It’s nearly two years since 55% of voters in Scotland decided to vote no to Scottish Independence. It remains one of the most disappointing days of my life, a wound that will only be healed by a yes vote in a future referendum.
Two years down the road I am more Yes than I have ever been. For me the United Kingdom is a dead idea way past its sell by date. The United Kingdom is still run for the privileged by the privileged. Some 33% of MPs were privately educated against the 7% of the population who go to private school overall. In the last two years we have seen our living standards continue to fall, food bank use continue to rise, sanctions continue to be used against some of the most vulnerable and the continued failure of unionist politicians in Scotland to put aside their love of Great Britain to the detriment of Scotland.
Unemployment continues to remain high to the extent that we don’t know how many people are actually unemployed. The economy is still a disaster with rising debt and, as noted above, sanctions added to cuts to services used as the way the Government and the failed Westminster system use to fill the gaps of this ever increasing debt.
The independence referendum was always about democracy for me and still is. The simple fact is we do not have any real representation in Westminster. Record numbers of SNP MPs have failed to make the in roads that many of us had hoped to see, Westminsters failure to listen and their failure to be heard has meant that nothing has really changed. We are still governed by a Government elected by English voters, that is not their fault but neither is it democracy for Scotland.
Holyrood can only do so much with the powers it has but with ever decreasing resources the result is more cuts and more pain for those less able to cope and the erosion of my faith in a democracy that does not serve me or anyone I Know. Without full political decision making powers Scotland will continue to fail as a result of a politics and political system designed to keep the few on the top of the pile at the expense of the many.
The failure of no voters, and too many unionist politicians, to see this results in the day being that little bit darker, the people being that little bit more downcast, and our country having that little bit less self esteem, and the ambition or skills to bring about real change.
We must never lose sight of the Scotland that we could be, a democratic and independent Scotland that can do things differently, with more compassion, governed by a parliament we elect who place no one above another. My Yes vote is about change, the ability to make better choices , to care about everyone not just a small percentage.
One family using a food bank, one pensioner going cold, one unemployed person being sanctioned for being 5 mins late are one too many. If we believe that these things are right and just then we have already lost the argument and might as well give up now. A Yes vote is not about flag waving or wanting to be better than everyone else. My Yes vote is the belief that we can do things differently, that we can act with some honour and truth, that we can lift people up rather than keep them down. My Yes vote is my tears for what I see around me.
My Dundee has cracks starting to appear, my Dundee has a cloud hanging over it that only a monumental change can lift. No amount of V and As Museums will change that without the political independence to make different decisions from the ones made on our behalf everyday.
I believe a Yes vote is more needed today than it has ever been, my Yes will remain with me until the day I die.
grumpyscottishman.wordpress.com 
Very well put. I don’t have anything to add, I just want to express my agreement with and support for what you say above.
East Neuker
The more furstrated I get with our current situation the more determined I become in my YES vote. It is so sad that many no voters still don’t get it, they don’t see that the UK really is a busted flush and really cares little for anyone not in their tiny minorities club. It really is depressing at times and we are running out of time i my opinion.
Thanks for commenting.
Bruce
I have campaigned for Independence for Scotland all my adult life & I will be 70 in a few days. Recently I watched the arrogance of Philip Green and realised that his sense of entitlement reflects that of the tory government and the punishment he inflicted on the less-fortunate was minimal compared to the punishment inflicted by some of the same people who were questioning his motives. There’s outrage when an employer reduces someone’s rightful rewards (and so there should be) but a government department that condemns people to starve or freeze to death seems to attract little attention.
Anne
I haven’t really had the chance to follow the Philip Green issue but from what I do know it certainly looks like he shafted the employees and got out when he knew things were bad. I don’t believe anything these people say anymore as it’s all about money for them, they don’t care about people in any way. The politicians are just as bad in too many cases, they are not in politics for the right reason, too many think they have a right to be there and the parties are a huge part of the problem. How many ordinary people can get a foot in the door anymore. Politics all over the world are broken, it’;s about power and money and the losers are the people. It’s time we started to vote for what we want to see. I actually think the EU referendum is not really about the EU, I get the feeling it’s about the working class in England feeling powerless and giving the establishment a kicking. When you have nothing, which too many have, then what do you have to lose.
A YES vote for me is a no brainer, we have to get out of this union before everything is gone. The UK is descending into an even bigger right wing hell that it has already been most of my life and I have pretty much had enough of it all to be honest. But a YES would just be the start. I would like to see different parties and ones made up of real people and not the drones that too many parties select. I have been a member of two parties in my life, the SNP and the Scottish Liberal Democrats and consider myself a Liberal in beliefs. However, I left both parties for the same reasons, all women shorts lists, which I find undemocratic and patronizing to women, and the top down approach of the parties. You can add in selection and political correctness also.
Thanks for commenting and taking time to read my moans.
Bruce
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