Jim Sillars urges Labour voters to back Yes vote

On Wednesday 2nd July, a packed Greenhills hall heard Jim Sillars, former Labour MP and SNP Deputy Leader back a Yes vote in the independence referendum, followed by a Labour vote in the first elections to an independent Scottish Parliament in 2016.

Sillars, speaking in East Kilbride for the first time since the death of his wife Margo MacDonald, told the meeting that she had been instrumental in getting him back on the campaign trail.

He announced that, although currently an SNP member, he would be backing Labour to form the first government of an independent Scotland in 2016.

The meeting, which was organised by Yes East Kilbride, also heard from East Kilbride MSP, Linda Fabiani, and Allan Grogan, founder of Labour for Independence, the group campaigning for a Yes vote within the Labour Party.

In a fiery speech, Sillars condemned successive UK governments for halting oil exploration off Scotland’s west coast because of the presence of Trident nuclear submarines.

Sillars called for governments in an independent Scotland to learn from Norway’s management of its oil reserves and keep control of exploration and extraction in public ownership.

Linda Fabiani reminded the meeting that Scots were powerless to stop Scottish soldiers being sent to an illegal war in Iraq and looked forward to the day Scotland had the power to say ‘Not in my name’ and make it come true.

Allan Grogan said that only under independence will Scots get a Labour government working for Scotland.

Commenting after the event, Jim Sillars said:

“This event is part of the biggest discussion Scotland has ever seen.

“Scots will go to the polls on the 18th of September better educated politically than ever before. And I am convinced Yes will win!”

Convenor of Yes East Kilbride Paul McCartney added:

“As we saw here tonight, the Yes campaign is increasingly drawing support from right across the political spectrum.

“Our next public meeting will hear from Tommy Sheppard, previously a senior figure in Scottish Labour, Jeane Freeman, adviser to Jack McConnell as First Minister, and Andy Myles, former Chief Executive of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

“Our message is clear; this referendum is about much more than the SNP. Only a Yes vote puts Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands.”

Independence is about more than the SNP

The referendum on whether Scotland should be an independent country is a completely different matter from which political party, if any, you usually support.

On 18th September we vote Yes or No to Scotland becoming an independent country with the power to make its own decisions.

Then in May 2016, just six weeks after Independence Day, we'll choose our first independent Scottish government - which could be Labour or SNP, Greens or LibDem, SSP or Tory, or a new party formed in the aftermath of a Yes vote.

Supporters of Yes (just like supporters of the No campaign) have a range of different views.

What unites them is a unifying belief in the need for Scotland to take control of its own affairs.

If Scotland votes to become independent in 2014, new policies or changes to current policies will be decided by whichever party wins the Scottish General Election in 2016 or the next Scottish General Election or the next.....

With independence, never again will Scotland have to wait a generation to see the party it backed overwhelmingly in election after election get the chance to take power.

With independence, never again will Scottish politicians be allowed to put the interests of Scotland second in order to win power.

A Yes vote is not a vote for the current government or its policies.  It is simply a vote to put Scotland’s future in Scotland's hands.

By taking responsibility for our own future we have the potential to make our undoubted wealth and resources deliver much more for our people – regardless of your view on which political party would be best able to deliver that.

On Monday 14th July, Yes East Kilbride continues its programme of public meetings with three speakers who demonstrate that support for independence goes far beyond the ranks of the SNP.

Jeane Freeman and Tommy Sheppard come from a Labour background, while Andy Myles has long association with the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Come along and hear for yourself why independence is about more than the SNP.

A lot more 'left' to be said

With polls of voting intentions in the independence referendum showing Yes and No neck and neck, Yes East Kilbride has announced two meetings to let Labour voters who are still undecided find out what a Yes vote would mean to them.

On 27 June, a meeting entitled ‘The progressive case for Yes’ will be held at the Murray Owen Centre from 7.30pm. Speakers include Carol Fox of Women for Independence, a former Labour parliamentary candidate. Carol will be joined by her brother, Colin, co-spokesperson of the Scottish Socialist Party and a former MSP.

Pat Kane; musician, writer, activist and former rector of Glasgow University will argue that independence offers the chance to make Scotland a more equal society.

The second event ‘Can you be Labour and Yes?’ will be held on 2 July at Greenhills Community Hall.

This event will feature Jim Sillars; former Labour MP and SNP Deputy Leader, who recently withdrew from a meeting in the town due to the death of his wife, Margo MacDonald MSP, who had close connections with the town.

Joining Jim on the panel will be Allan Grogan, founder of Labour for Independence, and Sandra Webster of Women for Independence, who will argue that only a Yes vote gives Scotland the power to build a fairer, as well as a more prosperous society.

Commenting, Chair of Yes East Kilbride Paul McCartney said:

"We have some fantastic events over the next few weeks, and we encourage all undecided voters, especially those who traditionally back the Labour Party, to come out and hear the progressive case for Yes.

"At our stalls and on the doorsteps, we find more and more people moving to Yes, especially among traditional Labour voters who are unconvinced of the case for No.

“The last Better Together event in East Kilbride featured a Tory Cabinet Minister and was moved at the last minute to avoid facing the people of the town. By contrast, Yes East Kilbride events are open and welcoming.

