Scottish Independence Backed by Noam Chomsky to Devolve Europe's Power
Scottish Independence Backed by Noam Chomsky to Devolve Europe's Power Reuters

The campaign for Scottish independence has been given a boost by one of the world's most respected political thinkers after Noam Chomsky revealed his support for the Yes vote.

Speaking to Russia's RIA Novosti, Chomsky said he had been following the debate over whether Scotland should break the 307-union with England with "interest" and that he hopes that it will devolve Europe's power over the rest of the world.

"My intuition favours independence," said Professor Chomsky.

"No one wants to restore the Ottoman Empire, obviously, but in some respects it had the right idea: let people manage their own affairs, with cooperative federal arrangements, and as few barriers as possible."

Scottish people will vote in an independence referendum on 18 September this year and will be asked the straight "yes/no" question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

According the the latest TNS poll, around 29% of Scots plan to vote for breaking the union when they are asked the straight "yes/no" question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" on 18 September this year.

This is an increase of 1% from the previous month.

While the latest poll figures place the 'No' vote behind the 41% 'Yes' vote figure, there are still nearly a third of Scots that are undecided on whether they want independence or not.

"It is encouraging, but not surprising, that such an internationally-renowned political thinker such as professor Chomsky can see the benefits of Scottish independence," said the pro-independence organisation Yes-Scotland, in response to Chomsky's comments.

"Professor Chomsky, of course, is not a nationalist and increasing numbers of people in Scotland, particularly Labour supporters and those who have no party political affiliation at all, also see the logic of putting Scotland's future in Scotland's hands.