Tomorrow is a day that will go down in Scottish history.
In 20 years time, as we look back on how Scotland became independent, 25th January 2012 will be seen as the starting point. The interviews to the media, the photographs from the referendum consultation launch, will feature in the retrospectives and in the history books. Those images and soundbites will become part of our nation's story, a well-remembered back drop: the sights and sounds at the very beginning of a process that will change Scotland for good.
This is the most exciting project that any nation can undertake. We have the opportunity to choose a better way forward, to choose the right path for this 21st century.
70 journalists from nations around the globe will be in Edinburgh tomorrow to witness events. They know something is happening in Scotland - they can see a nation on the move. I was speaking to one of them today. A man who has witnessed the emergence of many new, independent nations, and indeed, whose own country became independent in living memory. And he used a phrase that has stuck with me:
"Every independence movement has its heroes, men and women who perform herculean tasks for their country."
Across Scotland tonight are the men and women who will become Scotland's heroes. The people who will build our new, independent nation. Some will be at the coal face of government, working hard to ensure that on day one as an independent country, Scotland has everything in place, with the firm foundations we need to prosper and grow. Knowing many of these people, I have no doubt that they will be successful in this task.
However, the majority of our independence heroes will not work for the government or for the SNP. But, over these next two and a half years, they will be the people who deliver independence. They will be advocates and ambassadors for independence, making the case in their work places and on the doors.
And, they will have a powerful and winning message: independence will put the people who care most about Scotland, that is the people who live and work in Scotland, in charge of Scotland's future and Scotland's success.
No one is better placed to govern Scotland than the people of Scotland themselves. No one will do as good a job, because we have the greatest stake in making our country the best it can possibly be. It really is that simple.
Big assumption that Scots want Separation
ReplyDeleteBig assumption that Scots want Dependancy and handouts
DeleteWhy must you remain Anonymous?
Deletewww.independencefor.me
ReplyDeletePlease join the forum specifically for the 22 September 2012 March and Rally in support of Scottish Independence.
thanks!
www.independencefor.me
I needed that. I was becoming a bit depressed by the constant putting down of our country, by people from England, and by our own people, but that was a stirring wee reminder of what it will be like to be in charge of our own destiny. Thank you very much.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2131258/North-Sea-oil-will-last-for-100-years.html
ReplyDelete100 years of oil and gas reserves....scotland will be fine alsong as its ruled well
looking forward to tomorrow. Myself and the bulk of my friend and relatives are pro independance, I am so grateful i will be alive to see the making of history.
ReplyDeleteAs we look back on the twenty years since we came independent will we remember wistfully how secure and certain life was before seperation? Far from perfect but when the chance came we took the wrong option. Twenty years of the dead hand of labour ruling Scotland in a one party state. SNP lasted one year as a party before it broke up and the majority left to swell Labour ranks and to pursue power in a political home they felt far more comfortable in. New borrowing powers maxed out in eight years, taxes raised to such an extent that the wealth creators moved south where a more benign enterprise culture existed. The Government forgets that it is no longer just a spending authority as it was pre-seperation and allows west central Scotland to indulge itself even more in hugely enhanced benefits multiplying dependency already at unsustainable levels before the split. The inherited debt at seperation is never addressed and the burden of interest rates determined by London to suit the UK economy wears Scotland down to such an extent it has to look for bailouts from whoever will help. Westminster for some reason is unsympathetic!!
ReplyDeleteNot certain that this is what will happen but equally not certain if it won't but we are being asked to take the biggest decision of our lives. Will our children and grandchildren thank us for the legacy left them by a generation of gamblers?
Do we gamble on going bust under Scots in Scotland or do we gamble on going bust along with the rest of the UK under toffs in Westminster and their idiots in Whitehall?
DeleteCan you guess which gamble I am likely to take?
http://www.newsnetscotland.com/index.php/scottish-politics/4176-anger-at-tory-lords-bid-to-seize-scottish-resources-through-partition
ReplyDeleteRead this whilst sitting down with a drink near by.
And there Ladies and Gentlemen you have it ! Oh no, what if it all goes wrong ! The onionist mindset laid bare for all to see. But, what if it is brilliant , we thrive and Scotland is the success story we know it can be? You`d feel a fool then eh ?
ReplyDeleteThe union offers no guarantees, as we have seen and are seeing. No politician can set the future securely in stone.
ReplyDeleteOnly Independence offers us the flexibility & control to adapt as circumstances change.
Why do people believe we can survive on oil and gas revenue..it won't even make up for the industry we will lose.....think with you heads people and not your hearts...don't vote with emotions like a16 or 17 year old would...I am a proud scot but want to remain in the union.
ReplyDeleteOf what little industry the Union has left us with, why would we lose any of it by becoming independent?
Delete[Shakes head in puzzlement and disbelief]
DeleteWhy do you think Scotland can't do quite well on its own? What is so unique about Scotland that it's the only small country that can't stand on its own two feet? There are loads of them out there - small and doing OK. Why can't we?
Colin
Unionists always drone on about thinking with their heads and not with their hearts-but it is always obvious-as is the case here-that they have done little thinking themselves.
DeleteYou have to have an answer to why the Norwegians having started an oil fund only in 1994 now have a safety net of £550 billion while the Scots have zero,nadda, nothing.
Even on a dat to day basis a Scot's net disposable income is less than that of the 5 million Norwegians. WHY WHY WHY-the answer-if you use your head-is bl**dy obvious!!
Excellent news! The day will also go down in English history as the starting point of the end of the
ReplyDeletedis United Kingdom.
In 20 years time English children will be taught about the United Kingdom in their history lessons.
There is, of course, no evidence that Scotland will lose industries with independence, quite the contrary because we will be able to create a more competitive environment for investment.
ReplyDeleteAs with other oil and gas producing countries, revenues from oil & gas will protect us in the difficult times, they will be our safety net, but in the good times, the revenues will enable us to invest and grow our economy and improve levels of public services.
One of the reasons opponents of independence are failing in their arguments is that people aren't daft - they can look around the world and see the positive economic and social impact oil and gas revenues have had over decades in other similar countries. To suggest that for Scotland, our oil & gas is a problem or a burden, flies in the face of reality.
However, we are fortunate in Scotland. Oil isn't our only winning card - we've been blessed with a second energy windfall, with offshore wind and tidal power. And, for our size we have the biggest research impact globally and more than our share of world-class universities. In a world where we face shortages of energy, water, land and food, we are blessed with them all in abundance. I haven't even mentioned tourism, whisky, engineering, life sciences, creative industries or the finance sector. We have the resources, the people and the ingenuity to prosper. To suggest otherwise is simply not credible.
It is only when we understand all the potential that Scotland has that we can truly appreciate how much the current Union holds us back. A country with all that Scotland has should not have such high levels of poverty. Our economic growth should not have trailed levels in the UK for decades. We have so much going for us, and yet, as part of the Union, we are slipping further and further behind.
We all know in our hearts and in our minds that Scotland should be more prosperous, fairer and more successful than it is today. The reason it isn't is because we've let others run our affairs. They aren't going to pay the same attention or have the same interest as we would ourselves - as the blog above says, no one will care as much about Scotland and our future as people living in Scotland.
If you think David Cameron and the Tories will work flat out to make Scotland the best it can possibly be, then vote for the Union. But if you think the people of Scotland will do a better job, then it has to be independence.