Ruaraidh Ferguson: The Scottish Lib Dems should go their own way

HAVING previously stood as a Scottish Liberal Democrat constituency candidate and as a list candidate in last Thursday's Scottish election, it was with a great deal of anxiety and trepidation that I sat and watched the results coming in. It quickly became clear my fears were well-founded and that we were heading for a real hammering at the polls.

Over the weekend I thought about what had led us to this sorry state. I don't think we are lacking so much in quality of people or policy, although it would be great to have a Kennedy or Campbell in our Holyrood ranks, but there is obviously something amiss and whilst Clegg and Co were probably the symptom, I'm not convinced they were the underlying cause.

I believe our problem has been the Scottish electorate feels no ownership towards the Scottish Liberal Democrats. The SNP is perceived as a party that makes decisions about Scotland in Scotland: can the Scottish Liberal Democrats say the same? Michael Moore spoke about the Scotland Bill and immediately debunked the idea of devolving additional fiscal autonomy, beyond the present Scotland Act, to Holyrood. How was this decision arrived at? Was it talked over with our remaining five MSPs?

I remain to be convinced about full independence. However, I am convinced that as a country we are more than ready to manage our own internal affairs without interference from Westminster and shouldn't be afraid of where these new powers will take us. If, in 20 years , Scotland is a separate country or a fully devolved nation within a UK structure, then so be it.

I don't believe that, as a party, we should be controlled from London – we should make our own decisions about what is right for Scotland in Scotland, without fear of embarrassing any Westminster politician. As Liberal Democrats, we believe in devolving power to the lowest appropriate level. It's now time to practise what we preach with a new Scottish Liberal Democrat Party, not as a minor UK subsidiary but as a party wholly responsible to the people of Scotland without fear of interference at a UK level.