THE world has been changed forever by the events of the past few weeks and, like it or not, we have to change with it. We remain transfixed by the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Ukraine, appalled at the cruelty of the Russian invaders and forced to examine our own conscience in relation to how much we are willing to do to help.

Right now it is difficult to think of much else, so all encompassing is the effect of the Ukraine on the public consciousness. But, while reacting to the conflict and responding to the need for action and aid, Scotland will at some stage have to find the time and space to deal with its own future.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has signalled that the importance of the Ukraine war will not derail plans for a second independence which have been put on hold while the pandemic played out across the globe. The priorities of the world which will emerge from the ruins of bombed Ukrainian cities will be reshaped by recent experiences, as will new or refocused arguments for the benefits independence will bring to Scotland.

And so here are five key pro-indy arguments which have a new importance in a world shaken by war, threatened by the climate crisis and reshaped by changing alliances.

SCOTLAND’S HUMANITARIAN ROLE

AS the world watches aghast at the terrible destruction of Ukrainian cities and wonders how it can most effectively help those millions of refugees fleeing for their lives, Westminster has dragged its heels.

The Trade Union Congress has accused ministers at Westminster of “falling short of humanity, common decency and urgent action that ordinary working people in Britain expect”.

READ MORE: #ThereWithUkraine: We're launching our Ukraine appeal - how you can help

Decisions by other European countries to scrap visa requirements and make it easier for refugees to get temporary residency were not replicated by Westminster, which continued to use “security concerns” as and excuse to turn its back.

Just days ago, the SNP’s Westminster’s leader Ian Blackford accused the Home Office of “obstructing” a group of almost 50 orphans from coming to Scotland from Ukraine.

“There is a plane ready and waiting in Poland to bring these orphans to the UK on Friday [today] but that flight will leave empty without the necessary paperwork from the Home Office,’’ the SNP MP said.

Who could disagree with him that the plight of these orphans “goes to the heart of the failure of the UK Government’s response” to the refugee crisis. The attitude of the Scottish and Welsh governments could not be more different. Nicola Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford want to become “super sponsors” of Ukrainian refugees and “maximise their contribution” to attempts to help them. How much more could we do to help, how much bigger a role can we play in humanitarian efforts, if we were free of Westminster constraints?

SCOTLAND’S PUSH FOR MORE IMMIGRATION

SCOTLAND needs more immigrants to contribute taxes and boost our economy. But the advantages would not just be financial. New Scots moving here from all over the world have broadened and refreshed Scottish culture and cuisine. More and wider changes would move us closer to embracing the future as a truly modern nation. According to a Scottish Government report published last March, Scotland for decades saw more people leave the country than arrive here to settle. Between 1951-52 and 2000-01, for instance, 399,000 more people left Scotland for elsewhere in the UK than vice versa, although that trend has reversed more recently.

Without migration, Scotland’s population would be declining, with more people dying than being born. We need more immigrants to boost productivity, improve our economy and make our skills shortage less acute. Westminster, on the other hand, is not welcoming to immigrants and tends to see them as a threat. An article in The Guardian in 2019 described immigration as Britain’s most toxic political issue.

It’s not just the SNP who believe Scotland would benefit from having a separate and different immigration policy. The Labour peer Jack McConnell launched the Fresh Talent initiative when he was First Minister in 2004 in a bid to encourage migrants to settle in Scotland. It included a plan to allow overseas graduates from Scottish Universities to stay here for two years after graduation to find a job.

In the run up to the 2014 independence referendum McConnell insisted that Scotland could have a more flexible immigration policy than England and remain in the Union but eight years later, that flexibility is no nearer becoming a reality. It has become apparent that only independence will allow Scotland the ability to attract the immigrants it so desperately needs.

A BETTER, MORE HUMANE BENEFITS SYSTEM

WE can already see the beginnings of a better benefit system in Scotland. This week it was revealed that people in Scotland with lifelong disabilities will no longer have to face continual reassessments to judge if they still qualify. It’s one of the first changes to be introduced when the Scottish Government begins taking over adult disability benefits from the UK Government next week. Scotland’s social security minister Ben MacPherson promised that claimants would no longer have to undergo “undignified physical and mental assessments”.

It’s not the only change that’s needed to the benefit system and the Scottish Government’s still limited powers won’t allow it to tackle everything but it’s a glimpse of what the system would look like if it could finally begin treating people as worthy of help rather than as “scroungers”.

A SCOTTISH FOREIGN POLICY

IN a world in which building allies and fostering collaboration is increasingly important it’s surely not in Scotland’s best interests to remain part of an insular and isolated UK. Brexit may have been replaced in the headlines by Covid and the war in Ukraine but it remains a disaster for the UK – and the Scottish – economy. During a television interview last month, a lorry driver caught up in the persistent queues at Dover was asked if there would ever be any improvement and replied: “Not unless we go back into the EU.”

The prospect of that happening while the current occupant remains in Number 10 – and, unbelievably, that now seems more likely than not – is nil. Scotland was dragged out of Europe against its will and sheer force of numbers will always deny us the ability to forge our own path within the Union. We are currently a country unable to establish its own place in the world, despite all the evidence that the world would be only too willing to welcome us.

THE POWER OF SCOTLAND

SCOTLAND is a leading player in developing renewable power sources … yet its full potential is not being met because we’re being held back by being part of the UK.

In 2020 renewables produced the equivalent of 97.4% of Scotland’s electricity consumption, mainly from wind power. The Scottish Government says that by 2030 it aims to generate 50% of Scotland’s overall energy consumption from renewable sources, and by 2050 to have decarbonised Scotland’s energy system almost completely.

READ MORE: Food security taskforce set up by Scottish government in wake of Ukraine invasion

“Renewable and low carbon energy will provide the foundation of our future energy system, offering Scotland a huge opportunity for economic and industrial growth,” says a recent Scottish Government policy document on renewable and low carbon energy. Yet despite the progress we have made producing our own energy Scots, along with people living elsewhere in the UK, have no protection against the impending massive energy price rises which will force millions into fuel poverty. The truth is that the Westminster government is actively working against the financial advantages of producing our own energy, just as it kept secret and took control of the benefits of oil.

In 2018, renewable companies in Scotland said that subsidy cuts – including the end of the Feed-in Tariff (FiT), a subsidy brought in to incentivise the uptake of small and medium-scale wind, solar and hydro technology - imposed by the UK Government were causing them real problems.

On top of that, producers of electricity in Scotland are charged far more than those elsewhere in the UK to connect to the national grid. According to figures released in January, Scottish electricity producers will pay £465 million in transition charges by 2026. By contrast, producers in England and Wales will get a £30m subsidy.

The Westminster Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee has called for an urgent review of the current review of the energy grid in the UK … and you can see its point. However, the crippling charges imposed on Scottish producers are no accident. It’s obviously part of a policy of increasing the financial “take” for the Treasury from a Scottish success story. Sound familiar?