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"I do believe that devolution is a process that has to advance to greater powers—and I am disappointed that the hopes of the Constitutional Convention for "a new participative democracy within a reformed Union" show little sign of serious fulfilment. People are losing faith in the politicians. The Union, far from reforming, is moving to ever greater centralisation and secrecy. You met on the 10th anniversary of the day when the Constitutional Convention presented the plans on which the Parliament was founded. We need a body which represents the people, and my hope is that the new Convention might be that body."
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Declarations |
of Support |
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"I want the minimum constitutional change for Scotland to be able to become a full member of the EU, the UN and NATO; I believe that to be Dominion status. "At present, in international terms, Scotland is submerged as one twelfth of the UK, a medium-sized superpower; Scotland should resume its place on the world stage as a smaller country. "As the issues which worried Queen Anne's English ministers are now irrelevant, there is no longer a need for the parliamentary union. The future should be politically Scottish, whilst remaining socially British." —Jamie, Earl of Mar and Kellie, |
"Unfortunately, I am unable to be physically present at this launch of Scottish Independence Convention. But I offer my full support to this project which aims to draw together political parties and representatives of the wider Scottish public to challenge the legitimacy of the union. "Support for Scottish independence is alive and well and remains a continuing threat to the survival of the antiquated British state. Three parties in the Scottish Parliament support independence, as do a number of independent MSPs. Even within the anti-independence parties, there are stirrings of discontent over the devolution settlement. Outside the political parties, support for independence remains as high as ever - and is likely to grow rather than diminish in the future. "The right wing Tory unionist, Enoch Powell, once argued that power devolved is power retained. Since 1999, it has become increasingly clear that New Labour has delivered Powell-style devolution to Scotland and Wales. "Every day , we are confronted with further evidence of the powerlessness of Holyrood. Scottish troops are sent to kill and die in an illegal, faraway war based on lies. Families who have made their homes in our underpopulated country are dragged from their beds and deported like 18th century criminals. The monstrosity of nuclear weapons of mass destruction blights our coastline and turns us into a prime target for a future terror attack. "A powerful Scottish Parliament has the potential to drive forward a radically different political agenda. To do so it will need far greater fiscal, economic and political powers. The debate over these powers is not a distraction. It will continue until we have a fully independent parliament with the power to tackle poverty and inequality, to opt out of illegal wars, to close down nuclear weapons, to treat asylum seekers with dignity and humanity. "Uniting in an independence convention does not mean hiding our differences. It does not mean closing down the debate over what kind of Scotland we want to live in. In fact, it will help open up that debate, which has been effectively closed down by Westminster. "The cause of independence is the cause of democracy. The British state is based on hierarchy, deference, secrecy, and inherited privilege. We need to leave all that behind and move forward into the 21st century. This founding rally of the Scottish Independence Convention has the potential to mark a turning point. "Perhaps in the future we will look back on November 30 2005 as the day that Scotland took its first steps in the direction of becoming a modern, independent 21st century democracy."
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"There is a great frustration among artists, writers and creatives in Scotland a sense that our growing confidence and competence in self-government is not being matched by appropriate policy tools and constitutional powers. Increasingly, our collective ambitions for the arts and media, for energy policy, for immigration, for many other areas are being dashed on the rocks of Westminster’s reserved powers. "I support the Independence Convention as a way for those (of all parties and none) who want to make an alliance around the implacable increase of Scotland’s powers of self-government - with ‘independence’ as the horizon, and with the vision of a healthy, dynamic, just and worldly Scotland fuelling the journey. Best wishes to your deliberations, and sign me up!”
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