THE GREENS launched the party’s own case for independence yesterday – but the vague document will do little, if anything, to convince undecided voters to back the Yes campaign.

The Scottish Government has launched a series of papers setting out the new independence case.

Green co-leader Patrick Harvie stood alongside the First Minister as she unveiled her first paper.

But Mr Harvie and the Greens have had very little say, publicly, in what is being put forward.

The Greens’ pamphlet, launched yesterday, which contains just 11 pages of text, offers votes no new policies but plenty of confusion.

Crucially, the document includes no detail on how much any of it will cost or how it will be funded.

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If there is an independence referendum held next October, the document will potentially muddy what Scotland would be voting for by backing the Yes campaign.

Mr Harvie was quick to point out that his party would like an independent Scotland to be a republic, whereas the Scottish Government would keep the monarchy as the head of state. But there’s no clarity over which case for independence is the one that counts.

The Greens insist that political parties “setting out their own stall” for independence does not do anything to “undermine” the Yes case – but the move has certainly added to the narrative that the reality of independence remains unknown.

Unionist parties have jumped on the lack of detail, new policies and mention of the economics behind the Greens’ wafer-thin paper.

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Under questioning from journalists, Mr Harvie insisted that his party’s plans for a universal basic income would be “more affordable” than the current social security system in place from the UK Government.

But puzzlingly, he knew this despite not knowing how much it would cost – admitting no sums had been done since the 2014 referendum.

The only policy mentioned to achieve “a happier Scotland” is “a four-day working week with no loss of pay”. Again, there’s no detail of how much this will cost.

The pamphlet offers very little to voters as to how, practically, an independent Scotland could operate. The first paper fails to acknowledge currency, borders and the economy – the big issues those on the fence about separation need convinced over.

Instead, the launch seems to appeal to the Greens membership.

The campaign appears to signal to the party’s grassroots that the party still has a place in the Yes movement and hasn’t been swallowed up by its backseat role in government.

Instead of strengthening the case for independence, the inward-looking strategy may accidentally have weakened it.