i was very impressed by the scottish campaign for independence- it was hugely encouraging for democracy and the chance for people to have a positive say in their own lives. what lessons can the rest of the uk (and beyond) learn from this? i don't mean the main parties or any top down notion of imposing anything on anyone - could ordinary people in (eg) the north of england get together in such a way and demand a better, austerity free life? do we have to rely on indistinguishable and corrupt parties squabbling for parliamentary advantage? is UKIP/and more far right wing media and politics all there is? we can do better than this surely? it may be naive to hope for just positive suggestions here - but there are other threads to indulge in name-calling and party politics.