Latest News & Articles
If Grangemouth was in England, would it be saved?
Westminster has stepped in to save a British steel plant from closure on grounds of national security. But they haven’t done the same for Grangemouth. Even Labour MP for Grangemouth Brian Leishman and many other MPs for the surrounding areas have said if Scunthorpe can be saved, so can the sole Scottish oil refinery. The SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has also called for the Grangemouth refinery to be nationalised.Â
Child poverty now 35% higher in England than Scotland
UK figures released last week show that child poverty rates are now 35% higher in England than in Scotland.
Annual statistics show compared with the previous year’s statistics, relative child poverty in 2023-24 reduced from 26% to 22% in Scotland while absolute child poverty fell from 23% to 17%. UK Poverty statistics show compared with the previous year’s statistics, levels of relative child poverty at 31% and absolute child poverty at 26%.
Scottish water bills increase is a third of England's
Water bills in England are rising much more than in Scotland. You would not know that from watching BBC Breakfast as they presented the rise as an average £10 a month for England and 10% for Scotland. The average rise for Scotland is £3.68 - about one-third of the English rise.
Not the price of Net Zero - the cost of the Union
On the 1st of April, the energy cap on domestic energy bills rose by 6.4%. Right-wing commentators like to argue that the push for Net Zero is putting up energy bills. They have got that wrong - it is the privatisation of energy which is to blame for the fact our energy bills are sky high.
Westminster welfare cuts to slash £1 billion from Scotland’s budget
Disabled and chronically ill Scots are worried about the effect the Westminster government’s cuts to welfare are going to have on them. And the uncertainty Scots face is a direct result of devolution.
Scotland's women have been swindled by Westminster pension injustice
Scottish pensioners already face one of the lowest state pensions in the developed world. But the Waspi women (Women against state pension inequality) have suffered pension injustice that means they were short-changed on even that.
Four reasons for Scotland’s women to strive for independence
Women have always been at the forefront of the independence movement and that is because we understand how independence offers a stronger, fairer, more equal future to us and our families.
As mothers, grandmothers, aunties, daughters and friends we are concerned for our own futures but also for our children, old folk, friends and communities.
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UK Government's failure to back Grangemouth shows contempt for Scotland
The UK Government said last week that it will put £200 million towards investing in an alternative future for Grangemouth Believe in Scotland has serious doubts that the full £200 million will actually materialise or be used as anything other than boosts for large companies given the (co-investment with the private sector nature of the funding). But the plant - which made £107 million profit last year - is still closing and Scotland will be left without oil refining capacity is a major oil producing nation which is madness.Â
Failure to reform House of Lords is good news for the independence movement
The Labour Party has often promised to abolish the House of Lords - but last month it changed its tune and made 30 new peers.Â
These individuals - who in many cases have been recently rejected at the ballot box by voters - now get to make laws for the rest of their lives.Â
Child poverty predicted to rise in most of UK except Scotland
Child poverty is on course to increase in the UK by the end of this parliament, with only Scotland bucking the trend, according to analysis by a respected poverty charity.
This is essentially because the Westminster government continues to discriminate against children born into larger families.Â
Scotland's shared culture is the key to unlock Scottish independence
Believe in Scotland’s ‘Creating Scotland’ campaign aims to align the independence cause with the culture, values, hopes and dreams of our nation;
Media watch: Is the BBC misleading Scotland over its spending?
Scots pay almost £300 million a year to the BBC through the licence fee - that is more than the arts and culture budget of the Scottish government.
The BBC is required to spend at least 8% of its resources in Scotland, nurturing the creative and media industry here. That should be a bare minimum. There is no reason why it should not be more. London does not have to soak up so much of the money and talent - it would not do so if Scotland were independent.
Westminster Effect means Scots experience more fuel poverty than any EU nation.
In a week of freezing temperatures, Scottish households are counting the energy cost of the Union. In energy-rich Scotland, fuel poverty rates are higher than any EU country and more than double that of England.
New Poll Result: Wellbeing Economy points to 66% SUPERMAJORITY for Scottish Independence
By Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp
Make no mistake, this is a breakthrough result for Scottish independence. It demonstrates that, with the right message, there is a path to a 66% supermajority for Scottish independence. Two thirds of Scottish voters would support independence if independence were predicated on a Wellbeing Economic Approach with The Wellbeing Pension. More than that, the poll found that of the groups that are least likely to support independence, all of them moved to majority support in answer to this poll question. Meaning a Yes majority amongst demographics known for showing lower support for independence; Females aged over 55, Labour voters and English born voters, is possible if we make the right case for independence.Â
Scotland’s Waspi Women pay the price of the Union
Scottish pensioners already face one of the lowest state pensions in the developed world. But the group of Waspi women have suffered pension injustice that means they were short-changed on even that.Â
If Scotland were an independent country it could model its pension provision on a country like Denmark and offer a Wellbeing Pension, set at the level required to sustain a life of dignity, where every older person can afford the basic necessities of life.