Helping Scotland achieve independence is an important step for English radicals argues Chris Bambery

1. A vote for independence is a vote for greater democracy than is on offer from Westminster. Westminster elections are decided by the outcome in a small number of target seats. The majority of us have no say in who governs in London.

   Fears that the loss of Scottish MPs will mean permanent Tory rule are unfounded. Scotland has only decided the outcome of 4 Westminster general elections since the war.

   Following the MPs expense scandal the whiff of corruption surrounds Westminster. A Yes vote in Scotland can open up a debate in England as to what democracy we need and whether power can be devolved away from Central London to the regions. It will also be a blow to the power exercised by a tiny elite who live in a handful of London post codes and who attended the same schools and universities.

2. Westminster politics is dominated by three parties who support the social and economic model which has left Britain one of the most unequal societies in the western world. Despite the 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent recession the City of London and finance continues to suck in investment and wealth to the cost of the rest of Britain. In London the extremes of wealth and poverty are truly shocking.

   The majority of those voting Yes in Scotland are doing so because they reject the legacy of the Thatcher-Blair years.

   A vote for independence can open a real debate as to why there has to be a radical change in economic and social policy. Above all it will drive a coach and horses through the myth that “there is no alternative” to the free market.

3. Once more we see anti-immigrant sentiment on the rise. The British state is rooted in racism and colonialism. The Empire was always the British Empire not the English Empire (the Scottish upper classes played an equal part in this bloody story). It is British nationalism which feeds racism. The break up of the Britain will not remove racism but it will damage the hold of British nationalism.
4. Just imagine who will be cheering in event of Scotland voting No. Imagine the gloating grin on David Cameron’s face. The champagne corks popping in the City of London and corporate head offices. Imagine having Alastair Darling and Gordon Brown strutting round claiming they conjured up victory.

   Every week corporate bosses are insisting the Scots vote No and threatening their company will quit an independent Scotland.

   The British elite want a No vote. Reason enough to cheer on a Yes vote.

5. Britain is a state permanently at war and tied to slavish devotion to the United States. Washington is making it clear Scottish independence would have implications for Britain’s ability to function as its constant ally. Trident and its successor will have to quit Scotland if it’s a Yes vote and there’s no home for it in England or Wales. Whitehall fears a UK divested of Scotland would lose its permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.

   It’s hard to see a Scottish parliament voting to join adventures like the Iraq invasion.

   Anyone who opposes war and imperialism should cheer the destruction of the British state by whatever means necessary.