Will benefit cuts mean a new Highland Clearances?

Are benefit cuts imposed by the Tory-Lib Dem coalition creating a new Highland Clearances?

The SSP backs independence - not because we're romantic nationalists or we believe the SNP's hype about a 'Celtic Tiger' economy - although they've gone quiet on that of late, funny....

The SSP's vision is of an independent socialist Scotland which would be a beacon of hope around the world. An independent socialist Scotland which would take control of the wealth of resources that surround us, that would redistribute wealth, and that would create a more equal society in which every citizen was respected and valued.

Why do we need independence? Can't we do that with the powers that the Scottish Parliament has? No, we can't. Let's use the welfare state and the benefits system as just one example. We have a Tory-Lib Dem coalition in power that have no mandate in Scotland; they received a fraction of the popular vote north of the border and the Tories boast just one Scottish MP.

Yet they have launched an attack on the welfare state that will force many people across the Highlands and Islands who have disabilities and chronic health problems to go through humiliating and stressful assessments to justify their right to benefits.

The changes hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest. Those living on benefits in the Highlands already have to content with fuel poverty, high transport costs and higher costs for basic essentials like food.

Changes to Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance will also affect thousands of low income households across the Highlands and Islands, forcing young people and families to leave communities because they cannot find accommodation, and increasing the misery of homelessness in the region.

The SSP rejects the idea that people claiming benefits are lazy or that people choose to live in poverty. People on benefits did not cause the financial crisis – the greed of the bankers did. So why should the poor pay the price?

We can’t afford to let the Westminster Coalition chop up the welfare state. We need control over our own affairs – we need an independent socialist Scotland.