13/04/07
Free Scotland Party, Scottish Parliament elections, Manifesto Launch
“The Free Scotland Party has a unique selling point in these elections and that is that we want Scotland Independent of the UK and equally importantly Independent of the EU. There is no logic in leaving one small union (UK) to jump into an even bigger union (EU). That is the case that we will be making to voters over the coming weeks,” said Jim Fairlie, Free Scotland Party candidate and number 1 on the Free Scotland Party Mid Scotland and Fife regional list.
He continued, “The Free Scotland Party wants decisions about Scotland made in Scotland by politicians answerable only to voters in Scotland. We want an Independent Scotland, Independent of the UK, Independent of the EU. We believe that with Independence and the restoration of Scottish sovereignty; dignity, self-respect and self-confidence would automatically follow. Free Scotland will support any referenda or measures to diminish the powers of the EU over Scottish life and work for withdrawal from the EU and the UK.”
CONSTITUTION
• the EU is not democratic
• EU law takes precedence over Scots law
• 80% of Edinburgh or Westminster legislation comes from EU regulations
• Membership costs Scotland over £250 million each year
• The Common Agricultural policy costs each average Scots family an extra
£20 per week
• The EU is corrupt. EU accounts have not been passed for the 12th consecutive
year
“Scotland’s economy has suffered from the economic policies of successive UK governments, policies which catered to the demands of the South East of England. We live in a country rich in natural resources but where 20% of our children live in poverty, where many pensioners struggle being forced to work on or making heat or eat decisions and where we still have some of the most socially deprived areas in Western Europe.”
“No country can run its economy effectively unless it controls the levers of economic power, taxation and monetary policy. An Independent Scotland would be best placed to deal with Scottish problems. On gaining independence, the Free Scotland Party will support the establishment of a Scottish Central Bank, whose remit would be the conduct of monetary policy to suit Scottish economic circumstances, the creation of a separate Scottish currency which would be set at an appropriate rate, commensurate with Scotland’s economic position, relative to that of our main trading partners.”
ECONOMY
In the meantime, the FREE SCOTLAND PARTY will support
• All taxes raised in Scotland being administered by the Scottish Parliament
• Replacement of the Council Tax with local income tax
• Reduction in business rates
• Reduction in corporation tax
• Simplification of planning procedures
• Reduction of both UK and EU bureaucratic interference at every level
• Encouragement of Scottish innovation
“335,000 workers or 14% of the Scottish workforce are employed in agriculture and food production, with a total turnover of £7.57 billion in the Scottish Food and Drink manufacturing industry. But Scottish farming provides only 37% of that market. That share needs to be increased.”
AGRICULTURE and
FOOD
• Grants for young, new entrants into farming
• Promote farm diversification
• Promote the use of Scottish produce
• Free school meals, provided by local producers
• Encourage use of local produce by food retailers
• Stop EU interference in farming
“A civilised society is best judged by the way it treats its children and its elderly. A nation that does not value education betrays its own children.”
EDUCATION
• Reduction of class sizes where possible
• Greater use of school buildings by local communities
• Greater emphasis on Scottish history and culture
• Greater emphasis on teaching of second languages at earlier age
• Vocational colleges for those who can benefit most
• Abolition of student endowment and return to grant system
• Funding of universities to restore Scottish education to its former
international reputation
“In a resource rich country, our OAPs deserve better than the desultory State pension while Chancellor Brown has destroyed the occupational pensions industry and can not even bring himself to apologise for this mismanagement.”
PENSIONS
The FREE SCOTLAND PARTY will support
• An immediate increase in the State Pension to bring pensions in line
with other European countries
• Future Pensions increases tied to increases in earnings
• Immediate compensation to those whose pensions were destroyed by Chancellor
Brown’s removal of tax relief on pension fund dividends
“Our Health service needs to be brought back to serve patients with internal markets and other machinations abandoned. Patients should come first not targets.”
HEALTH SERVICE
The FREE SCOTLAND PARTY will support
• Free prescriptions
• Restoration of local facilities
• Cut back bureaucracies
“Scotland is better placed than any other country in Europe in terms of its energy resources. Unfortunately, those resources have been squandered by successive UK governments for the past thirty years. Scots have been lied to about the true wealth taken from the Scottish sector of the North Sea. However, there are still greater reserves remaining than those already taken, estimates say North Sea oil will still be there in 2050.”
ENERGY
• The establishment of an oil fund like Norway which is now worth more
than the oil itself to fund development in Scotland
• The phasing out of nuclear power
• Greater emphasis and spending on research and development of renewable
wave, tidal and solar technologies
“Scotland holds all of the UK’s nuclear weapons while the population of Scotland is against Trident and any updates.”
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
• Remove Trident from the Clyde
• No updated Trident on Scottish soil
• Investigate Rosyth nuclear subs polluting areas in Fife
“Scotland’s prison population is at its highest ever level. We sentence more people to prison per capita than any other country in Europe. Significantly, we sentence more women and young offenders to prison than any other country in Europe. The present system is obviously not working. We should spend more on crime prevention rather than on the consequences of crime.
CRIME and PUNISHMENT
• More police on the beat and a greater visible police presence
• Greater use of community based sentences
• No automatic early release
• Investment in specialist treatment for drugs and violent offenders
• Prisoners to earn the right to privileges
• Remove tariff limits for habitual offenders, particularly for crimes
of violence
• A reduction in number of short term sentences, particularly for fine
defaulters
• Simplification of sentencing policy so that the sentence is understood
by public and victims
• Expand restorative justice programmes where those who have committed
crimes against a community will be forced to pay something back to that community.
This will not apply to sex offenders
• Better use of proceeds of crime funds for victim support
• Reinvigoration of progressive sentencing where prisoners must earn the
right to privileges
• Remove tariff limits for habitual offenders, particularly for crimes
of violence
• Criminal injuries compensation for psychological as well as physical
injuries