A CHALLENGE TO "NO" VOTING READERS

I'd wish someone in the unionist camp would give us some good reasons to stay in the UK.

I've listened over the years to Labour and Tories telling us that we are Better Together, before they even came up with the substitute name for the  "No" campaign. But I've yet to hear a convincing argument that doesn't involve being up there at the top of the tree, running the world, which, when you think about it, does the likes of you and me absolutely no good at all, but gives Cameron and Hague and their ilk their place in world history, or some silly argument involving heather curtains and passports or visas to visit your granny for the afternoon in Carlisle, which are plain stupid.

So what is the real argument for Scotland, a potentially rich and dynamic northern European nation, to stay entangled with England? (And I say England, because I see no good reason for Wales or Northern Ireland to want to stay either.)

Last week I listened to Johann Lamont tell us that she wanted the Labour campaign to be positive, to set out the reasons why they think we are Better Together ...and then spend the rest of her speech being negative about Alex Salmond and the SNP.

She gave us a list of aspirations for a Scotland run by Labour, and still a part of the UK (so, in fact, a Scotland run by Ed Miliband and Harriet Harman) but the only policy she actually had was one of devolving income tax to Edinburgh, a silly idea if ever here was one, and already knocked on the head by London, and in any case, a situation which we have had in part since 1999, and never used, because it is such a silly idea.

Nowhere that I could discern in Labour's conference, which seemed to be dedicated to the independence question, were there positives about being a part of the UK.

I can understand that for people who still think we have an empire, like the top Tory voters, who live in a world of starched collars, butlers, and fags and beating younger boys, Rolls Royces, county cricket, tennis parties and the social season, having the 4th largest spend on military in the world is some sort of a status symbol; being on the permanent membership of the Security Council, being important in the world, like Churchill, Palmerston or Disraeli, means more than anything to them, even if today it is all a sham and tittered about elsewhere.

But for real Labour supporters, what's not to like about an independent Scotland?

An independent Scotland would have, and could spend, large amounts of money to make life better for ordinary people. 

With no ambitions to sit on high at America's right hand; no desire to have the power to flatten a couple of suburbs of Moscow if Washington gave us permission, we wouldn't be obliged to spend vast amounts of our money on weapons to kill foreigners. Not bothered about our reputation as the 2nd most important country in the world ever, we would happily share embassy premises and consular services with friends and allies, freeing up even more money for some of our downtrodden and neglected towns and keeping Scots alive, in what is, after all, an oil rich country.

Surely the kind of state that Norway has created for its people; prosperous and generous (with massive banked capital of more than $600 billion), and most of all, happy, is far nearer Labour ideology than the right wing, war mongering, greedy, grasping, unfair, unpleasant, corrupt country that we have come to live in, where profit is the only motivator, and the devil take the hindmost (usually the old and the sick)...and that regardless of which party is in power in Westminster.

What could Labour possibly dislike about us taking control of our social security and paying money to people who need it without subjecting them to humiliating interviews designed to  deprive them of their life's blood? Why would they object to Scotland having power over ALL its taxation enabling it to tax fairly, decently... perhaps reconsidering the policy of giving tax rebates on earnings over £150,000, and concentrating efforts on keeping people on low wages away from the loan sharks, just to feed their kids, boosting business, encouraging trade.

Instead of policy being dictated by largely affluent people in the South East of England, we could have policy set by Scots for a Scottish economy and a Scottish ideology, with a parliament closer to us, and much less costly, or corrupt.

What could anyone object to in that?

So, if there is someone out there who reads this who genuinely believes that Scotland is better in the UK (and I know there are such readers), and who can make a real and plausible argument for voting no, I promise that we will read their comments with respect and engage in constructive argument. Maybe a reasoned debate would even change some yes voters' opinions.

It's up to you...  I will gladly accept a genuine guest post... My email is on my profile.