An independent Scotland will be a socialist paradise

UNPROVEN

Claim:
Scotland is more left-wing than England. Left to its own devices, an independent Scotland would nationalise strategic utilities and services, protect and ensure universal services, massively increase tax on the rich, and run the economy into the ground.

Facts:
For some, such as Conservatives, this scenario is their worst nightmare. For others, such as the SSP or Labour for Independence, the desire for independence is driven by the belief that it makes socialism more possible. Look at respected left-wingers such as Jimmy Reid or Dennis Canavan, who did not abandon their principles: rather, they say, Labour abandoned them. These people champion independence because they think it will lead to a more equal society. And the trope of a fairer society is one of the main strands coming from the independence campaign, with testimony after testimony reported by disillusioned former Labour voters who believe independence is the only way they will see the society they want to live in.

And yet... are the people of Scotland socialist? To Gerry Hassan, socialism is one of the false narratives of modern Scottish life. There is plenty talk, but little action. Labour has not been socialist for decades. Yet the SPP, a genuine socialist alternative, has never been more than a fringe party. Scots baulk at the privatisation of the NHS but are otherwise middle-of-the-road, comfortably conservative with a small-'c', with the truly desperate having given up on politics.

Yes, independence gives socialism a chance. But given the willingness of Scots to pay lip-service to socialist ideals without ever actually voting for them, the best that socialists can hope for - and the worst conservatives can fear - is likely to be a Nordic-style social democracy. Which would not necessarily be a bad thing at all.