Independence 1st

Charter

Independence First demands a Scottish referendum on Independence as our democratic right.

1. The Independence First Association has been formed on a non-party-political basis to campaign for a referendum on independence for Scotland. We include members of different political parties and people who are not in any party.

2. One glaring aberration that remains for democracy in Scotland is that, despite having recently acquired a parliament in Edinburgh, many of the the most important decisions regarding Scotland are still taken in London.

3. Scotland suffers from an unequal union with a much bigger neighbour, which has invariably been to Scotland's disadvantage where matters of contending national interest are at stake.

4. The people of Scotland have never, at any time, been asked to vote directly by a referendum, on whether they agree to this or not.

5. Independence First is aware that opinion polls have usually indicated a strong demand for independence among Scotland’s electorate and notes that the UK government has conspicuously failed to test the electorate’s wishes in this matter.

6. As a matter of basic, democratic, self-determination, a referendum on the question of independence for Scotland is long overdue. All who cherish the principle of democracy, even those who call themselves democrats, yet favour continuation of the present constitutional setup, should accept the justice inherent in this claim.

7. Independence First believes that the referendum question should be as simple and unambiguous as possible, such as: "Do you favour Scotland becoming an independent nation?" Followed by 2 boxes, yes and no.

8. The question to be asked should not additionally test, one way or the other, matters such as EU membership (or not) or monarchy (or not).

9. Everybody on the voter’s roll in Scotland should be entitled to vote in this referendum.

10. This referendum should take priority over any other referendum on constitutional matters.

11. Independence First demands a Scottish referendum on Independence as a democratic right. We call upon all who value freedom and justice, in Scotland and worldwide, to back this most basic of democratic demands.

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