CommonSpace columnist James McEnaney says it’s vital to build a better Scotland before independence and not wait until after to get started
WHAT you are about to read will shock you, so sit down, compose yourself, swallow your coffee (I’m not paying to replace your laptop or phone) and take a deep breath: something both interesting and important was said at the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference last week.
On 24 October 2015, leader Willie Rennie stood in front of the assembled ranks of Scottish Lib Dems and argued that Scotland needs to spend the next five years focusing on education, health and justice – not the constitution. And you know what? Despite being a ‘unionist’ (boo, hiss etc.) he just might be, at least partially, correct.
I voted Yes in 2014 and would do so again tomorrow, but my position is simple: independence still matters, but it is not all that matters.
I voted Yes in 2014 and would do so again tomorrow, but my position is simple: independence still matters, but it is not all that matters.
The fact is that there are too many battles to be won in the fight for a fairer Scotland for the independence question to drag every issue towards the deeply unhealthy dichotomy which so often stifles genuine debate.
The insistence that every aspect of Scottish life be viewed, first and foremost, through the prism of independence not only distorts public discourse, it also imposes an entirely unnecessary sense of helplessness on the people of Scotland.
So enter stage-left (obviously) ‘A Book of Ideas’ , a publication from Common Weal which “attempts to end the excuse that we can’t do things differently in Scotland; that we don’t have the power to change things, that ‘aye been’ is somehow good enough, and that competent management is the extent of our hopes and aspirations”.
The book is incredibly ambitious, with ideas for areas such as digital currency, participatory democracy, transportation, gender segregation, deconsumerisation and support for creative industries explored in its 152 pages. It is, at the core, a vibrant celebration of the incredible power of ideas.
What A Book of Ideas also highlights is that we do have the power in Scotland to make substantive changes to the lives of people up and down this country. It should help to remind everyone with an interest in our nation’s future that the vital questions aren’t matters of black or white, unionist or nationalist, Yes or No – they are found in the countless shades of grey within which Scottish political discourse should be taking place.
We do have the power to change our country for the better, and a determination that doing so should be our primary goal – even without independence.
A Book of Ideas is vital because of what it represents – an acknowledgement that we do have the power to change our country for the better, and a determination that doing so should be our primary goal (even without independence).
Of course, the constitutional question still matters, and full control of every aspect of our country would open the possibility of even more powerful change, but there is both the room and a desperate need for a much bigger, brighter and, ultimately, more valuable debate in Scotland.
Yes, our continued presence in the UK leaves a great deal of power in the Palace of Westminster rather than in the hands of the people of Scotland, but it is simply not the case that the solution to all of our problems are dependent upon Scotland becoming an independent country.
In Scotland we already do many things differently. In the last 16 years governments in Holyrood have ended prescription charges, introduced free personal care, enshrined the right to roam, repealed Section 28, introduced a ban on smoking in public places, banished tuition fees, re-opened the borders railway and ensured that close to half of our energy needs are now met by the sort of renewable technologies in which Scotland could and should become a world leader.
Not bad for a wee, poor and stupid country.
Of course, the power to improve lives brings with it the risk of damaging them instead. Police centralisation may have received cross-party backing, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the negative consequences have outweighed any advantages.
The best way to move towards a future Yes vote is by showing – rather than simply arguing – that another Scotland is possible.
Scottish schools now face the introduction of a system of damaging and regressive national standardised testing (again with the support of both the government and most of the opposition) and, according to reports , ministers are actively considering the creation of a free school in Milngavie.
But all of these examples – good and bad – have one thing in common: they demonstrate just how much the Scottish Parliament can achieve.
This is why it is so important that the coming election campaign is about much more than merely rerunning the referendum, and why candidates and parties should be judged primarily on their ability to build a better nation now.
Will they push for LGBT-inclusive education, an Access to Elected Office fund, genuinely radical Land Reform, an outright ban on fracking and the protection of women’s rights over their own bodies (to name just a few)?
Of course, the campaign for Scottish independence must continue, but it must also adapt: more than a year on from 55 per cent of Scots voting to remain in the union, the best way to move towards a future Yes vote is by showing – rather than simply arguing – that another Scotland is possible.
In order to achieve that we must look past the matter of Yes or No and think about the sort of country we want to live in until independence is achieved.
You can buy a copy of A Book of Ideas here.
Picture courtesy of Tom Parnell