WHY DO I WANT INDEPENDENCE?
It is a simple question but the reasons have developed over a number of years through personal and life experiences that shape us all for better or worse. Some people may agree with my reasons and others may disagree, but isn't that what a decent debate is about in a civilised country, followed by our say in the ballot box. I grew up in the time of Thatcher and saw her destroy the industries in Scotland and forced me to leave my country of birth at 17 years and 8 months old for London to seek employment, at this time I believed Labour would one day come to power and the injustices of the right wing would be turned back and a fairer society would emerge. I could not have been more wrong, it is now clear to me that Labour, Conservative and the Liberal Democrats are all from the same neoliberal pot, who have lost touch with the world the majority of us have to live in. The only future I can now see is an Independent future where we have the right to follow our own path, make our own mistakes, manage our own economy and most importantly give us back our future.
NHS
Pensions
Welfare
Trident
Society
Those are some of the reasons I hope for Independence in the referendum in Autumn 2014 and I will go through each one.
 NHSThe preservation of the NHS is one of the most important things that this country has implemented. I believe that if you look after the health of society then that society will in turn be more productive, without the need to horde medications and money in the event that we require urgent medical attention. In the past I have experienced the choice of either choosing food or the cost of prescriptions, I dread to think how I would have fared if I had to pay for treatment as well. It is blatantly obvious that the conservatives and the current government in Westminster want to dismantle the NHS, and they are getting away with it in England and Wales with privatisation through the back door. This is all being done under the guise of David Cameron saying "The NHS is safe in his hands" and "No top down reorganisation of the NHS", I personally find these blatant lies from political campaigning disgusting. If you think because health is devolved to the Scottish Parliament then it is safe, think again, it will not be long before the government starve holyrood of funds in the name of austerity, it will be inevitable that the NHS comes under scrutiny and attack. If you wish to save the NHS in Scotland then VOTE YES in 2014.
PensionsThe nation needs the youth to be in employment not people aged 65+, the state pension age will increase year on year and if you are born today in the current estimates you will not receive any state pension until you are 75+. This is bringing us back decades and instead of working people enjoying a retirement they will be working until they drop, do we really want retirement to be for the elite or rich in society? Surely we can all enjoy to relax after years of hard work and dedication. If you wish to save the retirement for ALL people in Scotland then VOTE YES in 2014.
WelfareThe current journalism in the UK is really lurching further and further to the right, if you would believe the crap they say about welfare in the UK then you would believe everyone on Job Seekers allowances is living the life of Reilly. In fact it is just a blatant lie and nobody seems capable of calling out the press or the government. Here is some information for you - Job Seekers allowance pays out 5% of the welfare budget in the UK, the amount of unclaimed benefit is MORE than the amount lost via error and fraud, the majority of people who claim housing benefit are WORKING!!!!! While the MP's seem hell bent on demonising the people who need help from society they are flipping their houses and the taxpayer is paying the bill. If you want a fair society where we look after the less fortunate then VOTE YES in 2014.
TridentThe amount of money spent on a nuclear arsenal is shocking, these weapons of mass destruction are not very far from our heartland. I also believe it is more than Trident, this is about Nuclear fuel also, our country must ban all nuclear energy plants. It is only 2 years since the tsunami in Japan almost set off another nuclear disaster in the middle of the natural disaster they faced. If you want to see Scotland free of nuclear weapons and power then VOTE YES in 2014.
SocietyI believe in a fair society where everyone has a stake, where a person can achieve their dreams or wishes and not be unlucky because they couldn't go to the school for the elite. I believe in a society where we all look after our neighbours and one another, where we can welcome people from all over the world with open arms and help them escape tyranny and persecution if required. I want a society that has a stake in Europe, where we can work together to solve problems for the benefit on all. I want a society where we are all educated under one system and that system is free of charge to the students. I want a society where the people who drive the economy, the workers, receive fair compensation for a fair days wage and all the profits made by the workers is not kept by the 1%. If this sounds like a society you would like then VOTE YES in 2014.

- Frankie Tervit - PCS rep in East Kilbride.

George Galloway Doesn't Believe In 'Countries'

....Even though he would quite like Palestine to be recognised as one.

If ever there was a man who you'd think would support Scottish independence, it would be George Galloway. He supports self-determination for nations across the globe, is deeply dissatisfied with the current political order and opposes Britain's excessive spending on WMDs and illegal wars. But for some reason, Galloway just doesn't seem to 'get it' as is shown in one of his latest tweets:

"To Scottish nationalists: I don't think "countries". I am an internationalist and socialist. Nationality means nothing to me. Get over it."

