Introduction This is a follow-up to my previous compilation of pro-independence articles and arguments (which can be found here). When I finished the last one, I wasn’t sure if I should or need to follow up with a second one, however, so many more articles have came out supporting independence that i thought it worthwhile creating a follow-up. The last compilation contained references up to the 24th June and this now contains references from the 25th June to around 5th September. At the time I started writing this new one, 4 weeks after I finished the last one, I had accumulated over 250 references and by the time I had finished, there were at least 800 references and 500 images! Unfortunately this has pushed the number of pages past 300, which I know is a huge amount to read in the closing weeks of the campaign (more than twice the first document) but if you can read it all, it’ll be worth it. Otherwise, dip into it and use it as a reference. By necessity, this will almost certainly be the last document I write on this subject – there are and will be many articles from both sides right up to the day of the referendum that will be relevant so please keep an eye out for them (Facebook is good for being alerted to these). However, the majority will only reinforce the arguments presented in this document (and even then this document only reinforces what was presented in the last one). As a result of the looming deadline, this compilation is likely to be a bit more rough around the edges as I wanted to finish it 2 weeks before the referendum to give time to read it. As before, I would recommend you follow each link and read the articles in full but I appreciate that this may take more than the 2 weeks left to do! This compilation does not contain the references of the last one (not deliberately) – it’s a separate follow-up and should be read in addition to the last one, if you’ve not already read it (the article “Scottish Independence”). I’ve tried to maintain the same headings as before to be as consistent with the previous compilation but some have been omitted and some added. I hope you’ll also find this one useful and that it persuades you to consider voting for Scotland’s future as an independent nation. Thanks for reading and good luck! - 1 - The Independence Argument There are many claims being made about the referendum, some deliberately made to try and cloud the debate as to what the question really is. What does it boil down to? While economics, etc influence the decision, the core question is, as discussed here, whether those who live and work in Scotland – those who contribute to it and depend on it – are those who ought to have the governing say in who runs the place. These are the electorate both for the future and for the current campaign. These are the people we say are “sovereign” – to be entrusted now and in future with our political decision making. That is, we say that : - a) Scotland constitutes a “polity”, a political entity, and that b) democracy is in principle and practice the best way to run a polity. Therefore c) we ought to have an elected parliament in Edinburgh that can actually take the decisions on taxation and welfare and war and peace that the parliament of any other, “normal” political entity should expect to do. If you accept that Scotland is a real country, and that democracy is the best (least worst) form of government, then, within that definition, a Yes vote is logically the inescapable choice to make. To vote No on September the 18th you have to contend either that Scotland does NOT constitute a polity or that democracy is too good for it. Or as someone else described it in a Facebook discussion: Please answer the following two questions with a simple Yes or No. 1. Do you believe that a country should run its own affairs. Yes or No? 2. Do you believe that Scotland is a country. Yes or No? It really is that simple! Or if you want it even shorter “Decisions affecting Scotland’s future should be taken in Scotland” or “It is important to remember that this is not a vote on policies but that those policies are made within Scotland” As this article argues, “It’s the governance, stupid.” “the central question [is] from where should the Scottish people be governed, Westminster or Scotland? This is the supreme question- all others are secondary. The democratic deficit of Tory rule we didn’t vote for is the one thing that the Noes have done everything to keep out of the debate. For them the referendum is to be about anything else.” - 2 - Better Together (BT) continue to argue that this referendum is about Alex Salmond and the SNP to deter many non-SNP (Labour mainly) voters. It’s also about attacking the man rather than the argument, perhaps because they can longer effectively attack the argument? FYI, Blair McDougall runs the Better Together/ No Thanks / UKOK campaign under Alasdair Darling’s leadership... - 3 - Despite BT’s claims that this referendum is somehow about Alex Salmond, as this article here explains, there are far more groups and unaffiliated individuals involved in the independence campaign than even the SNP. Furthermore, the desire for independence grows and several more Labour and LibDem figures have announced their support for independence: “Former Labour MP Peter Kilfoyle backs Yes vote” – see BBC News “Dornan switches to Yes campaign: A councillor and former activist for both Labour and the pro- Union campaign has declared his support for an independent Scotland” – see Milngavie Herald “Former Aberdeen Labour secretary urges fellow party members to vote Yes” “Allan Waite, 44, said he had become disillusioned with Scottish Labour, which he said had moved away from its core values.” – see Evening Express “A leading Liberal Democrat in the Highlands has revealed he is planning to vote Yes to Scottish independence. Alan MacRae, who stood in the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency at the 2011 Holyrood elections, said he “can’t think of a single good reason to vote No”.” – see Press and Journal “Former minister in Scottish independence Yes vote” “Leslie Huckfield, who served in James Callaghan's government in the 1970s, is urging Labour supporters to follow his lead and vote for independence on September 18. He said an independent Scotland offers an opportunity to implement the policies and causes that Labour has traditionally supported.” (ITV News) “Edinburgh’s first female Lord Provost declares for Yes” “A member of Labour for about 20 years, she left the party because: “I just drifted away, disillusioned with Tony Blair’s New Labour - it did nothing for me”.” – see here “Lib Dem ex-MP John Barrett to vote Yes” “John Barrett, who represented Edinburgh West, made clear he was “no fan” of the SNP and vowed to remain a Lib Dem, but he said independence offered Scotland an opportunity for change which would be “forever lost with a No vote”.” – see Edinburgh News here and here “Dr Michael Foxley, a former Highland Council leader who has worked with Charles Kennedy and Chief Secretary to the UK Treasury Danny Alexander, [is] backing the case for leaving the union.” – see Scotsman and the Herald “Inverclyde councillor to defy Labour Party line and vote 'Yes'” – Greenock Telegraph “Former Scottish Labour chairman says NHS is safe only with a Yes vote” “The Scottish Labour leadership has lost all credibility over its hypocritical denial of the threat to NHS in Scotland in the event of a No vote, a former party chairman said today. Bob Thomson said Alastair Darling, Johann Lamont and former Labour First Minister Lord McConnell were fooling no-one with their claims that the Scottish NHS cannot be damaged by Westminster cuts, driven by rampant privatisation of the health service in England. He said: “It is no surprise that already more than 230,000 Labour supporters have said they will vote Yes on September 18 and I have no doubt that this is due in no small part to the sheer hypocrisy of Darling, Lamont and now Jack McConnell.” – see here “RMT members back 'Yes' vote” – BBC News “Skye Lib Dem councillor defects to Yes vote” “I will be voting yes because I believe Scotland deserves to get the government it votes for in order to ensure its future success. We can be a successful, independent country with the government the people of Scotland chose.” – The Press and Journal Other surprise supporters for independence have included Sir George Mathewson, a former RBS chief executive and chairman, who said that independence would be “an opportunity not a threat” and argued that financial services in Scotland had been “neglected by the Westminster government and its London- centric policy”. He also claimed that banks such as RBS and Lloyds could “scarcely be described as Scottish banks”, adding that if there was a Yes vote in next month’s referendum it should be the rest of the UK government that should be primarily responsible for dealing with the situation. Sir George also gave his backing to Scottish Government plans for a currency union with the rest of the UK to be established if there is a Yes vote on September 18, allowing an independent Scotland to continue to use the pound. (see the Scotsman) - 4 - Ralph Topping, CEO of William Hill, in the Financial Times writes that “The big gamble for Scotland is staying in the union” “have spent the past six years as chief executive of a company whose 17,000 employees work in Scotland, elsewhere in the UK and throughout the world.