Independence not despair

Alex Salmond produced his White Paper on a referendum on Scottish Independence on St Andrews Day. A multi-option referendum no less but more significant is the Unionists determination to vote down any referendum in 2010.

As Republican Socialists we are revolutionary in thinking and can see the limitations of parliamentary representative democracy in today's Scotland.

But should we despair? No probably the best time to hold an independence referendum is after the election of a Tory government. People in Scotland will vote Labour, SNP, Green and Socialist but not Conservative. This leaves the unsolved issue for the union that is England votes Tory while Scotland and Wales don't. An issue in the 90s a Westminster government with no democratic mandate to rule in Scotland. The SNP have promised to make independence referendum an election issue (general election) if the Unionists vote down the Referendum Bill.

So are we reformist for waiting for party politics to change our political future? Of course not we put our faith in the working class as John MacLean did. However with no revolution round the corner we still campaign. Let party politics take it's course. The SNP intentions are by large genuine.

So we should say let the Unionists be suffocated by their own intransigence.