Lesley Riddoch on her #IndyIdeas

Continuing our #IndyIdeas series here’s Lesley Riddoch, author of ‘Blossom: What Scotland Needs to Flourish’ talks of her post-referendum vision for Scotland…

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  1. Nice wee speech,I liked the way Lesley conducted herself during the debates for independence.I do believe that we can do lots of things to make Scotland a more equal country without feeling that “we are not allowed”. It is time we Scots grew up in the more responsible way that other countries do,or citizens of other countries do.I do have the feeling that the best brains in Scotland all leave when young as they realise that the people,in the main,just amble along not concerned with tomorrow.I went ,although not one of the clever ones, I did come back though after a few years,I like the sedate pace,but would love the “Buzz” of an independent country coming into being stretching out to the world to display our best and we still can and will I hope to live long enough to see us independent.

    1. Robert Wilson says:

      I would like to see The Party drop the Nationalist part of the name( with the nasty connatations that that word means to people throughout the world) and be msolely called The Scottish Party, TSP!

      1. Calum Graham says:

        It looks like the Scottish National Party are called just that – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_National_Party – NOT ‘nationalIST’ but you could also easily say that Scottish Nationalism is an inclusive civic nationalism distinct from general nationalism with all its nasty ethnic exclusivity baggage. The issue in this video might be more between a traditional active form of SNP and a more modern centrally controlled form that could actually stifle the independence of mind that the speaker calls for to stimulate nation building! The stuff of the wider organic YES movement.

  2. fehvepehs says:

    Excellent stuff Lesley. We need to live as if we are independent now. With the help of the Commonweal lobbying the Scottish government to instigate changes we can achieve independence bit by bit. Then the final step will seem totally the right thing to do.

  3. Dan Huil says:

    Lesley talks about other small countries and why Scotland as a small country is different from them. She’s right about lopsided land ownership in Scotland being “weird” but she doesn’t mention Scotland’s media, particularly its newspapers. Only the Sunday Herald supported independence. It did so in a balanced way. I may be wrong but I believe newspapers in other small countries would not have been so negative and “scaremongering” about their own country’s constitutional future.
    For biased land ownership see biased newspaper ownership.

    1. Lesley had less than 3mins for her contribution. Read her book and find out what she thinks of the media. She has to be the most sensible speaker I’ve heard so far. I hope she stands herself as I would definitely vote for her.

      1. Dan Huil says:

        Fair enough. I hope she stands in 2016 too.

  4. AnnaMac says:

    Scotland may not yet have its independence but it does have plenty of people with independent minds, even more so now as a result of the referendum campaigns. Her book is full of inspiring stories and ideas that show what independent thinking can achieve.

  5. Doug says:

    One thing important to remember about the media debate is how few of the Scottish newspapers are actually owned in Scotland. Most of them are ‘branch offices’ of larger media conglomerates. It’s the same with Television, and to a lesser extent Radio.

    Until such times as the MSM is Scottish owned, or has very good commercial reasons to respect Scottish opinion (and the increased sales of the Sunday Herald are very encouraging), they will continue to act in a way not dissimilar to ‘Scottish’ Labour, with the best interests of head office in mind.

    Now many of these companies are publicly listed, so shareholder activism is a real option, and should form one part of the tactics applied to bring about reform.

  6. Barbara McKenzie says:

    Wow, she actually mentioned land reform. Both Scotland and England desperately need land reform – I thought it would happen in Scotland with independence (just no-one was saying so), and then maybe change, on a lot of fronts, would also take place in England. If reform could happen in Scotland without independence, well good luck, but the very wealthy will fight it tooth and nail. I wonder what the Windsors would say!

    1. Calum Graham says:

      It does not require independence.

  7. A Peasant says:

    Land reform is the key to complete change of society. But this will not come when the new Master Lairds of the territories are MP’s since this is the way it has been since so-called democracy. Most people just dont see what our masters have become or how the so-called servants of the people slowly morphed into our new MastersI. The savage irony and it is savage is that the Labour crew would all love to stand and sing A Man’s A Man and so on, filling their lungs with equality and Republican ethos, but when they exhale it is to elevate themselves above the people with their new territorial dominance as an MP. They are just the same as titled Lairds. They open a fete. They open a food bank (then run and forget it lest they meet poor hungry people). They love to be stroked in their cloaks of importance. They are the breath of Kings and Monarchy – all those who take their role as an MP as ABOVE the people. It is an easy side step for a Labour MP like Jack Me Me Me McConnell to join that museum of death called the House of Lords. Darling will soon be there to collect his title for his job done in helping keep Scotland chained to the exploitative Union. Parcel o Rogues comes to mind daily when I see these hypocrites and hollow men. Title and land – all the trappings of the Feudal Order must go in Scotland. If we want equality everything that opposes equality must be washed away. It is time Scots realised they have had their country stolen from them. Let’s wake up completely and take Scotland back. It is and always was OUR COUNTRY.

  8. oldbattle says:

    I asked some weeks ago how a talented woman like Leslie ( and others!) could find a seat at Holyrood. Perhaps we need a non-party 2nd chamber on a national list system that we could elect as ‘trusty- fiers’?

  9. Onwards says:

    Regarding Home Rule being seen as a sloppy second, I don’t think most people see it as such.
    But I don’t think the SNP can or should drop independence as its ultimate goal.

    It would perhaps be sensible to make clear that Devo-Max is the next step though.

    Nicola Sturgeon has ruled out any UDI in the future and this should be made clear at the GE.
    Just getting a majority of Westminster MP’s isn’t enough.

    That way, these voters who only want strong extra powers, or federalism will be able to vote SNP without any concerns. It looks like voting Labour will get them nowhere.

    It would be good to see a Devo-Max alliance through, in order not to split the vote.
    And it would be great to see Lesley stand for parliament !

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