Independence is the fresh start Scotland needs
Conference season is normally a chance for political parties to set our their stall. This year however the Labour conference will be remembered for the interest in Andy Burnham deposing Keir Starmer, while the Tories want to join Russia, Belarus and Nigel Farage in leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
They are all racing as fast as possible to the extremes and we should have no part in it. What is clear from the UK parties is that Westminster simply doesn’t work for the people of Scotland – but self-government does. That is the lesson of this past decade.
If we leave Westminster in charge of the big decisions, things are only going to get worse. A more hopeful future is possible when that future is in Scotland’s own hands. That is why independence is the fresh start Scotland needs.
The SNP has always argued that the Westminster system is broken, that it works for the few and for one part of the UK. The past decade has confirmed that argument. Wages have stagnated, prices have rocketed, the very wealthiest have got even richer and London and the south-east have boomed. The Westminster way is fundamentally unfair.
Self-government works – there are lots of examples of transformational change, from a big expansion in free childcare, schools rebuilt and improved, child poverty falling, more GPs and nurses in the NHS, crime levels at a near record low – and we need more of it.
With independence Scotland’s future will be in the hands of the people who care most about Scotland – the people who live here. And we will make the best choices for Scotland’s future.
Scotland’s energy wealth will be in Scotland’s hands too – we can use our vast, low-cost, renewable electricity to lower bills and give real benefits to communities across the land: the people of Scotland will finally feel the benefit of our nation’s energy wealth.
We know what a Labour government in Scotland would be like because we can see the disappointments and wrong choices of a Labour Government in the UK. And they won’t face up to the fundamental unfairness in our society: promising a £300 cut in energy bills but putting them up by almost £200, choosing to balance the budget on the backs of pensioners and people who are disabled while billionaires get wealthier, favouring London and the south-east with Scotland once again an afterthought.
Meanwhile both Labour and Tories are dancing to the tune of Nigel Farage, which is ironic given that Farage is the person who brought us Brexit, which has caused food bills to rise. He has played a central role in making Britain unrecognisable from the country that people voted to stay with in 2014 – with Westminster politics moving even further to the right.
If he becomes Prime Minister, as looks increasingly likely, Mr Farage will cause untold harm to Scotland (as the man who says he wants to slash Scotland’s budget, and deport overseas staff who work in our NHS). Scotland should not be a helpless bystander while bad decisions are made on our behalf by Labour, while the Tories and Reform tack to the extremes and pull UK politics with them. Scotland has a much better option. Let’s make better decisions here with independence.
Angus Robertson is SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary