Friday 30 May 2014

Scotland's Independence - It's Now or Never!

The Reality


Could Scotland become a successful independent country? Of course! Even No politicians agree:
“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”
 ~ David Cameron
As an independent country, taking into account all our resources, we’d be the 14th wealthiest in the OECD (described as the “rich nations’ club”). This compares to UK at 18th.  With independence we can make this wealth work much better for the people living here - and that is why a Yes is so important.
No politicians want us to believe we are too poor to be independent, but the reality is very different: Scotland’s got what it takes to prosper with a Yes:
  • We’ve got the people! Scotland has a population of 5.2 million people which means that roughly half of the 200 countries in the world are smaller than Scotland, and roughly half are bigger. Some of the wealthiest and happiest countries in the worlds are a similar size – like our Scandinavian neighbours
  • We’ve got the talent! We have more top 200 Universities per head of population than any other country in the planet. Our research tops global leagues for quality.
  • We’ve got the experience! We’ve had a Scottish Parliament and Governments for 15 years now and we know that making our own decisions works. We’ve chosen to keep the NHS in public hands, to support free University education and support free nursing and personal care for the elderly.
Few, if any, of the 200 or so other countries in the world can have been as well prepared for independence as Scotland is. Scotland is more than ready! And we’ve got strong economic and financial foundations
  • We’ve got the resources! We’re Europe’s largest oil producer, and second largest gas producer. We have oil reserves worth up to £1.5 trillion in the North Sea which will generate jobs and revenues until “well after 2055” (according to the UK government). Then we’ve got massive renewables potential, with 25% of the EU’s potential for offshore wind and tidal energy, and 10% of wave power – extraordinary assets for the future.
  • We’ve got the industry! As well as energy, we have thriving sectors in food and drink, life sciences, engineering, creative industries, financial services and tourism; and,according to the Financial Times, would be among the top 30 exporters in the world on independence.
  • We have strong public finances! For every one of the last 30 years we’ve generated more tax revenues per person than the other parts of the UK. AS the Financial Times reported in February, Scotland’s national accounts are healthier than the UK’s
All this adds up to a country that could be wealthy and prosperous.
In fact, if you divide our national wealth by our population, Scotland is wealthier than France, Italy and the UK. So if Scotland “can’t” be independent, who can?
PROVISO
It all depends on the floating vote, the undecided. The majority need to vote YES for independence to be achieved, and it also depends on a substantial number of voters switching sides to vote YES. The momentum is with the YES campaigners. Keep up the pressure in order that a majority of Scots vote YES.

PROVISO