CAMPAIGNING in Glasgow and around the country, it’s been heartening to hear so many people confidently rejecting arguments based on fear, either in relation to the Holyrood election or the European referendum.

During the 2014 independence campaign, Yes campaigners rightly condemned the “Project Fear” tactics that so often came from the other side. “Independence will be a leap in the dark,” they said. “Independence will cost jobs,” they said. “Independence will split families apart,” they said.

At the height of the silliness, we were even told that independence would stop us from watching Doctor Who and increase the cost of our mobile phone calls.

I don’t think that it was only Yes voters who rejected this nonsense. I think even many people who ended up voting No felt pretty patronised by it too. We should be equally bold in rejecting arguments based on fear next Thursday, and again in June when we vote on Europe.

I’ve even heard people who campaigned against Scottish independence who now feel forced to think again about the arguments they used, given that they are now seeing the same tired old Project Fear rhetoric reheated and served up. Our decision about membership of the European Union shouldn’t be based on fear about jobs, immigration, or anything else. It should be based on an ambitious and positive vision of the kind of Europe we want to be part of – one that is socially progressive and environmentally responsible, which shuts down the tax avoidance industry and treats refugees with dignity and respect. That’s not the EU we see today, but to walk away would be to give up on that positive vision.

We should vote, as many of us did in 2014, on the basis of our hopes and our ideals, not on the basis of our fears.

That’s as true of the Holyrood election as it is in relation to Europe.

There are those who will tell you not to “gamble” with your vote. There are those who will tell you that voting for what you really believe in is too much of a risk. There are those who will tell you that the status quo is the best we can do for now. We should be just as confident in rejecting these siren voices as we were in 2014.

Scotland can become a fairer, more equal society if we vote for progressive taxation to redistribute wealth. This week saw the publication of research showing that just four families are sitting on more wealth than the poorest million of our fellow citizens, and I can never accept that this is either just or inevitable. But we won’t change it by voting for the status quo.

Scotland can protect the public services we all depend upon, instead of continuing to squeeze them as the UK gGvernment wants us to do. But we won’t protect them without truly empowering communities to make the choices they need to make.

Scotland can invest in the long-term economic prosperity we need instead of kidding ourselves that the age of fossil fuels will just keep spluttering on. The idea that the old and failing economic model represents the safe option is a dangerous delusion. Change is coming, and any risks it brings will be there whether we like it or not; the only choice we face is whether to take the opportunities too, or be left only with the remnants of the old while others embrace the new. Voting for bold policies that face the future isn’t a risk – pretending that change isn’t happening is the truly risky option.

So just like 2014, and just like the European referendum, next Thursday’s election is more than just a choice of which parties to put into Parliament. It’s a question of our self-belief. If we believe in our capacity to govern ourselves, let’s decide on tax rates that are just, rather than pegging them to the UK’s unequal economy. If we believe in giving the next generation a positive future, let’s invest in the jobs and homes that they need. If we believe in a greener, more sustainable Scotland, let’s commit to it instead of standing by as the age of oil runs on empty. If we have confidence in the strength of Scotland’s democracy, let’s elect a bold Parliament that will make the choices that are needed.

The unequal, insecure economy we have today is not the best we can do. Scotland can do better.

Many voters I’ve spoken to over recent weeks agree, and know that we need to be bold. Voting for what you believe in isn’t a gamble; it’s the only vote worth casting.