DESPITE following the tragic loss of the referendum, when The National was launched in November 2014 it provided a beacon of hope for those who believed in Scotland’s right to self-determination, and independence itself. Now, disappointingly, some days on reading the letters published it is not obvious whether it is The National or The Herald which is backing independence.
Of course criticisms of the SNP and its current policies, as well as the actions of its politicians, should not be omitted, but letters devoid of objective context or constructive suggestions are happily given plenty of prominence in the many newspapers opposed to independence.
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Not being an SNP member, I would offer the personal comment that at the moment the party does not appear to have the inspiring leadership necessary to soon take us to independence, which would perhaps require the roles of First Minister and leader of the party to be separated.
Apart from helping to ferment fundamental change within the SNP, there are many acts that could be taken to progress our common ambition for Scotland which The National could enthusiastically foster.
What needs to be done to establish a legitimate “Citizens’ Convention” as proposed by Believe in Scotland as early as possible to make recommendations on a path to a better Scotland, perhaps including support for a “de facto referendum”?
Could an interview with Gordon Brown on his proposals for reforming the UK via federalism be constructed to help encourage him and representatives of other political parties to participate in a broadly constituted convention that would have wide public interest?
What data needs to be gathered on the performance of the Labour government in Wales for the First Minister at FMQs to assertively counter arguments by the leader of the Labour Party in Scotland within the context of an irreparably Broken Brexit Britain (the same tactic used by the Tories with some media “success” in countering SNP arguments at Westminster)? This data could also be used in leaflets and on billboards to support a “de facto referendum”.
What would an alternative to the GERS report look like in he view of Richard Murphy or other respected economist consulted to provide a guiding draft, with relevant assumptions stated, so that at an early opportunity informed discussions and debate can begin and revisions made as appropriate?
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Perhaps this might need to be constructed to cover different time periods, but it should be borne in mind that Labour are effectively telling the public that it is going to take ten years or more before most of the public see possible benefits of their attempts to repair Broken Brexit Britain.
These are just some of the questions The National could take a leading or supportive role in helping to answer. The answers, which along with the promotion of broader independence aims (such as those expressed by Professor Alan Boyter on September 24), as well as perhaps legal advice (possibly provided by Andrew Tickell) on suggestions around alternative routes to independence (some of which have been proposed by various contributors in previous letters), will help to foster more positivity in these pages.
However, it still has to be borne in mind that there is no “short cut to independence”, so all supporters of Scotland’s right to self-determination must continue to work positively to gain the clear backing of the majority of those who will become the future citizens of an independent Scotland.
Stan Grodynski
Longniddry, East Lothian
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