Despite the usual propaganda from our politicians, the financial crisis is not simply a product of American sub-prime lending or naughty banks. Our economy has been heading down a blind alley for a number of years and a crash was inevitable.

If you wanted to give an illustration of how a successful country works then you could no longer use Scotland.  Our economy will soon resemble that of an impoverished Soviet state, before the collapse of the Berlin wall.  The public sector accounts for up to 75% of economic activity, red tape abounds and vast sums of money are squandered on Utopian schemes.  However, if we were to reduce the state, along with its bureaucracy and inefficiency, then Scotland has the potential to become world class.  We have the resources, we have the brains and we have the people.  What we lack is political vision and skilled leadership.

We can turn this crisis to our advantage by using it as a catalyst to get rid of the shackles which are holding us back.  It is time to cut down on government spending and reduce the tax burden. Scottish Progressives believe that our future lies in a dynamic, low tax economy.