Four in ten people who voted Labour in the 2010 General Election are intending to vote Yes.

Most will vote Labour in future elections. If Yes prevails, Scottish Labour's leadership will surely fall, and party members will have to renew Scottish Labour's principles to create a strong, independent Labour party.

This is an attractive prospect. But rebellion can be foolish and destructive. So is this Labour rebellion justified?

There are two conditions of legitimate rebellion. The first is if the party is failing to deliver on its fundamental commitments, in Labour's case by lacking a credible plan to advance the economic interests and rights of ordinary people. The second is if its representatives and aspiring membership are more interested in themselves than in fighting for the rights of the people, as in the swamp of careerism that has stifled the party since the heyday of New Labour.

The extent of these problems rightly inspires protest and indignation but can this justify a vote for independence? Would Labour in an independent Scotland be more likely to return to principles and advance people's interests than as part of British Labour?

The Scottish Labour leadership think the role of the party in Scotland is simply to enact social policy. Gordon Brown is adamant that economic and social rights must be secured across the UK. From their view, the best way to renew Labour is to stay in Britain and fight on British terms. Do their British aspirations fit with the history of Labour governments?

There have been three main phases of Labour rule at Westminster. First, post-war Labour, which people in the Yes campaign have called "Real Labour", provided social security and put many industries in public hands.

But Labour's priorities were social not economic. Attlee's welfare state and Bevan's NHS lasted for years, but now, under attack, are falling into private hands and failing to support working families tossed around in today's labour market, let along those falling through the gaps in this new economy of ours.

The second phase comprised Labour governments before Thatcher (let's call them "Old Labour") that worked with trade unions to create employment and prepared the workforce in universities and colleges for the changing labour market to secure better standards of work and life.

But adapting the workforce to changes in the job market is a continuous process that was halted when Mrs Thatcher loosened the economic reins. Incorporation of trade unions and business into economic policy was also short-lived. Mrs Thatcher destroyed the rights, benefits and responsibilities of this new phase.

The third phase was, of course, "New Labour", which hardly had any policies on economic rights and took its priorities to distribute tax credits to low-paid workers, trying to ensure the rising economic tide lifted the little boats, setting a minimum wage and funding high-quality health and education in a society of huge inequality.

New Labour gave free rein to global economic masters and eroded workers' power with dire effects. Now unemployment, poverty pay and broken contracts undermine the security of working people.

History seems to suggest Labour is incapable of securing basic economic rights at Westminster. So the case to rebel and back an independent Scotland isn't nationalist; the priority of self-determination is secondary to advancing economic and social rights. More and more of us believe the clearest journey to securing these essential rights is with real Home Rule, which is best achieved by voting Yes.

So tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of people who see Labour as the best possible government in Scotland will rise in rebellion. This great rebellion will be a legitimate claim to historic commitments a vain and selfish leadership has failed to honour. The claim to economic rights lies deep in the Scottish Labour Party but is crusted with corruption and lies barren in the ground of devolution. After a Yes vote, this kernel will be the basic element of a new and independent Labour Party. If Labour dies tomorrow, thousands will declare: long live independent Labour.