Another Book For You

This one though, is different.  It is The Wee Black Book.  Eighteen months ago the people of Scotland decided that remaining as part of the UK was the route to a better future for our children and grandchildren, on the basis of the promises made as voting day drew near.  Today, 24 March 2016, is the day that had been earmarked for Scotland to begin to run her own affairs.  The WBB charts the move from the promises then to the reality now.

In the past 18 months politics in Scotland has been very much off topic on this forum, though thrashed to bits elsewhere.  So for the readers who have been spared the WBB is a quick run through, and it really is an essential read.  It is of course the work of the inimitable Stuart Campbell, of Wings Over Scotland, and you can download it from this link.  Let’s see how it’s all panning out so far shall we.

Elsewhere I see that the citizens of New Zealand have also bottled it, opting not to change their flag.

Countdown Conundrum

Having spared you political comment on this forum these past eight months or so, events have overtaken us; comment is coming.

What has become absolutely clear is:

1. Scotland wants to remain in the Union
2. England wants a right-wing conservative government
3. Scotland doesn’t.

 

These ideals may be mutually exclusive.  The political landscape has undergone massive upheaval  as the voting across these lands on Thursday proved.

The Lib Dems were decimated, both north and south of the border, perhaps for different reasons.  Scotland could not forgive their role in bringing Cameron and his policies to ravage her communities.  England could not forgive the impoverishment of her students; the breaking of a vow.  And perhaps England could not forgive a hand that may have restrained the tories, wanting more of what they offered.

And more they will have, more austerity, and the need for more food banks; more shame, on them.  But Labour are not without blame, having rejected the hand of friendship; rejected the fight against austerity whilst voting for more of the same.  Much has, and is, being said, in our weekend columns and on our airwaves.  The best I have heard came yesterday, the words of Andy Kerr, former Labour Finance Minister at Holyrood.  There problems began, he posited, quarter of a century ago.  I may shorten that by a couple of years, but certainly giving the reins to the Blair/Brown axis was the start of the end.

In Scotland they had been in denial for years, suffering defeat in 2007, annihilation in 2011, and finally, after not listening again, suffering humiliation.  Let’s get the gags out the way first.  Scotland, as well all know, now hosts more nuclear-armed submarines than nuclear arms supporting MPs; and the old one about the pandas now applies equally to all three unionist parties.  And there are probably more visitors to the zoo than members of said parties.

Very quickly after the results began to emerge on Friday morning Robin McAlpine, he of the Common Weal and one of my real hopes for the future, grasped the meaning of the underlying numbers.  The demise in the unionist vote was far less then the rise in the nationalist vote.  That is crucial to appreciate.

Across these lands turnout rose from 2010; but in Scotland the rise was significantly higher, to more than 70% on average, exceeding 80% in hotspots, against 65% elsewhere.  For Scotland had been mightily engaged in politics in recent years, and the legacy of the Indy Ref was a massive rise in participation, through membership of the losing parties, to activism on the streets.  They came out to vote, and they all voted SNP.  Thus the swings were enormous, unprecedented, and we witnessed history unfolding on our screens as a result of which Portillo will now be best remembered for fingering his guide book on the trains.  His moment was surpassed, with every declaration, as the big Scottish beasties fell, some with more grace than others.

Our local campaign was wonderful.  We faced one of those contemptuous career politicians, all suits and family on the payroll, with more than 52% of the last vote and a massive majority.  But Dr Lisa Cameron rose from the campaign of the previous years, joined the party and was given the nomination.  And she is now our MP, over 55% of the vote and a whopping majority which her opponent tried hard not to hear, leaving the count before being dragged back on protocol and publicly flogged.  That, for our small team of dedicated and hard-working supporters, was a moment of sheer joy, and a just reward.  I salute you all.

Labour’s problems will not go away.  They appointed the wrong brother, (though the choice it seems may have been the wrong family) and he was too far to the left for England, too far to the right for Scotland.  He epitomises the problem Cameron now faces.  For it’s not nation v nation, but left v right.  Miliband chose to follow Blair, seeking votes in Middle-England, from the same grounds that Cameron and Farage made their pitch, ignoring everywhere else.  More than 50% of England voted to the right; but in Scotland the majority voted against it.

There is now talk of what should have happened post 2007, if not before – an independent Labour party in Scotland, fast to the ideal of the long-forgotten founders.  That party should then have campaigned for in independent Scotland, and retained power therein for decades.  But they had not the foresight, and now they suffer, buried by their own ineptitude and disdain for the people.

Cameron’s dilemma is deep.  He promises to deliver Smith’s proposals.  But they are a fudge, molten and inedible, the dregs of The Vow.  And he has promised to be Evel, which surely he will be.  So wherein lies cross-border consensus amongst that?  Well Smith is far too little, and 56 voices will forever protest, long and hard.  More powers.  We were promised close to federalism.  And I suspect that is where we are now going.

Which brings me to that House of Lords, where some of the fallen may find themselves as Keir Hardie rolls restlessly below.  Labour and Lords, that home for the bishopric, for the benefactors, and for long-service.  It surely must become an elected upper chamber, casting an eye over four federal states, bringing a common hand to rest on each shoulder.

And the SNP?  Well as by far the third largest party in the union, this party must change.  For it now will take a seat on each and every Westminster committee, and the chair of a fair number of them.  Its members will even be asked to speak in debates, and the Speaker’s whims will have to change.  And from the running costs of the parliament it will receive the funding that went to the Lib Dems, the Short Money, and a couple of million a year is a massive boost for all the parliamentarians and for those hundred thousand plus members.  It’s a game changer.

