Great opportunity
I am only on nodding terms with James Kelly but I have the impression of a decent individual doing his best to make his constituency and, indeed, Scotland a better place.
I suspect that he and I share many ideals and we both wish for a very similar outcome for our country.
However, we have very different ideas as to how to achieve a socially just Scotland.
In last week’s short article in the Reformer, Mr Kelly mentioned Alex Salmond’s name four times and referred to the SNP government twice.
The Labour Party do not seem to realise that this referendum is not about narrow party interests and the independence movement is inclusive of varying political beliefs and ethnic origins.
What it offers is a great opportunity for the people who live in Scotland to create a better society than we can ever have under Westminster rule.
It is clear that the additional differing powers proposed by the Unionist parties are inadequate to achieve our ambitions as they consist mainly of a degree of control over income tax. This is no longer the pre-eminent means of funding expenditure with a much higher percentage being raised through taxation on oil and gas, VAT and corporation tax and these will continue to be handed over to Westminster.
The proposed powers represent a poison chalice for the Scottish Government given that in event of a No vote we can expect a substantial reduction in the Block Grant (our pocket money).
It is inevitable that such a development will result in Scottish taxes being higher than in the rest of the United Kingdom in order to fill the gap. So much for the Union dividend!
Scots are told by UK ministers and the Better Together spokespersons that we shall be much better off within the safety and security of the United Kingdom. However, the facts suggest otherwise given that the current national debt stands at around £1.3 trillion and is still rising. That figure does not include the £900 billion the Government borrowed to save the banks from collapse, nor does it include the massive amount of personal debt of the population in mortgages, loans and credit cards.
The interest on the national debt is costing the UK Treasury about one billion a week, and if the interest on the banks bail out was included that would raise the borrowing cost to around £70 billion a year.
As a result, the UK faces huge financial problems just continuing to meet the annual interest never mind repaying the capital. Should internatinal interest rates begin to rise, the country would be standing on the brink of a major financial collapse.
My conclusion is that the most perilous choice would be to remain within such a badly run country.
On top of all this, after a no vote, we shall be paying towards a new Trident as well as the development of HS2 between London and Birmingham and Crossrail 2 in London.
Our reward will be a guarantee of £12 billion in welfare spending cuts in the two years after the next General Election whether it is the Tories or Labour in power. In addition, we shall be stuck with the undemocratic first past the post voting system which often renders the majority of Scottish votes useless. The House of Lords will remain with all its flaws and waste of taxpayers money.
James Kelly believes that it is in the best interests of Rutherglen and Cambuslang and Scotland to vote No. Given the foregoing, I beg to differ and I call on all who hope for a fairer and more democratic society to vote Yes. Gordon Evans, By email.