Yes: The Radical Case for Scottish Independence

by James Foley, Pete Ramand

The United Kingdom faces a historic turning point in 2014. A 'Yes' vote in the referendum on Scottish independence would see the break-up of the 300-year-old union, adding a constitutional crisis to a deep economic crisis.

An accessible polemic written for progressives both north and south of the border, Yes argues that independence can reinvigorate campaigns against austerity across Britain and deal a blow to the imperialist ambitions of the British state.

An urgent and invigorating political intervention, Yes argues that even if the referendum result is 'no', a progressive independence campaign will alter the political landscape. Written by leading activists from the Radical Independence Campaign, Yes will be a unique contribution to the referendum debate.

Genres: Politics, Scotland, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published March 20, 2014

About the author

James Foley is a lecturer in politics at Glasgow Caledonian University. He is the author (with Pete Ramand) of Yes: The Radical Case for Scottish Independence and Contesting Cosmopolitan Europe.

Reviews

[Louisa Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent critique of British capitalism and the British state. It articulates a non-nationalist argument for Scottish Independence and argues for a radical transformation of society. Anyone with an interest in the Scottish referendum debate should definitely read this!

[Ronnie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read this before the Scottish independence referendum, but its arguments and discussion are possibly even more relevant now given events since. My 4 stars probably come from the fact that I am broadly sympathetic to the perspective offered; I imagine those who hate socialism and/or Scottish nationalism will dislike the book. But it is also well-written and, more importantly, presents a different perspective from the mainstream parties. We should all welcome that.

[Marc Livingstone]

Some interesting analysis, and does acknowledge the problems with the snp and the yes campaign generally, but doesn't really engage with any of the left arguments for a no vote (eg the red paper position, which they cite at one point so they clearly have read it). There is even quite a lot on the extent to which the scottish economy is externally owned, but the authors don't see this as a barrier to genuine autonomy. They also state that a yes vote would only be a first step to building a socialist society, and that it will take massive struggle from working people, I agree with the last bit, but I don't accept that a yes vote will make that any more likely or easy to achieve. A lot of yes left people get carried away with how much influence they have in the yes campaign and also how much influence they will have after a yes vote. In fact the campaign is dominated by the snp, and it will be the snp who determines what kind of settlement we have in the event of a yes vote. Good effort though guys! But I'm still voting no.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will try and write a fuller review at some point. suffice to say this did nothing to challenge my view that the left wing arguments for Scottish independence are pretty weak. I'm unsure whether the authors actually believe in their analysis of the British state and nationalism or if it just sounds like an easier sell. I imagine this book will be very popular with people into Scottish nationalism as it does do a good job of rehashing the usual arguments in a readable way. shame those arguments are so poor.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely worth a read, the authors are lead RIC honchos and worth a gander for that alone. It's an interesting pitch from a Left fed up of being slagged off for gestural politics, and having a sniff of the action again with the non-SNP independence movement. They sound desperate not to be written off as impractical, and will bear the brunt of their former colleagues wrath for it. In effect, they are plausible spokespeople and articulators for the grass roots stuff taking place.

Can't help wondering thought if they're SWP refugees fleeing the Comrade Delta debacle.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is actually a bit more of a "where are we now" than a "where should we go next". The depressing thing from reading this is that it paints a grim picture of what happens if we vote 'Yes' and then carry on trying to appease "the markets" by sticking with neo-liberalism policies. Hmmmmm.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book