Monday 24 March 2014

Gains of Yes 5: A Written Constitution


I am for YES because I want to see our country, whether that is the UK or Scotland, have a written Constitution. 

The UK is almost unique in not having one enshrining the rights of citizens. This means the Westminster political elite can currently make it up as they go along. At least currently there is the European Convention on Human Rights which applies in the UK, but then again the Tories wish to opt out of this, and UKIP want to leave Europe. 


As no London based political party wants this voting NO is never likely achieve this aim. Only by voting YES is this likely. A written constitution could enshrine rights like the following…
  1. You should have a right to a roof over your head.
  2. You should have a right to enough food to eat.  Currently the only way you can assure that you have a home and enough food is to be sentenced to prison.
  3. You should have a right to a free education.
  4. You should have the right to free health and medical care if you need it.
  5. You should have a right to a basic standard of living whether you are in work, out of work, ill or a senior citizen.
  6. You should have a right to be treated equally no matter what your race, gender, sexual orientation, and much more.
I am sure that I could think of more were my brain working. Thus I am very impressed by the fact that the Yes campaign have been actively encouraging people to contribute suggestions for the new Scottish Constitution should there be a Yes vote.







Vote Yes for a more progressive and inclusive country, enshrined in a new Scottish Constitution.


Tuesday 18 March 2014

Gains of Yes 4: Nuclear Weapons

I am voting YES because I want to see a Scotland without nuclear weapons.



I don’t want to see nuclear weapons on Scottish soil or in Scottish seas. 


The only way to ensure this occurs is to vote YES, as all the 4 main London based parties (Selfservatives, Lavender Labour, Fiberal Democrats, and UveFlipped) to varying degrees are in favour of keeping the UK’s warheads 30 miles from Scotland’s largest city. 


I have always wondered why they are not so keen to have these 30 miles from London! The Scots and their largest city is expendable, but London is not perhaps?



Not spending such large amounts on nuclear weapons which will never be used would free up money for a larger conventional force, plus childcare, healthcare and many other things which might actually be of benefit to the people of Scotland.


It is often mentioned that NATO is a nuclear club. Why then do most of its members not have nuclear weapons? Why would Scotland as an independent country without nuclear weapons be barred from joining when it has been a member of this organisation through the United Kingdom for decades?





Only by voting YES can you ensure a Scotland without nuclear weapons.

A YES Vote is a Vote for the SNP?



Many people will say voting YES in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum is a vote for the SNP. 



The SNP are in power in the Scottish Parliament at the moment until the end of their current term in 2016 as per the current UK Scottish devolution settlement. At the end of their current term of office (and the negotiations for independence) Scotland would become independent, and Scotland’s first General Election would be called. If the Scots decided to vote the SNP in for another term of office then they could. However they could equally vote Labour, Liberal Democrat, or Conservative (or at least the new non-unionist parties that would be formed from the ashes of the Unionist ones of which they are now part). Or they may vote for the Scottish Greens, Scottish Socialists or some other party that I have omitted to mention. The SNP may even cease to exist in 2016 having achieved its central aim, i.e. to make Scotland an independent country.





So the answer is a definite no. A YES vote is not a vote for the SNP or Alex Salmond. It is a vote for Scotland becoming an independent country like all the other independent countries in the world. This is suggested by the question the electorate will be asked…

‘Should Scotland by an independent country?’

There is no mention of the SNP anywhere. This is understandable since there is every possibility that they will not be in power after 2016.

Taking the argument further if a YES vote is a vote for the SNP it could be argued that a NO vote is a vote for the Conservatives.








Scotland has not voted Conservative since the 1950s and doesn’t look like doing so any time soon. The question potential NO voters should ask themselves is ‘Is it right for Scotland to constantly get a Westminster Government it didn’t vote for?’.