Our Politics newsletter is now daily. Join thousands of others and get the latest Scottish politics news sent straight to your inbox. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

ALL this talk of timetables for change makes me feel like I am back in school.

So too does being lectured at by the No campaign.

I suspect the people of Scotland feel the same. It’s the people who should decide what new powers they get.

And it’s the people who should be in charge of the timetable. That’s the whole point of democracy.

The No campaign still don’t get it.

The days of being lectured to by out-of-touch Westminster politicians are long gone.

The days of being told “what’s good for us” by a remote power elite are over.

The Yes campaign is a grassroots movement of ordinary folk, not politicians.

That’s why so many are flocking towards its positive message of hope.

They love the idea of a fresh start – away from the greed and corruption of a broken Westminster system. They know Scotland’s future will be in Scotland’s hands with a Yes vote.

By contrast, the No campaign think Scotland’s future should be in the hands of Tory Cabinet ministers we didn’t vote for – helped by Labour MPs terrified of losing their cushy Westminster jobs.

Let’s be absolutely clear about the choice before us. Gordon Brown’s “new powers” are nothing of the sort.

They are a rehash of the Labour Devolution Commission’s derisory offer earlier this year.

At the time it was the butt of jokes – dubbed Devo Nano or Devo Zero.

It is this:

●A separate, Scottish rate of income tax will be introduced allowing Edinburgh to vary the basic rate by 15p in the pound.

● We will get powers to raise – but not lower – the upper rate of income tax.

And that’s it folks. No other taxes will be devolved. London governments will continue to rake in all of Scotland’s lucrative oil and whisky revenue.

They will still take £2 from every £10 we spend in the shops through VAT.

They will pocket 81p for every litre of fuel you put in the car.

They will continue to levy crippling levels of Air Passenger Duty that damage our tourism industry and our exports.

We will have no power to encourage businesses to grow and create jobs

But the biggest danger of these No Campaign “promises” is not just that they are too little too late.

It’s that they may make us WORSE OFF.

Our block grant from Westminster will be cut or “adjusted” to account for the limited new income tax power.

My granny called it robbing Peter to pay Paul.

The shrunken “block grant” will still be based entirely on public spending in England, a system called The Barnett Formula.

So if a Westminster government, say, reduces the money going to the NHS in England by bringing in private companies or introducing charges, OUR grant will shrink as well.

So Scottish governments could be forced to raise income tax here to pay for public services.

A no vote will hurt us twice over.

Scotland already raises more tax per head than the rest of the UK and has done for the last 33 years.

Why should we lose more from our wage packets when we have been paying over the odds for so long?

These are not powers at all. They are more like punishments.

Maybe that’s what you get when you stand up to the establishment.

And there is no doubt at all that in recent weeks Scots have been standing up for themselves.

They are taking charge of their own future and, more importantly, their children’s future

Voting Yes is the safest, most certain option for our country and our children.

A Yes vote means Scotland’s vast resources will stay here in Scotland. And they are vast.

The Financial Times says an independent Scotland would start life in a better economic position than the rest of the UK.

A Yes vote will transfer the following powers to Scotland. The chance to set, vary and collect:

ALL income tax.

ALL oil and gas revenues.

ALL business taxes.

ALL air passenger duty.

ALL whisky revenue.

ALL fuel duty on petrol and diesel.

VAT

And we will also have these powers in Scotland if we share the pound a currency union.

We have a timetable too.

Scotland will get all these powers when we become independent 18 months after a Yes vote. The No offer is pitiful. Gordon Brown’s Labour proposals will leave 80 per cent of money raised in Scotland going to London.

And the Tory offer to devolve all income tax still leaves them with the oil money.

A Yes vote also means we get rid of the pointless and expensive House of Lords.

We can ditch Trident, the renewal of which will cost £100billion.

Getting rid of nuclear weapons will open up the Clyde to another oil boom as exploration has long been blocked by the Ministry of Defence.

That’s in addition to the 24 billion barrels the oil industry itself estimates remain in the North Sea.

Plus our other assets – our people most of all.

And last but not least – Scotland will never have another Tory government.

Yes means investing in Scottish priorities like extending free childcare, protecting free university education, and safeguarding our NHS from cuts and privatisation.

Yes gives us full control of benefits such as job seekers allowance, disability benefits, pensions and tax credits.

Does anyone seriously doubt that the Scottish Parliament will do a better job than Westminster in this area?

With a Yes vote, we can scrap the roll out of PIP and universal credit, and stop ATOS persecuting the disabled.

We can end the bedroom tax forever and reverse the cruel sanctions regime which has resulted in a 400 per cent rise in the use of food banks.

We can look after our old people with pensions that stay in line with prices and earnings. We can raise the minimum wage to make it a living wage.

Gordon Brown is talking about devolving just two benefits – housing and attendance allowance.

Oh and the “work programme” which pays poverty wages.

This is a pathetic offering. It doesn’t even deserve to be called a bribe.

Scots will not be remotely tempted by it.

The people are on the move. They sense their opportunity.

I fully expect them to seize it. The referendum campaign has given them a voice.

Next week we will hear those people roar.