I agree with Laura - ALL votes for pro-Indy parties should count towards a popular majority to take back our country

I’ve been a journalist for most of my working life with spells down south (including a short time at school in London) and for most of my career my politics were private (old school). I still describe myself as left leaning and pro-Scottish independence, probably influenced by staunchly pro-Indy parents and my grandmother, who always hated how Scotland and its people were being exploited by England. That has only worsened since they passed and I’m sure they’ll be turning in their graves at the parlous state of the Indy struggle now. Independence to me means taking control of ALL our own affairs, not the pathetic excuse for a Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. It means taking our utilities back into public ownership and as far away as possible from private companies who have milked them for profit; it means further developing and supporting our world-class education system; promoting industrial, technical, medical and computing innovation; it means taking care of our people who need support (and that includes migrants and refugees who have made our country their home. It also means future-proofing our economy to encourage innovation amongst those still in education and those who have emerged from it. We have to look to the heyday of our engineering, manufacturing and computing sectors and develop them for future prosperity. Much of the groundwork is already there - all we have to do is develop what we have for future generations. This is just a thumbnail sketch of how I see it and I hope it contributes to the debate. I have deliberately omitted politics because of their divisive nature, but I’m sure I’ll return to that thorny subject in future.