Tommy Sheridan Mirror Column August 20, 2003, Wednesday

I CAN'T understand why we let someone else rule our land - sang The Proclaimers back in 1980s. That was during the high tide of Thatcherism. Across Scotland, the Iron Lady had been running amok. Factories were shut down like matchboxes. Thriving communities were turned into ghost towns.

And there was nothing we could do to stop her. Time and time again, the Tories were crushed in Scotland at the polls. But time and time again they were returned to power at Westminster. On the surface, things look different today. Scotland and England seem to be singing from the same political hymn sheet. On both sides of the Border, New Labour is in the driving seat. We even have our own little parliament in Edinburgh. But, as the French say, "the more things change, the more they remain the same".

Recently we were dragged into a war that the people of Scotland did not want. But we had no power to stop it. Next week, I'll be going to jail for protesting against nuclear weapons that the people of Scotland do not want. But we have no power to get rid of them. Last week, people in Scotland were outraged at the incarceration of little children in a Scottish jail. But we were powerless to stop it happening. More tha 70 per cent of Scottish pensioners live on the breadline. But we have no power to increase pensions.

Poverty is rampant across Scotland, mainly because of the shamefully low minimum wage. But we have no power over private sector pay. In the days before devolution, every decision which affected health, education, transport, the environment or local government in Scotland was taken behind closed doors by a single Government minister who was hand-picked by Downing Street. Now, at least, we have a bit of transparency. There is open debate and discussion. Decisions are scrutinised by the media and the public.

The MSPs who take these decisions are accountable to the electorate. So why should we fear extending democracy to all areas of government? Why shouldn't the people of Scotland have the right to decide whether we want Europe's biggest nuclear arsenal is sited just 20 miles from Glasgow city centre?

Why shouldn't we be allowed to decide whether our young men and women are sent to fight wars in distant countries for the glory of politicians in Washington and London? WHY shouldn't we have the right to scrap anti-trade union laws introduced by a Tory Prime Minister who regarded working men and women as the enemy within?

Why should we lock up little children in detention centres because a London politician orders us to do so? Why shouldn't we have the right to create a more equal society, where our wealth is shared out fairly?

I don't understand why people have a problem with independence. I certainly can't be accused of being a narrow, parochial nationalist. In the last month or so, I've spoken at meetings in England and Wales. I've met with Colombian trade unionists and Venezuelan socialists to offer solidarity. I've protested at Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and at Turkey's treatment of the Kurds.

I want to see a world without war and without hunger, a world where the wealth of the planet is shared by the people of the planet. But we have to start somewhere. If we can't change our own country, we'll never change the world.

That's why I'm a socialist internationalist who supports Scottish independence.