Scots have watched appalled as the dire state of England’s water supply hits the headlines from a hideous vomiting bug contracted from contaminated tap water to water companies hovering on the edge of bankruptcy, to rising water charges.

Water in Scotland remains - largely - in public ownership and has avoided many of these problems.

The UK Gov did attempt to privatise water in Scotland - but there was united opposition

Water was privatised in England under Margaret Thatcher. In 1994, the Conservative Government under John Major geared up to do the same in Scotland. It was a period when demands for Scotland to have more control over its affairs were building. The plans to privatise Scottish water met a massive wall of opposition.

Strathclyde Regional Authority decided to hold an advisory referendum to test the strength of feeling. They held a postal ballot. There was a huge turnout with  71.5 percent of electors in Strathclyde returning their papers.

An extraordinary 97.2 per cent wanted Scottish water to remain in public hands. No to privatisation votes numbered 1,194,667 - yes votes just 33,956

Strength in unity

The lesson from the story of Scotland’s water is that when Scotland is united, it wins, The UK Government was forced to back down on this - although it forced through privatisations in many other areas.

Scotland can be confident that when it stands together and demands independence from the UK, it will succeed. That will allow it to take decisions over Scotland’s resources and utilities that benefit ordinary people.