IN MY opinion, The National has a unique place in British journalism at present.

It is, of course, the only newspaper in Scotland that supports the independence cause. That means that it is, uniquely, on the right side of history at this moment. It has every reason to be proud of that.

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However, as importantly, it is also the only daily national newspaper in the UK as a whole that provides a regular platform for those who are challenging the neoliberal orthodoxy that is driving Western democracy into ruin.

No other newspaper, including the supposed bastions of the left like the Guardian, does anything like this.

READ MORE: The Economist, FT or Bloomberg: They represent the orthodoxy in economics. 

To its enormous credit, The National realises that these two causes are intimately related.

Unless an independent Scotland can break free from the economic orthodoxy that is typified by Westminster’s two largest parties, the UK Treasury and the Bank of England, then it can never make independence work.

READ MORE: Cornell University professor gives currency advice on SNP policy

What The National has appreciated is the significance of linking these two issues that could, together, liberate Scotland to achieve its own potential.

I am immensely grateful to The National for the opportunity to argue for both these causes, and in one place.

The paper deserves full credit for all that it is doing not just in Scotland but as a place where alternative economic thinking is given the chance to flourish in a way that does not happen anywhere else.

None of this would be possible without you - our readers.

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