SCOTLAND'S FUTURE IN SCOTLAND'S HANDS

Yes to a Fair and Just Scotland

• We all want to live in a fairer, more equal, and more successful Scotland. A Yes vote for independence offers the best route to achieving this.
• This latest phase of the Yes Scotland campaign is built around our response to the STUC’s A Just Scotland interim report.

Westminster isn’t working for a fairer Scotland

• The current welfare changes and austerity cuts coming fromWestminster are set to reduce the incomes of 700,000 working
people in Scotland and 1 million Scottish households.
• Income inequality among working age people increased more quickly in the UK than in any other OECD country. The UK is now the 4th most unequal country in the developed world.
• Across Scotland, people are ‘feeling the pinch’ because we live in such an unequal nation. One in five children in Scotland live in poverty, and one in five young Scots are unemployed.

Scotland is wealthy enough to be a fairer nation

• Our country generates a massive amount of wealth each and every year. Scotland is one of the wealthiest nations on the planet and is blessed with abundant natural resources.
• The vast majority of people in Scotland would be better off if that wealth was shared more fairly. Doing this would also make the people of Scotland healthier and happier. 

But we need more powers to make Scotland a fairer nation

• The Scottish Government’s Fiscal Commission recently stated that:“without access to the relevant policy levers, particularly taxation and welfare policy, there is little that the Scottish Government can do to address these trends”. We agree.
• Independence will empower the people of Scotland to choose a fairer path, so we can work towards creating a nation where people are happier, healthier, wealthier and more fulfilled.
• A No vote is a vote for ‘more of the same’ while a Yes vote will allow us to take control of the relevant policies to allow us the options and opportunities to tackle inequality. 

Fairer and more equal countries are successful countries

• Countries that are more unequal do not do as well, do not grow as well, and are less stable.
• Policies that tackle inequalities are not harmful to economic growth. On the contrary, it has been proved that it is those countries that are most equal that are best placed to succeed. 

We can choose to build a fairer Scotland – one that cares and works well

• …where our resources are shared to bring happiness and health for all the people of Scotland. With independence we can work towards a ‘fair share’ of resources for everyone.
• …where people have rewarding and fulfilling work as part of an economy that works for them, with a fair labour market, employment rights, and good quality work. With a Yes vote we can choose a more appropriate path designed for Scotland’s needs and priorities.

• …where people are rewarded for the work they do for others, where we can decide not to spend our money on weapons of mass destruction and instead invest so that families have access to quality childcare, and we care well for our older people and those with disabilities.
• … where families have affordable, decent and safe homes and neighbourhoods. A country where vulnerable people are not under the threat of a punitive and unfair ‘bedroom tax’.
• … where everyone has affordable access to enough food, and to healthy foods. A country where families and older people do not have to choose between ‘heating or eating’.
• …where children do not live in cold and damp homes, go to school hungry, and suffer ever-poorer health because they live in poverty though no fault of their own.

YESSCOTLAND.NET