It may be that the melt down in the financial markets, in world trade in economies across the globe have in fact handed us a clean slate, a chance to start again. And if we are starting again we don’t want to repeat the mistakes that have led to the misery and hardship many are experiencing right now.

The problem we face is that we will be led by the hand down the path that leads to more of the same. We don’t need to think too long about this we have seen the UK government throw good money after bad in a vain attempt to bail out the sinking ship that they effectively torpedoed.

The time has come for a new approach. How many jobs must we watch disappear in the name of free market globalisation? How many empty factories must we pass before we realise something is wrong with the system?

Scotland has a chance now to set out on a different path. We need to create a country where business, the banks and government work towards the common good not the bottom line. One where entrepreneurs can grow their ideas without having to sell their souls to the dragons den.

We need to hear more from the Scottish Government about what an independent Scotland could look like. What Scotland needs now is a vision of the future where success is not measured in terms of the accumulation of financial wealth, by the size of your house or the size of your yacht but the where wealth of the nation is measured in the health, education and opportunities for its people – all of them.

We should strive to create a nation where enterprise and industry are not simply means to increase capital but tools to allow the development of humanist social policies that see us aspire to cultural development. Where the health of the nation comes before profiteering from the health service, where education and the desire for knowledge is a goal in itself, where transport and energy policies are designed around the needs of the people and the environment rather than maximising board room salaries.

A nation free from the shackles of the past, free to challenge the orthodoxies of discredited policy and a nation taking its place as a voice of reason in the community of nations.

We might need to look in unexpected places but around the world you can see a few economies that have proven to be resilient in the face of economic adversity, where medical development and education are far in advance of other nations. Where no-one is left behind. Because when weI look at Scotland we should see no-one as worthless, no-one as useless and no-one as hopeless. We do see many, many who have no hope. This is the challenge for us, this is what we need to change and these changes should start today.

Help us achieve that change.

Make sure the referendum on Scotland's future goes ahead.

Vote YES when it does