Yes in Ness

We went to our first Yes meeting on the island on Thursday. We nearly didn't go.  It was down in Ness, which is about an hour's drive away, and it was a wild stormy evening - again. I thought I would be going on my own, so was humming and hawing about it - should I drag myself out on such a night? It was a long way. What would be the point anyway - I already know I will be voting Yes, so I don't need to be convinced.

Then, the Crofter himself said he would like to go, and we could have our tea in the Borve hotel. Well, that was good enough for me, so off we went - on what was now a family outing. Seven year old Son was easily persuaded with the thought of dinner out and full use of the iPad during the meeting.

The meal was good - it's a lovely place, if you are ever over this way, then we headed the few miles further along to the meeting venue, which was the local Historical society centre. Of course, we arrived obscenely early,so I made everyone sit in the car for 10 minutes, while they laughed at my "early-event" phobia. Even so, we were first there.

No worries though, as we were warmly welcomed by Angus MacNeil MP, and Alyn Smith MEP, who were the speakers for the evening. People began to trickle in, and soon there was a fair number - maybe about 15 - certainly more than you would expect for a stormy night in the very North West corner of the island. 

Alyn Smith spoke about his role as MEP, with a particular interest in Agriculture. Most of those attending the meeting were crofters, and were keen to find out how independence would affect us. At the moment, Scottish interests are curtailed by those of the UK Government, and Westminster's priority is to protect their rebate. All the money that comes to the UK from Europe goes directly to the treasury and is subsequently divided up as they see fit. Fair enough - they are the government. But it comes at a cost to Scottish farmers and crofters who lose out on rural development funding. With our own seat at the Council of Ministers, Scottish MEPs would have much greater influence in determining policy and negotiating a deal that takes account of our own particular needs. A full Scottish representation could prioritise agriculture as it's funding priority.

Alyn Smith is the first politician I have heard who has talked about Food Security, and that when we hear talk of agriculture - it means food, and the production of food. We need to be a country which produces much more of our own food as we can - supporting sustainable communities. With a Yes vote we can begin to prioritise such things. UK farmers currently get the lowest subsidy in Eurpoe, and he drew a comparison between us in the UK, and Luxembourg (bizarrely) where there is almost a fourfold difference in the amount paid to their farmers - different priorities
Crofting is unique to the Islands and parts of the highlands of Scotland, but is dying out as people leave the land. Angus Macneil, himself a crofter, pointed to the photographs on the wall, showing the crofts of Ness, fifty years ago - every field was golden with corn. You'll not see any crop growing on the island now, but with the right kind of investment in our agriculture and food production, we could again. I'll vote for that.