WE ARE pleased to announce that issue 1 of Caledonian Voice – the Voice of the National Liberal Party in Scotland – will be out soon!

This first issue looks at the forthcoming Scottish Referendum, now scheduled for the autumn of 2014. This referendum will decide “whether or not Scotland should break away from the rest of the United Kingdom”.

Caledonian Voice queries what the choices will be for the Scottish electorate. Will it be a straight choice between independence and the status quo – or will the third option of Devo-Max will be offered? (Devo-Max is the term coined to describe the fullest devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament with only the minimum of matters such as defence and foreign affairs remaining in the hands of the Westminster).

It then goes on to describe our efforts to promote Devo-Max in Scotland.

Caledonian Voice notes that the NLP has been very busy “campaigning to get the third option of Devo-Max onto the ballot paper. This campaign has included a detailed submission being made to the consultation process undertaken by the Scottish Government and the distribution of leaflets calling for a fully democratic referendum with the inclusion of the option of Devo-Max on the ballot paper.”

It then describes how the NLP differs from other groups who support the idea of Devo-Max.

For instance, the NLP supports the creation of an English Parliament, opposes the “remote, bureaucratic nightmare of the European Union” and calls for “the introduction of Swiss-style citizens’ initiative referenda to ensure that the majority can be heard on issues that the political elite would rather ignore.”

We’ll let all members and supporters of the National Liberal Party know as soon as Caledonian Voice is produced.

However, you can be one of the first to see a copy simply by pre-ordering issue 1. Simply e-mail natliberal@aol.com and ask for your FREE pdf copy of Caledonian Voice to be sent to you as soon as it’s published!