What Scotland needs to thrive

Lesley Riddoch, Thrive: the freedom to flourish, Luath Press, Paperback, £10.99.

Reviewed by Niamh McNulty

Nearly ten years on from the referendum, Riddoch has made the case for Scottish independence lively once again. Instead of that stale, decade old argument mired in dry and overwhelming policy debate, quibbling over the minutiae of the currency question or trade agreements, she brings the argument back to the issue at hand by asking: “Can independence improve Scotland?”. In reply, she hammers home an argument cracking with self-aware humour and compassion for the Scottish people while demanding that we ask more of ourselves, for ourselves; that we face the hard, enriching, joyful work of taking our lives in our own hands with all the responsibility that entails.

Divided into four parts, Thrive begins with a deep dive into what makes Scotland, Scotland and us, us, followed by discussions of the state of the United Kingdom and the state of Scotland as a nation itself, and a final part drawing it together with detailed comparative case studies of neighbouring nations. The book is closed by imagining what Scotland might look like ten years after independence is won, in a beautiful practice of hopeful yet grounded imagination.

In the deep dive, Riddoch goes over the baggage Scots hold when faced with the questions of Independence. What is it that keeps the demand for a secession rumbling and persistent, and what is it that makes us lack confidence in ourselves to see it through? The nation portrayed is yes, one hindered by clearances, loss of language, and hurtful stereotypes, but also one brimming with people who cut through all that crap, who are deeply capable of taking charge of their own lives and communities. She does this through a seamless mix of statistics, historical example, discursive analysis (the section on national anthems was particularly interesting) and stories of community buyouts and solidarity led by capable people working alongside capable people. This mix, cut into small digestible sections makes it an easy and engaging read. You’ll never feel bogged down by the scale of transformation presented, but invigorated and confident, with everything you need to back you to say yes! Funnily enough, Riddoch tells us at the start this is what she’s doing, selling us on the ways in which independence will allow us to flourish; as a salesperson by trade, I can tell you she has the technique down.

The second part of the book makes clear the central grievance the case for independence rests on, and as promised what-about arguments on the BBC, the pound, or exact technicalities are left behind and we’re confronted with this: “Scotland is a social democracy stuck with a conservative England”.

Forget the rest. What matters is that Scotland is an old nation with all the trappings of its statehood and unique institutions intact and those who live here consistently vote at odds with their UK counterparts and consistently don’t see the wishes behind those votes realised. We’re capable enough and different enough to make a legitimate claim not based on exclusion of others but the desire to represent ourselves in all our diversity. We’re taken through Brexit, the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, monarchism versus republicanism, our geography, and the toothlessness of British Labour. In short, she lays out just how inevitable independence is if Scotland is to thrive.

If that wasn’t enough, the next part lets us know that it may also be necessary. Honing in on the diversity and richness of our energy mix, Riddoch looks not only at the familiar idea that we don’t benefit from what we produce, but ties the need for climate action neatly together with the example of local decentralised efforts of many Scots that show we’re more than able to, where Westminster seems to be inept to do anything decent. And, if you need more reassurance that can translate to a national scale, part four brings together comparisons of our Irish and Nordic neighbours’ investment in people-led and centred policy, bringing into focus that what seems David and Goliath to us just now has been done again and again by many before us.

My only gripe with this book is the referral to the Scots in a purely positive light when met with a (possibly tongue-in-cheek) reference to this being in our genetic makeup. Of course, the idea that Scots in general are more social democratic isn’t entirely without basis given recent divergent voting records, but that it’s part of our ethnicity is indeed a frustratingly foundational and misguided tenet of many Scottish civic nationalists. It does give me pause, in an otherwise thorough book that urges us not to play victim to the decisions of Westminster when we very well could strive for integrity and autonomy, that we can’t seem to grapple with the very real underbelly of seeing ourselves as ‘better than’ by virtue of a mystical and inherent politically progressive nature.

Maybe it is implicit in Riddoch’s view that striving to be autonomous from a Westminster ‘preoccupied on regaining lost imperial status’ means we are ready to confront our own imperial legacy. There were a few moments in the book where I felt I was about to get a decolonial analysis that firmly and honestly situated the ways Scotland shares some similarities with colonised nations whilst, importantly, having deeply participated and benefited in British imperialism. And it never came. 

I think this is one area that ought to have been interrogated, and it would have not only sat very well alongside the core argument of the book, but deepened it. An engaging, easy to read polemic that draws together all the evidence and statistics with stories, anecdotes and conviction, this book really did make me buzzing again for the possibility of independence. Riddoch sets out to give Scottish readers a manifesto on independence that speaks to our hopes and dreams rather than hand-wringing worry of the unionist diehards, and does just that. It’s essential reading for anyone who wants something better for everyone living in Scotland, who needs that reminder it’s not silly or naive to dream, and is ready to spark those conversations of 2014 back to life.