News / Promoting Yes
WESTERN isles SNP MP Angus MacNeil is the latest politician to descend on Shetland to try and persuade islanders to vote Yes to independence on 18 September.
Ahead of a question and answer session in Lerwick Town Hall on Friday evening, MacNeil said the eyes of the world were on Scotland, especially amongst its Nordic neighbours.
He stressed that some of the most successful countries in the world, such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark had similar sized populations to Scotland.
He added that people in Iceland, which he visited recently, were right behind Scotland voting for independence.
“Our Nordic neighbours are watching to see if we are going to stand tall in the world,” he said.
The mood in the western isles is very much in favour of independence, he said, unlike Shetland where there is a leaning towards staying with the union.
But he said independence would be “finishing the job” that was started by setting up a Scottish Parliament in 1999 by transferring all powers from Westminster to Holyrood.
In an oft-used phrase these days, he said it was better to have a government where you could see “the whites of the eyes” of the politicians who were making the decisions.
And he also warned that Shetland would see little benefit from the latest energy boom once the oil ran out if Westminster remains in control, while Scotland would set up an oil fund.
“When Norway’s oil runs out Norway will have a huge $3.3 trillion oil fund paying $ 68 billion a year each year for ever.
“When the UK oil runs out the oil fund here will pay nothing for ever, because there is none.”
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