A leading land reform campaigner has announced he is voting Yes in the Scottish independence referendum.
Andy Wightman said he wanted to see a Scotland with “radically greater” democratic control of land, economic affairs and politics.
The Skye-based author of Who Owns Scotland and The Poor Had No Lawyers claimed the UK parliament was in “terminal decline”.
Mr Wightman, a Green Party member, said that in an ideal world he would want power located a local level, but his goals were “more likely” to be achieved with a Yes vote on September 18 than the status quo.
He said: “Despite the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and the much good work it has done, the bigger picture remains one of elite capture of the democratic process, the alienation of the citizen, the cynicism of the ruling class and the impoverishment of the public realm.
“The threadbare democracy that passes for the UK Parliament is now in terminal decline – in hock to the hopes, fears, aspirations and prejudices of small numbers of voters in marginal constituencies.
“The ambitions and policies of the main political parties are now compromised by this narrowing of this bandwidth of political discourse.”
He added: “It has become clear to me that the means by which to build a society within which economic and gender inequality can be reduced, where citizens can be empowered, and accountable, efficient and democratic organs of governance created – is by voting Yes.”