Deputy Leader of the Green Party and London Green Amelia Womack writes about today’s referendum in Scotland – and what it means for the future of democracy in the UK.
The fight against ‘business-as-usual’ is a fundamental aspect of Green Party politics. We stand against a political system that allows people to fall so far below the bread line that they have to rely on food banks; which privatises the NHS after years of neglect; and cuts the very public services that come to depend upon when times get hard.
The Scottish Referendum has created a surge of people who are no longer prepared to put up with this business-as-usual approach to politics and want to show the world that there are alternatives to the Eton mess that the country is currently battling through.
All this was evident to me while talking to people on the doorstep in Stirling today. Whilst campaigning for a Green Yes, it was clear that people see an uncertain future as a better alternative to clinging on to a system that is so obviously broken and refuses to change – the very system that has been promoting a No campaign across the country based on the politics of fear. They’re tired of listening to the same suits in Westminster promise that things will be different – who promised to reform the banks, pledged to be the “greenest government ever”, and who said they would crack-down on corporate lobbyists but only really wanted to gag charities and campaigners.
It should come as no surprise then that change is on the horizon in Scotland.
Walking the streets of Stirling today you can smell the sense of opportunity in the air. You can see the hope in the eyes of the Scottish people.
History has taught us that changes in borders don’t mean that we will lose connection between cultures and populations. Campaigning with Greens from across Europe, a Slovakian Green told me of the similarities they saw between the changes in Czechoslovakia and the discussions about Scottish Independence in the UK. When the countries divided, a border was created. But with a shared history, a common culture, and the free movement the Czechs and the Slovakians are still “brother and sisters”. The same can be true of Scotland. The people have more control over their political destinies, while their culture and heritage will remain just as great as they ever were.
The Scottish people will wake up on Friday morning feeling empowered, living in a country that is theirs to build. Because, irrespective of the way the vote turns on Thursday, this campaign has set a new tone, a new ambition, and a new hope for what a progressive future could look like. That Genie is out of the bottle, and even with a No vote, Westminster can’t do anything to put it back.