SINCE the Declaration of Arbroath there has been another notion of sovereignty in Scotland – popular sovereignty. The concept is that the people of the Scottish nation govern themselves and whoever they appoint as head of state or government is accountable to the people at all times, not just once every few years.
In his letter of November 28, Iain WD Forde pointed out the importance of having a written constitution in place when the first elected government of an independent Scotland takes office on independence day. That constitution should include the right to hold referenda, which should be required before any change could be subsequently made to that constitution.
Prior to a vote on independence, so voters have a clearer indication what type of independent nation they are voting for, a draft constitution should be prepared. As Mr Ford indicates, this should be “under the aegis of the Scottish Government’s agencies after broad consultation.” It could possibly be by a constitutional convention. A requirement of this draft should be that it form the basis of a final constitution to be finalised by a citizens’ assembly and the final constitution would be required to authorise a Scottish Government, effective on Independence Day.
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There is currently an interactive consultation online which invites every citizen of Scotland to join the process of compiling a written Constitution for Scotland. It has been initiated by “Constitution for Scotland” (CfS), a non-aligned Scottish charity dedicated to the concept of popular democracy should Scotland decide upon independence at a future referendum.
Following a successful vote for independence, as Independence Day approaches the hope is that the conclusions from the CfS public online consultation will be used to inform the members of a citizens’ assembly which would finalise the constitution, and instruct the Scotland’s interim government to adopt it into legislation in time for it to come into effect before an independent Scotland’s first elected government comes into office on independence day.
Not every citizen will be interested in participating, but the trustees of CfS believe that many will wish to participate in this democratic initiative and the more who do participate the stronger will be the case that the resultant document should help inform those who will decide on the final constitution.
In this consultation there are many sections open to discussion and participants can proceed using a search facility for factors of specific interest to them. Individuals can comment on as few or as many items as they want. The website is www.constitutionforscotland.scot If you are interested in helping CfS, please contact: info@constitutionforscotland.scot
Jim Stamper
Bearsden
A TV series being trotted out again (this time on PBS) called Castles: Britain’s Fortfied History, comprising three episodes, dealing solely with castles in England and Wales! Yet another example of the English mindset regarding what constitutes “Britain”.
This is in keeping with almost ALL stats quoted on TV which only refer to England and Wales. Scotland, if it’s mentioned at all, is treated as being on a par with regions of England. It’s not that long ago that the railways and many other large organisations referred to “Scottish Region” and we had the North British Hotel and earlier, the North British Locomotive Works.
You’ll have difficulty finding any trace of a South British Hotel, and I’m fairly certain Swindon was never referred to as the South British Locomotive Works.
Barry Stewart
Blantyre
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