THE very fabric of Scotland is woven with the threads of potential, innovation, and our spirit. It’s not just about what we’re doing; it’s about what we can become. Scottish people are innovators and creatives. We are visionaries, but we don’t daydream, we take steps to work incredibly hard to make our visions a reality. We are far from the stereotyped Scot some would have us imagine.

These past couple of weeks I had the pleasure of meeting with some ambitious and bold people dedicated to their business and the north-east of Scotland’s future potential.

I visited with local industries and met with important employers as well as Carbon Capture Scotland, a major employer in Buchan, Fraserburgh Harbour, and a large transport company. These all had a common goal which I could plainly see as interconnected. It has been a pleasure to meet and to discuss the vast potential of our region and I feel inspired by them.

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Take, for instance, the Acorn project at St Fergus. We’re talking about a transformative initiative that can capture and store vast quantities of CO2 beneath the North Sea. We’re taking the carbon footprint of approximately 800,000 homes and scrubbing it from existence by 2040.

That’s not just commendable, it’s revolutionary.

Yet even revolution needs logistics. That’s where the rail link to Peterhead and Fraserburgh comes into play. Imagine a lifeline that connects carbon capture sites to transportation and distribution, to dispersal, acting as the circulatory system of Scotland’s green industrial revolution.

It’s not a theoretical concept. The Scottish Government has already invested £250,000 into the Campaign for North East Rail, a show of faith in the project’s necessity and potential. It’s an advancement we should all be talking about. A rail link between Fraserburgh, St Fergus and Peterhead, connecting to the rest of Scotland and beyond, isn’t just a line on a map, it’s a potential lifeline for a sustainable, circular economy that benefits everyone.

In the conversation about our net-zero future, it’s crucial to talk numbers and strategies, but let’s not forget about the local communities they affect. The north-east isn’t just a resource pool or a strategic location; it’s home to generations of Scots whose lives will be directly influenced by our environmental decisions. And these decisions can’t just be top-down, they must involve the community, a principle on which Scotland prides itself.

Peterhead and Fraserburgh are not rivals in this endeavour; they are complementary facets of the north-east’s potential. Peterhead holds Europe’s largest fish market, a testament to our abundant maritime resources and commercial success. Fraserburgh, with its ambitious Harbour Masterplan, aims to reshape its very geography to fuel economic and social renewal. The harbour is not just a docking site, it’s becoming a centre for sustainable development and a pillar for the region’s socioeconomic fabric.

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When meeting with the harbour I know how dedicated they are to ensuring the community and future generations of it are taken along with them and not treated as a side. Their community, as they describe it, expands around the Banffshire and Buchan coast. When one shines, so does the other, and together they serve as beacons of what Scotland can achieve on a global stage.

The Harbour Masterplan for Fraserburgh paints a vivid picture of what local ambition combined with a collective vision can achieve. Imagine a fully developed harbour with enhanced infrastructure and a new deepwater basin, all aimed to meet the present and future needs of our community. This is not just about Fraserburgh; it’s about all of Scotland.

Our journey toward a self-sufficient, sustainable, and independent Scotland isn’t going to be easy, nor will it be short. However, when we look around us — at the scientists pioneering carbon capture, at the workers redefining our harbours, at the people investing in a sustainable future — we realise that we’ve already started.

We must not let Westminster’s political gameplay deter us. It took years to finally secure support for the Acorn Project in St Fergus, despite its clear benefits. Holding back funding for crucial green projects like this isn’t just a betrayal to those who worked tirelessly to make it a reality, it’s a betrayal to all of us. Every delay, every “false start”, isn’t just a line in a report, it’s a restriction in an attempt to stifle us.

Scotland has both the means and the ambition to not only sustain itself but also to lead. Whether we’re discussing carbon capture, offshore wind energy, or the fishing industry, the capabilities within our borders are immense. Independence then becomes not just a political aspiration but an expression of confidence in Scotland’s vast and untapped potential. We know that our destiny can only be fully realised when the political bonds holding us back are finally severed.

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So, let’s embrace the enormous task ahead of us. Let’s support projects like Acorn, like the Harbour Masterplan, like the Campaign for North East Rail. Let’s weave these threads into a tapestry of a better Scotland. The individual fibres may be distinct, but together they form a powerful, enduring fabric — one that can cover Scotland and provide warmth against the gathering chill of a world grappling with climate change.

So, where does that leave us on the subject of independence? Frankly, it stops being a question and starts being an answer. Westminster’s hesitation to fund St Fergus until now, for example, stands out as a symbol of political calculus over common sense. In contrast, the proactive investments from the Scottish Government showcase a leadership style that isn’t constrained by borders or outdated notions of governance.

In these transformative times, independence isn’t an emotional or political aspiration; it is an operational necessity. When we have the intellectual capital, natural resources, and communal will to forge ahead on ambitious projects, why should we allow our destiny to be steered from afar? Independence isn’t just about breaking free; it’s about realising that we’re already equipped to lead, not just follow.