The first thing that strikes me is the way Galloway describes every person who supports independence as a "nationalist". I find it difficult to believe that an educated man like Galloway could actually see a constitutional issue like independence in such black and white terms. Supporting independence does not make you a nationalist. Yes, it is true that Scottish nationalists do exist and identify themselves as such, but it is also true that there is a significant movement that supports independence and abhors nationalism. I see myself as belonging to the latter. I don't care about flag-waving or William Wallace. I care about Scottish people getting the Government that they voted for. As a Green, I see independence as a direct means of achieving localism; putting power back into local communities and reinvigorating our failing democracy. I don't care about any nationality any more than any other. I care about my family in England, my socialist comrades in Spain, the Zapatista movement in Mexico and Kurdish self-determination movement just as much as I care about the 20% of Scottish children who live in poverty.

This brings me on to my next point. Galloway has no problem backing the 'independence' and 'self-determination' of nations like Cuba or Venezuela but seems to despise the idea of Scots running their own affairs. George says that the "world is my country" and yet, somehow, I don't think he'd be particularly happy with the suggestion that the Palestinians give up on statehood and become citizens of the world. Now, of course, I am not comparing the plight of the Palestinians to the Scottish people's dialogue on independence. Palestinians face drone attacks, political repression and apartheid in their own land. What I'm trying to do is show that George's black and white rhetoric can be used against him. If Galloway wants to give his two cents on the independence debate then he'll need to learn to do a lot more than isolate and divide the Scottish people along 'nationalist' and 'progressive internationalist who's happy to stay within the union' lines.

The quote shown above also seems to suggest that socialism and independence are incompatible. This, of course, is utter nonsense. Scotland's socialist movement has been intertwined with the independence movement for over a century now. Keir Hardie supported home rule, John Maclean supported independence and, most recently, the late Jimmy Reid stated his support for an independent worker's Scotland. Both the Scottish Socialist Party and the breakaway Solidarity party have identified the British path to socialism as a failure and independence as a means of tackling capitalism. Socialism can't be achieved with one large swipe across the world. Scotland has the opportunity to turn it's back on the neo-liberal consensus and become a beacon for social justice, sustainability, peace and democracy. Neither side of the independence debate owns socialism and it would be ridiculous to pretend that is the case. 

-Scott Lumsden, Scottish Green Party member.  

Why I Support Scottish Independence

I first realised that something was wrong with the union in the May of 2010. I was only 14 at the time but I recall feeling a sense of injustice whilst watching the votes of the General Election being counted across the UK. In Scotland only one conservative was deemed worthy to represent a Scottish constituency yet, somehow, we would be ruled by a conservative government.
To me, this is not democratic. Scotland did not vote for this Government. Nor did we vote for the bedroom tax, the savage cuts imposed on our social services or the privatisation of public institutions that will, once again, put wealth and power in to the hands of the few. It seems that the only viable way of escaping the brutal cuts inflicted on our communities is to vote for independence.
As we have seen in the 2010 General Elections, 2011 Scottish Parliamentary elections, the emergence of UKIP & opinions on EU membership: Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom are going in different political directions. I'm not saying that one is superior to the other, just that they are differing. Why should the rest of the UK be forced to stay in the EU on account of Scotland or why should Scotland be forced to leave it against it's will?
Independence isn't about separating ourselves from the rest of the world so that we can learn gaelic and watch braveheart all day. It's simply about having the power to make our own decisions. That is why I reject the label 'nationalist'. I am not a nationalist. I do not believe that Scotland is any better than any other nation. In fact, I would like Scotland to be far more involved on the international stage. But this vision of an internationally active Scotland differs to that offered by the neo-liberal unionist parties. When Johann Lamont and Ruth Davidson talk about 'influence' they are really talking about having the military power to oppress and to butcher other nations. I want Scotland to be influential like Norway which is holding peace talks between FARC and the Colombian government. Rather than spending billions on trident and illegal wars, Scotland would be better spending it's money on untied aid for developing countries, as well as dealing with it's own economic deprivation issues which has left around 1 in 5 Scottish children living in poverty. You must ask yourself: "Do I really see Westminster changing?". I would hazard a guess that most of you, like me, will answer "No.".
What I believe will be the main downfall of the UK is the unionist's refusal to acknowledge that anything is wrong with the current state of affairs. They ask why Scotland would want to leave the economic stability of the UK whilst Westminster is stripped of it's triple A credit rating, people across the UK face high unemployment and the gap between rich and poor continues to grow. Why would Scotland want to give up the flourishing democracy of the UK with it's unelected head of state, unelected house of lords and unrepresentative voting system? After all, look at how well they've treated us Scots. We've been blessed with the 'job-creating' nuclear submarine that was deemed too hazardous to be kept in England whilst RAF Leuchers is shut down.
Yes, there is uncertainty with Scottish independence. There always is uncertainty with any radical constitutional change but I believe this change is necessary if Scotland is to escape the undemocratic, war-mongering British state and create a more just, prosperous, peaceful Scotland that protects the most vulnerable in society.

-Scott Lumsden, Scottish Green Party member.