After the General Election on Thursday and pulling an all-nighter to watch the results come in, I decided to take some time to gather my thoughts and paint the living room. Time to let my artist side flow for a while. Besides seeing the smug bonce of Ruth Davidson would result in too many holes in the wall that no amount of polyfilla could ever repair.

The SNP won the General Election in Scotland, although with some high-profile losses that were the result of tactical voting and definitely aided by state intervention in the terms of the BBC trying to focus on devolved matters which are suffering under Westminster austerity but still perform higher than in England.

There is a myth that the SNP aren't left enough, they need to be radical. You hear shouts in from some in Scotland to look at Corbyn. Well I did look at Corbyn and I saw a man who performed well against an opposition that was nothing short of incompetent. The way the Tories campaigned during the General Election it would be thoroughly reasonable to think that they realised how destructive Brexit was going to be, so they were trying to get their head out the noose and let Corbyn take its place. After all he is still banging on about Brexit.

That aside, Corbyn was offering nothing to the people of Scotland that we don't already have. There is still the issue of the PLP who know that Corbyn is not PM material. He may have got the young vote out in England but they lost and I would not be surprised that the young look at the GE and revert to their "what's the point on voting" thinking - after all, they tried and the system won. There are a lot of Labour MPs who are smiling just now but are just waiting for the right time to launch another challenge.

The General Election vote cannot be used against the SNP as a method to stop Scotland's right to future self-determination. The indy movement is far and wide across the political spectrum. It's a people movement. The same people who Nicola Sturgeon has always said should decide on their future. It is not for any politician or political party to try to deny or force their opposition or the general population to obey their demands that Scotland reverts to being a fully passive region of the UK. The simple reality of the fact is that the constitutional question has not been resolved and there have been no attempt to discuss with the people of Scotland about resolving it. Instead we have been bombarded by utter contempt by Ruth, Kezia and the Westminster Government.

The way forward is for the Yes campaign to thoroughly take over the cause for independence, and there should be a central think tank of respected high-profile people from all political persuasions. Yes can't be socialist left or neo-liberal right, it has to be about Scotland and everything it could be after ScotRef.

To start with it should provide examples of how other small countries prosper, are governed and organise their economies and social society when they are not burdened with a controlling foreign government. We need to face down the fears of not being able to trade with rUK after indy by demonstrating that rUK can't afford to not trade with us. They have way more to lose. We need to let people see that for Scotland to grow it has to step out the shadow of being a feeder region to the south east. Indyref was lost. Not because we didn't have a good enough reason, indyref was lost because we could not put over the message that Scotland's economy would grow and prosper so it failed to persuade those who are doing OK under UK management. They don't think about how future austerity and decline will affect the services they and their families rely on, they worry about losing jobs and lifestyle. Appealing to the socialist left will not further the cause of indy, it will entrench the very people that we need to be prepared to get behind the movement.

The people need to mobilise now and let indy right and indy left voices be heard with equal measure. Right now the common goal is independence. Once we get independence there should be a period of two years where all parties govern in coalition while the country is being established. Thereafter there will be elections where we can decide the future direction of our country.

For Scotland to move forward it has to be on the will of its people. We can't have the future directed on a white paper put forward by one party; that was the big problem that many non-SNP people felt that to vote for independence meant that we would be looking forward to an SNP government in perpetuity. It was short-sighted to think like that but it was probably more due to lack of faith in their own political parties to be able to govern than anything.

The Yes movement needs to step to the forefront and organise. Hold meetings and most of all engage with people of all political views. Deduce their views on remaining in the UK and focus on what they want and incorporate that into a positive view for a future independent Scotland. If we grow the movement based on the people, the Unionist parties will struggle to counteract us. It will be like nailing jelly to the wall. They have offered us nothing, whereas we can offer the people of Scotland a positive future where they have a voice and can influence the type of country we will have. Not right, not left, but ours.

Mark Breingan
Cumbernauld