.3 billion, or £1,600 per person. That is undoubtedly one of the reasons why the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s stated:
“Even excluding North Sea output ... Scotland would qualify for our highest economic assessment.”
Of course, it would be foolish to underplay the importance of our oil and gas resources, which is something that the doomsayers have strived to do since the no campaign began, and not least today. New discoveries in the Clair field suggest that there is plenty of life in Scotland’s oil and gas industry. As BBC news has pointed out,
“Oil industry experts have described it as a ‘monster’ field containing an estimated eight billion barrels of oil and some analysts believe oil produced there could see the Atlantic overtake the North Sea as the UK’s biggest oil-producing region.”
Only the no campaign would try to persuade Scotland that oil is a burden and that nuclear weapons, which, as Michael Heseltine admitted last week, have hindered exploration and exploitation of fossil fuels in the west, are an asset.
Why do we have some of the highest levels of child poverty in the western world? Why are working families relying on food hand-outs? Why is our state pension among the lowest in Europe relative to earnings? Why do people living in an oil, gas and renewables-rich nation suffer fuel poverty? Why have living standards fallen in each of the last five years and why will they not reach 2002 levels until 2009? It is because welfare, pensions, energy and defence policies are controlled by Westminster. To me, it is obvious that decisions that are made in Scotland for Scotland must surely be better for the people living here than decisions that are made elsewhere on our behalf.
Only with a yes vote can we ensure that Scotland’s wealth is placed in Scotland’s hands and used to improve our society. Only with a yes vote can we use the powers of independence to establish policies that are tailored to Scottish needs and create more opportunities for the people who live here, including the nearly 40,000 young people who feel the need to leave Scotland every year. With independence, Scotland would have access to Scottish taxes that currently flow to the Treasury and would cease to pay for Scottish members of Parliament and our share of running the House of Lords or Trident.
With independence, even relatively small changes could make a big difference. For example, according to aviation industry leaders, the abolition of air passenger duty would double the number of visitors to Scotland within five years, thereby greatly enhancing our international connectivity and bolstering our tourism industry and all the jobs that go along with it. The Scottish Government’s transformational childcare proposals would lead to increased participation in the labour market, which would further expand our economy.
The opportunity to make Scotland wealthier is, alone, an argument for Scotland to reassert itself as an independent nation. However, there are consequences of remaining shackled to Westminster. According to Oxfam, Britain’s five richest families are now worth more than the poorest 12 million people and, in the years ahead, welfare cuts will see more disabled people in Scotland losing disability benefits and more children pushed into poverty. Adam Smith said:
“No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable.”
Canon Kenyon Wright outlined his concerns about the impact of a no vote in The Scotsman this week. He said:
“Don’t be fooled by the various vague promises of more devolution. The press called me the Godfather of Devolution. Well, ... I tell you this—the child has grown up and outgrown devolution, no matter how Max, for two reasons. Firstly, because it leaves crucial constitutional and economic areas to be decided by London. Secondly, because devolution is power by gift; or, perhaps, it is really power on loan, for gifts can’t be taken back. Power devolved is power retained.”
In yesterday’s Herald, Alan Taylor wrote:
“all the fresh, innovative, imaginative ideas have come from those eager for change. They are the ones who want to make a fairer, more equitable society and who have inspired people to become involved in the hope of making that happen. They have made an often selfless investment. The same cannot be said for many on the No side. What they want to do is protect what they have”
For those in the yes campaign, the referendum is not about protecting vested interests. It is about Scotland, our country and our people, being all that it and they can be. Colleagues, it is surely time that Scotland rejoined the family of independent nations and set about creating the better Scotland that we all wish to see. To do that, I urge everyone in our country to vote yes on 18 September.
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