Thrive

Why won't Scots simmer down? Why batter on about independence when folk voted no a decade back? After all. Scotland is not as populated as Yorkshire, nor as wealthy as London. But it's also not as Conservative, nor as suspicious of Europeans, as keen on Brexit or as willing to flog off public assets to the ruling party's pals. Scotland is a former state with its own laws, education, universities, languages, welfare system, history and hang-ups. A progressive North Atlantic nation steered by a Westminster government that's totally preoccupied with regaining lost imperial status.  Put simply - with or without Nicola Sturgeon at the helm - Scotland is another country. A social democracy stuck in a Conservative state. And that's why 50% of Scots are determined to find a way out. In this book, Blossom author Lesley Riddoch sets out an impassioned case for independence, weaving academic evidence with the story, and international comparison with anecdote, to explain why Scotland is ready to step forward as the world's newest state and how the British Isles can work better when Scotland is governed by the folk who call it home.  Let's cast aside preconceptions. Whichever way you voted in 2014 - if you were able - the world has changed, Europe has changed and the UK has changed - though not in a good way. Scots need the freedom to change too.

Lesley Riddoch is an award-winning broadcaster, writer, journalist, independence campaigner and land reform activist. She writes weekly columns for The National and is a contributor to The Guardian, BBC Question Time, Scotland Tonight and Any Questions. She is the founder and Director of Nordic Horizons, a policy group that brings Nordic experts to the Scottish Parliament and produces a popular weekly podcast. Lesley has presented You and Yours on BBC Radio 4, The Midnight Hour on BBC2 and The People's Parliament and Powerhouse on Channel 4. She founded the Scottish feminist magazine Harpies and Quines, won two Sony awards for her daily Radio Scotland show and edited The Scotswoman - a 1995 edition of The Scotsman written by its female staff. She was a trustee of the Isle of Eigg Trust that pioneered the successful community buyout in 1997. She has presented and co-produced films about the Faroes, Iceland and Norway and during lockdown, presented Declaration, a film celebrating the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath. Lesley was awarded a PHD in July 2020 and lives near the sea in north Fife.