With the powers of independence we can do so much more to build a fairer, greener and more compassionate Scotland, says Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater.
Commenting on the 10th anniversary of the 2014 referendum, and ahead of her Member’s Business Debate on 10 Years since Scotland’s Independence Referendum, Ms Slater said:
“So much has changed in the last 10 years, but I will always remember the optimism and the hope I felt that day.
“For that short 24-hour window, we had the power to take our future into our own hands.
“The last decade could have been so different, with Scotland spared the devastating impact of continued Tory rule and a disastrous Brexit that has increased prices, cost jobs and curbed our right to travel.
“The need for independence is still clear to me.
“It is about empowering our communities and building a future that represents the hopes and values of the people of Scotland.
“There are so many crucial policy areas where Scotland simply doesn’t have the powers that we need to make the changes that are so vital.
“When it comes to wages, working conditions, fossil fuel exploitation and basic public spending, we are constantly having to defer to a Westminster government that has let us down time and again.
“I believe that Scotland should be a democratic republic with the chance to make the big decisions for ourselves.
“On this anniversary, we can pause to think and reflect on the opportunity that we lost in 2014 and the Scotland we want to see.
“The need for independence has not gone away, and there is a whole new generation who want to have the debate about their future.
“The Scottish Greens will do everything we can to ensure that by the time the 20th anniversary of the day comes around, we are celebrating rather than thinking about what could have been, and are doing it in a fairer, greener and independent Scottish republic.”
