T HE NATIONAL CONVENTION LET'S START NOW

As it happens, this blog coincides with the Holyrood by-election in Hamilton which has produced a result that has alarmed some, surprised many and shown that what is happening in this country is not what we need when it comes to the question of what kind of country we want to live in.

The battle was not Labour vs SNP or even SNP vs Reform. It was Labour vs Reform and it was fought on the basis of UK politics alone, Hamilton just happened to be the arena.

The main lesson we need to learn from this is, as I have said before, that the next Scottish election cannot be held as a plebiscite – it simply does not work that way. People will make their choices based on what each voter regards as a priority and no amount of campaigning on a single issue such as independence will change that. Of course there is the underlying factor which many electors are increasingly aware of which is that there is no appetite for independence within Holyrood and that the SNP’s failure yesterday is largely because many of their erstwhile supporters saw no reason to bother turning out. And this further underlines our campaign for a national convention.

If we cast our minds back to the weeks just before the referendum, we may recall that Alex Salmond stated that, in the event of a yes vote, it would take two years to reach full agreement on separation. This illustrated the need to design the new country we were about to embark upon but how should we engage with our population? By debate? A gathering of political representatives? A national convention?  My later experience of Alex brought me to the conclusion that such a process would have been by a series of deals, many of which may not have been very well received by the electorate and would have come about in an undemocratic fashion. What was missing here was true consensus. Instead we were to succumb to the British disease of centralising power and control and it is my opinion that it is this fundamental problem which is causing disillusion with politics in Scotland.

Among the many comments on social media following this election is the opinion that the independence movement is fragmented but the real problem is simply that the roadmap does not exist. A national convention is the only way that such a roadmap can be put in place and yet so few people seem to want one. Why?

One reason is the lack of available publicity. Our roadshows aim to address this but another reason is that we need sponsors. I don’t mean necessarily money, here, but rather individuals whose reputations are such that they command respect and a degree of authority. We are making some progress in this area.

Most of all, we need more registrations. Once we reach 50,000, the app opens and we can gather fully authenticated votes and allow us international authority. I would remind people in the meantime that registration without paying the fee still gives you an ID and allows us to call consultative votes which are useful for campaigns on local issues.

More on how the voting system works and why it completely bypasses Westminster is to follow shortly.

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An Appeal:

In Skye, the Clan Donald Trust (CDT) through its managing director are putting some 20,000 acres of land for sale without any notice given to the Trust members or the 900 or so tenants. As a result, a hastily formed group are attempting to have the terms of the Trust (formed in 1971) examined with a view to taking legal action.

To do this effectively, they need legal advice. If anyone is, or can recommend a lawyer willing to help in this urgent matter, please contact me initially and I shall pass the contact details on to the organisers.

Please email me at dyounger@rocketmail.com 

Thank you.