No time for delay on independence

Posted by Ken Ferguson on July 8, 2011. Filed under Opinion,Scotland. Posted with the tags:Independence, Scotland
Both comments and pings are currently closed.

The result of the Inverclyde by election which saw Labour hold the Westminster seat with a much reduced majority is a timely reminder of the task facing the pro independence forces in the coming referen­dum.

Labour’s victory, though hardly earth shaking, is a reminder of the continuing strength of Labour and its central role as a vital prop for British unionism.

It is the more remarkable in that it took place on the day when tens of thousands of workers were on strike to defend pensions – strikes that had been slammed by lily livered Labour leaders.
Following the SNP land­slide it was probably inevitable that many of the party’s MSP s and activists would believe the “Alex Salmond walks on water” myth.

He doesn’t.

Newly minted SNP mem­bers of the parliament were inclined to wave away the need for a early campaign for a Yes vote in a referen­dum as something that would happen in good time.
Among pro independence activists there is almost a mood of stunned acceptance that a demand o long almost abstract for full independ­ence is now in the category of “OMG we have a Yes vote to win”.

A well attended meeting of the umbrella Independence Convention held shortly after the polls brought together a wide range of activists including substantial num­bers of SSP members to chart the way ahead.

However even that meet­ing was rather hesitant about the task in hand and the lack of MSPs from the SNP and the pro independence Green Party was a notable if con­cerning feature of the gather­ing.

But on the other side of the debate the unionists continue to strew red herrings in front of the public with everything from falling oil prices to unaffordable services put up as reasons why Independence is impossible or a recipe for a North Korean life style.

We can be sure that, in these efforts, they will be ably assisted by what now passes as Scotland “heavy” media which can be relied on the elevate any unionist myth to Holy Writ within a few minutes or column inches.

Likewise their colleagues in the tabloids will dispense with the fancy fig leaves of think tanks and unionists pro­fessor’s and go straight to the reasons why Scots are too poor/too stupid/to unskilled etc to run their own country.

The Inverclyde result gen­tly parts the unionist curtain to show the scale of the task facing the pro independence forces if they arer to deliver a Yes vote.

We have been warned.

As a party The SSP is totally committed to winning and independent Scottish republic capable of con­structing a socialist Scotland.

However the party also recognises that for a Yes vote to be won will require the maximum unity of the pro independence forces cam­paigning in every corner of Scotland.

To that end the SSP has urged the Independence Convention to launch itself as a mass public campaign with a membership and structure which can sustain the key work of fighting for a Yes vote.

It is now vital that this work get under way as soon as possible as delay simply leaves the field open for the unscrupulous half truths which will be peddled by the British establishment and fed to the people by their army of media acolytes.

Independence is not a debating point but a real pos­sibility that is there to be won and the task of doing so must start at once.