Westminster lies about independence and how to disprove them

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday listed the Westminster tricks which will be used in the run up to indyref2 to hoodwink Scotland into believing that independence would not work.

In her speech at the final day of the SNP conference she urged activist to resists the Westminster tricks ‘with all we’ve got’. Here are the Unionist arguments she listed … and how to demolish them:

 Brexit has been a disaster and independence would only make matters worse

This argument is the ultimate irony. It is true that Brexit has been a disaster and that its effects are continuing to cause chaos. It has devastated Scotland’s trade with Europe and is now causing food shortages in shops and restaurants all over the country and goods shortages in stores which are only expected to get worse in the lead up to Christmas.

All these problems are the direct result of Westminster incompetence. In the run-up to Brexit the Scottish government continually argued for a better form of Brexit, one which would keep Scotland within the single market and protect our trade with Europe.

Westminster dismissed these suggestions out of hand. It refused to even discuss the matter with the Scottish government and kept it completely out of EU negotiations.

Instead its intransigence made meaningful discussions with the EU impossible and it only cobbled together the worst possible trade deal when the deadline was almost up and Boris Johnson realised that crashing out of Europe without any deal at all would not be acceptable in Britain.

In effect Boris Johnson has severely wounded the British and Scottish economies and then warned us that ditching his disastrous government would somehow make matters worse

Most of the problems inflicted on Britain after Brexit have been the direct result of the incompetence of that deal, despite warnings that the deal would make all these problems impossible to avoid. In effect Boris Johnson has severely wounded the British and Scottish economies and then warned us that ditching his disastrous government would somehow make matters worse.

Far from signalling a repeat of those Brexit disasters, independence offers an escape from them. We could negotiate our own membership of the EU and restore the trade which has been so disastrously reduced because of the anti-Europe philosophy and the extreme British nationalism of Boris Johnson’s government,

Scotland is too poor to afford independence

Scotland is not a poor country. In fact it is one of the richest countries in the world and it is rich in the resources we need to prosper  in the modern world.

Here are some facts: Scotland possesses ...

 26% of the UK’s renewable energy generation; 90% of UK’s renewable hydropower capacity; 10% of Europe’s wave power potential.

Before Brexit, Scotland also exported £17,456 of goods per head, more than twice the UK figure. And we produce double our population share of the UK’s food – about 16.1% – including about 70% of the UK’s fish landings which are now threatened by the mess Westminster has made of Brexit.

No wonder Westminster doesn’t want to lose Scotland. At a time when the world has woken up to the desperate need to focus on renewables to tackle the climate crisis Scotland has the resources which are vital to save the world.

Because our trade with Europe has been cut we are now too dependent on the rest of the UK

There is nothing to stop an independent Scotland continuing to trade with the rest of the UK. That‘s not just a benefit for Scotland, it’s also essential for the rest of the UK. It would be an act of unforgiveable folly for Westminster to block it. However, only independence can allow Scotland to restore the European trade Brexit has lost.

The suggestion that Scotland is uniquely unable to manage its own affairs does not stand up to scrutiny. Many countries the same size as Scotland but without its natural resources survive perfectly well as  independent countries. There is nothing which seriously suggests Scotland would not thrive.

Our population is ageing too fast to allow us to stand on our own feet

In common with many countries in the world, Scotland has an ageing population. One way to counteract the drop in the number of people living here would be to encourage immigrants to move here to build new lives and to contribute to our economy.

Independence would allow our economy to benefit from increased tax income and our society to benefit from the cultural advantages of a more diverse population

We can’t currently do that because of the UK’s restrictive immigration rules, which take no account of the very different needs of Scotland. Independence would allow our economy to benefit from increased tax income and our society to benefit from the cultural advantages of a more diverse population.

If we remain part of the UK those benefits will forever be denied us.

We need to equip ourselves with the facts about our economy and how being part of the UK holds us back from achieving our true potential. These and other pro-Union myths are challenged and countered in the Scotland the Brief book produce by Business for Scotland. You can buy the book by clicking on the link below.