Radical Independence Campaign

David Cameron’s government is responsible for the most aggressive attack for over a century on our public services, our standard of living and on the future for jobs and a decent life for young people.

The millionaire cabinet are ruining the chances of a generation. By slashing services and privatising health and education they are driving our young people to despair. Camerons Scotland visit shows he thinks he can destroy our future on the one hand and ask us to vote No on the other. But people are waking up to the reality of a No vote: more austerity, more privatisation and more Tory governments we didn’t vote for.

On September 18th we can wave goodbye to Cameron, Osborne, Gove and the rest. On his visit we are sending out a message: our opposition to the Tory agenda is unbowed. We are determined to relegate Cameron to the history books, while we write the next chapter of a socially just, Eton free, Scotland.

Youth voices speak out

Fraser Young, RIC Schools Edinburgh, aged 18: “Scotland must Vote Yes for a chance to change the harsh reality that so many people in Scotland live in. Tories often speak about job creation but with zero hour contracts and low wages it’s not just the unemployed living on or below the poverty line, it’s those in work. With independence we can change Scotland into a democracy run for the people living in Scotland instead of scapegoating immigrants for the lack of jobs, suitable housing and infrastructure.”

Saffron Dickson, RIC Schools Glasgow, aged 16: “I want a democratic Scotland run by a party voted for by the Scottish people. A party that is representative of our needs and wants and will no longer punish the poor and praise the rich. The only way for us to prosper as a country is by creating a system where Tory rule will never ever be forced on us again.”

Robbie Thomson, RIC Schools Edinburgh aged 18: “My hope for Scotland’s future couldn’t be further from the Tory rhetoric. Continuing, stagnant neoliberalism; cutting from and degrading the poor – while advocating mass corporate greed and corruption is not what I’ll sign up for.”

Miriam Brett, National Collective activist: “I want to live in a country that proudly holds a welfare state at its heart, hailing it as a means to obtain poverty alleviation, and strive for social justice. We live in the fourth most unequal country in the developed world, child poverty is skyrocketing, our food banks are oversubscribed and charities that ordinarily operate overseas have to work here. We have reached a tipping point, and waves of unjust social policy perpetuates this embedded, ever-widening inequality. I want to see a Scotland that truly puts all of us first. Simply put, this cannot be achieved under Conservative, or indeed Westminster rule.”

Liam McLaughlan, RIC Schools Glasgow, aged 18: “The Scotland I wish to see couldn’t be further from the Tory assaults on the poor we’ve had to endure since the Liberals brought them to Downing Street in 2010. Shameless and cruel attacks on our most vulnerable. My offer remains to the Tories and IDS; visit the people affected by your actions and justify it.”

Kirsten Murphy, GenerationYes, aged 16: “In the future I want a Scotland that has no nuclear weapons, where our higher education continues to be based on our ability to learn not our ability to pay, a Scotland where the NHS will not be privatised and a Scotland that puts its people first. With a Tory government we may have to pay just for being a member of the NHS, whether we get sick or not. A Conservative government would reintroduce tuition fees in Scotland which will mean children from poorer families will be unable to attend university without getting into large amounts of debt which they won’t be able to pay back. Most importantly, when we are rid of Trident, we WILL have the money available to put our citizens first.”

Sean O’Connor, Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Inverclyde: “My ambition is to be a Member of Parliament for Inverclyde. I want to be part of a left wing; socially aware Government. The tories will block that future as their right-wing, neo-liberal agenda will stop budding young politicians like myself from achieving. Working class people like me are held down by Tory politics.

Sarah Collins, Chair of the STUC Youth Committee: ‘The Tories are destroying the very fabric of our society. The idea that this Tory government have anything in common with working people is laughable, and that they have anything to offer Scotland, a lie. Young people all over Scotland are getting active in politics because of the referendum. A Yes vote is the key to opening a chance of a generation to create real social change.”

Connor Cheyne, RIC Schools Inverness: “First Thatcher then Major, now Cameron. Tory Governments have had long term effects on young generations which in turn have negative impacts on society as a whole. We seen the destruction of industry in 80s and 90s and now the Welfare State today. The future is being eroded for the young with no remorse and the Tories have no ambition to change their tone.”

It is time for change. It is time for a future based on cooperation and investment, rather than division and cuts. Cameron is not part of our future. We are the future, and without the Tories we didn’t vote for holding us back, we can transform Scotland.