"Panicked by the growing support for a Yes vote, the three pro-UK parties are now offering more powers to the Scottish Parliament, if there is a No vote. The fact is that only a Yes vote lets us harness Scotland’s enormous wealth to deliver a fairer society. It is an opportunity we must take with both hands.”

Once bitten - twice shy

Recent weeks have not been kind to the Better Together campaign in East Kilbride.

First, they had a chaotic visit by a Tory Cabinet Minister, Justine Greening. They were so frightened of the reaction to her visit that they switched meeting venues at the last minute. Those attending had to endure speeches shouted across a room far larger than needed – the public address system, and possibly many of the audience, having been abandoned at the original venue.

Just when they thought the worst was over, Michael McCann MP disgraced himself twice within days. At a debate organised by the Trades Union Council he showed how desperate the Tory-funded, Labour fronted, No campaign has become. Clearly rattled at being forced to justify a No vote, he abused his position on the platform to hurl abuse at a member of the audience, and at fellow No speaker, Professor John Foster.

McCann then turned his attention to the speakers for the Yes campaign, describing Yes supporter Cat Boyd as ‘a socialist’ in a tone that clearly meant it as an insult. His final comment was directed at Linda Fabiani MSP, when he criticised her for referring to the blacking of Chilean Air Force aero engines as an example of social justice that crossed borders, describing this as 'an esoteric issue'. This was too much for some Labour supporters who left the meeting in disgust.

Days later, to widespread ridicule on Twitter and Facebook, McCann used his column in the EKNews to complain that ‘bussed in’ members of the audience had heckled him.

Local Labour members are clearly annoyed at the way their party has been hijacked by such a unionist element, and local interest in Labour for Independence and Radical Independence is growing. Labour voters and members in East Kilbride are also increasingly willing to sign the Yes Declaration, and it is clear the party is facing a major revolt by its supporters over its pro-union stance.

The troubles facing the No camp in East Kilbride are mirrored across Scotland. Even a visiting journalist, Channel 4’s Jon Snow, was moved to comment on the negativity of the No campaign and the failure of Westminster to grasp the position in Scotland.

I have come away from Scotland deeply impressed by the high quality of debate, and the relatively low quality of many of the arguments put forward by the No campaign. I’m equally impressed by the range and quality of people who constantly surprised me by their commitment – often recently determined, to vote yes. My sense too is that where the vote on Scottish independence is concerned, Westminster politicians just don’t get it.

Sensing that their campaign is in trouble, Better Together has reached for an old favourite – promise that a No vote will lead to something better, but don’t specify what that might be. This tactic was first used in the 1979 referendum on devolution. Former Tory Prime Minister, Alec Douglas-Home, urged Scots to Vote No, and, after the General Election, Westminster would deliver something better. Sound familiar?

The "something better" turned out to be Margaret Thatcher, whose government refused to deliver any form of devolution, and subjected the country to policies consistently rejected by the Scottish people. These policies saw a massive rise in unemployment and the virtual destruction of Scottish industry, doing immense damage to the economy of East Kilbride.

While the No camp talk of more powers ‘guaranteed’, even their own publicity highlights the lack of clarity about what these powers might be. Some of their supporters point to the, as yet unimplemented, 2012 Scotland Act as the limit to any further powers that would follow a No vote. This Act implements the much watered down recommendations of the Calman Commission, which was set up as an attempt to save the union in response to the SNP taking power in 2007.

Here is the view from the Conservative Party adviser, Adam Tomkins, a regular 'objective commentator' on BBC news programmes, who is such a committed unionist that he refers to Scotland as North Britain:

A No vote is guaranteed to mean that devolution will change and develop. How do I know this? I know it because it’s already been legislated for, in the Scotland Act 2012. This Act, described at the time of its enactment by the then Secretary of State for Scotland as the largest transfer of fiscal powers within the United Kingdom in its history, will bring to Holyrood a substantial degree of fiscal devolution. 

Calman reported in 2009, and these powers were on the way when the SNP was elected to majority government in 2011. If the No campaign genuinely believed in delivering more powers for Scotland, they would have ensured these were also on the statute book before the referendum. Instead, all we have in place are the grossly inadequate powers in the 2012 Act.

Voices around Westminster make clear any proposals for more powers for Scotland would be given a rough ride, with a newly appointed Tory Minister describing devolution as ‘constitutional vandalism’. The Labour Party is so divided that no one has a clue what its policy is. Its plans for more financial devolution have been so badly developed that not even Johann Lamont could describe them accurately when she launched them for the press.

As Professor John Curtice points out, the gulf between the powers Scots want the parliament in Holyrood to have, and what they believe Westminster will deliver, is huge:

No less than 68 per cent of Scots agree that, in the event of a No vote, the Scottish Parliament should become primarily responsible for taxation and welfare. But just 39 per cent think Holyrood will actually be given more powers and responsibilities should Scotland vote No.

With clear echoes of 1979 and Alec Douglas-Home, the Scottish people must not be fooled again by unspecified offers of jam tomorrow. 

The ONLY way to guarantee Scotland gets the powers we need to grow our economy and to deliver a fairer and more prosperous country is to vote Yes on 18th September.