Yes men from south of the border

The days of portraying pro-independence Scots - sometimes called 'Nats' - as anti-English have more or less gone. These days though, you're more likely to have the likes of the 'Poison Dwarf' of New Labour, Brian Wilson rolled out to argue the... 'positive' case for the Union?

Maybe not then. His latest outpouring of bitterness in Da Hootsmon mainly argues that working class Scots are much the same as working class English.

So far, so good. Shame he doesn't extend his logic to proposing that Ireland applies to be ruled from London once more. Or are the Irish working classes different somehow? Hell, why not get the French working classes ruled by David Cameron and William fckng Hague as well?

It's an obvious point that's been made before but surely to be internationalist you first need to add your own nation to the mix?

Let us stand in solidarity with the poor of England. But where does Scotland being ruled by London-based millionaires fit into this?

Here then are three progressive Englanders who very much welcome Scottish independence. Just don't expect to hear their views in the West Highland Free Pravda anytime soon.


Ken Loach, filmmaker

If I had the change to be independent from the Tory-Liberal-New Labour bunch, I 'd jump at it. Scotland has the right to hold any referendum it likes. The English ruling class are such dyed-in-the-wool imperialists that they can't conceive anything can happen without your approval. But I think: go for it. Other colonised countries have asserted their independence.

Billy Bragg, singer-songwriter



Jaz Coleman, composer and frontman of Killing Joke

Time to go French - against the cuts

It was always gonna be like this. If Labour had got in, Alasdair Darling promised that the severity of the cuts would've made Thatcher blush. As it is, we have the great ConDem twins of the bloated Westminster family, Cameron and Clegg. Meanwhile, banks that were bailed out by the state and that are now owned by the state are still paying their chiefs inflated salaries and bonuses.

Who said that capitalism works? The auld Eastern Bloc had shoe mountains apparently, that accrued due to policies that saw people working never mind the demand or use for the product. Bankrupt Britain meanwhile is building up piles of aircraft carriers and other instruments of war - solely to avoid redundancies. The fact that these people could easily be occupied producing technology vital to Scotland's renewable energy future is lost on the London government while the likes of Scottish Labour are too docile or cowardly to back such a move. War is always big business in Great Britannia.

Presently, the French are kicking off big time. If we have any sense, we'll follow. If we're serious about mending the broken economy, lets tax the rich first. These are the fckrs who got us into this mess. Should health workers, teachers, binmen and other public service workers pay the price with their jobs?

The EIS - a good example of a non-politically aligned and powerful union - in conjunction with the STUC have organised a march against the cuts. But this ain't only about education. That much is clear.

Click here for info on Saturday's march in good auld Dùn Eideann. Meanwhile, watch "crypto-communist" film director Ken Loach give Michael Heseltine some lessons on morality and the economy on the recent Newsnight broadcast. Its also worth remembering that socially-democratic and independent Norway don't have a national debt and therefore don't need swinging cuts to balance the books. What is Scotland doing wrong?