The Conundrum is yours Mr Cameron, and the Countdown has begun.

 

Move over Neil Oliver

This is just brilliant; so good I’ve watched it twice.  Go on, full screen.  Enjoy.

 

Watch and listen

No, I’m not going to give you my tribute to the outgoing party leader, or a fine welcome to the new one, for there are plenty of those elsewhere, and the links on the sidebar are a good place to start.  Instead let’s look further afield.

First up we have Common Weal’s utterly brilliant and inspirational Robin McAlpine, speaking at a fringe meeting at the SNP conference:

Looking forward to that daily news service coming to my screen.

And have you seen the SNP’s latest Party Political Broadcast?  Yeah I know that’s when we all head for the kitchen and put the kettle on, but watch this one:

At another fringe meeting at the weekend, here we have Craig Murray, who always has something to say, sometimes controversial.  Stirring stuff as usual.  I hear he’s after a nomination for the Westminster election, having just moved to Edinburgh.

On Craig’s left there I see young Mhairi Black, who addressed the George Square gathering a few weeks back.  She spoke to the full conference in one of the debates on Friday.  Remember her name and face, for you’ll be hearing more of this young lass, I’m sure.

One interesting announcement at the weekend was the possibility of non-party members standing at elections.  The Yes Alliance is becoming a real possibility.  Interesting times ahead, more so as we hear of Labour in Scotland lurching from crisis to shambles, and back to crisis again, on a daily basis.  Of which more another day, including the moveable feast that seems to be utterances on Trident.  Should’ve voted Yes, shouldn’t you?

And to finish, some audio – Derek Bateman in discussion with Paul Holleran of the NUJ at the BBC; and then Ivan McKee of Business for Scotland.  Ivan is another who has recently joined the SNP and is considering the best route to continue his massive input of the last couple of years – it could be a Parliamentary route, either 2015 or 2016.  Such are the changes many are now facing.

http://batemanbroadcasting.com/episode-22/

 

Is the dust settling?

Seems a long time ago now, 18th September, doesn’t it?  The day Scotland said No.  It’s not a day I’ll forget.

But it’s been a fast-moving environment since then.  We’ll have a new First Minister in a week or two.  The outgoing Alex Salmond is relishing his last few weeks in office, and his final FMQs this coming Thursday will be one not to miss, if this week’s warm up is anything to go by.  On a whimper he will not be going out.  Then we’ll have Salmond Unleashed; unshackled from the chains of office.  That could be fun.

Meantime The Vow is coming under scrutiny, with the Daily Record on the defensive, (you could read the previous posts on Wings on the same subject too), and watching sales plummet.  The Smith Commission are holding meetings, and presumably sifting through 14,000 submissions.  Those submissions will range from simple emails of a few paragraphs, like mine, to a superb document from Common Weal and others, to name just a few, from the Scottish Police Federation and Yes Clydesdale.

But my expectations are low.  Whatever Smith proposes is perhaps unlikely to reach the statute book, requiring as it does a government to be elected in the first instance, and then approval from both their houses.  Remote.

Meanwhile Labour are imploding.  As I type there is pressure on Miliband it seems.  And locally the Scottish scene has been lurching to the left.  JoLa’s left; Darlings’s left; Sarwar’s left; in fact there’s nothing left, as was said elsewhere.  And they’re trying to elect new leaders.  Murphy has benefited from enormous publicity, having had his Westminster career put on hold.  But the unions aren’t happy at his right wing leanings, and lust for war and weaponry.

I’ll leave comment on Labour’s Scottish ills to Robin McAlpine, he of the Common Weal, and an excellent summary piece in Bella Caledonia.  But it might change again, if the Westminster leader goes too.

Our media has been organising.  New on my daily reading list is the Scottish Statesman.  Here’s a fine recent article, originally for Danish press, which gives you the flavour of the changes in recent weeks.  And I see the Statesman is going to produce a monthly magazine, an addition to the web-based paper. I’ll be very interested in seeing how that develops.

There’s been more polling too, you may have noticed.  It’s all about to change.  Westminster voting intentions are shifting, significantly.  No longer will Scotland send red-rosetted lobby-fodder south, at least not in the quantity of past years.  The signs for Labour are very ominous indeed, no matter what Murphy, Miliband or whoever yanks the strings might like to say.  Those days are well and truly gone.

And so the possible shape of the new Westminster government is something for intense speculation.  How many seats will UKIP take, and who from?  And many will the SNP occupy, possibly to coalesce with no one, and vote on an issue by issue basis?  Speculation, speculation.

There’s another poll about to announce.  You can’t keep Stu Campbell down; he’s now teasing us with releasing findings from his latest Panelbase poll.  Wings Over Scotland is still the number one online source for the growing Yes movement.  And it is growing.  Polls suggest if the vote were held again today the result would be different.  I’m hearing the same in discussions with a variety of people.  In short Cameron’s statement on the morning of the 19th shifted the goalposts.

So the losers battle on; and the winners collapse.  The media are under real pressure – the Daily Record from spiralling sales; the BBC from realisations.  When the time comes again, as it will, we will all be older, and a good bit wiser.  Interesting times.  And then there’s Europe…

Decisions, Decisions

In a few weeks time Scotland will have a new First Minister; Alex Salmond will step down as leader of his party, and as FM. The only candidate to take over as leader of the SNP is the redoubtable Nicola Sturgeon – whose jaiket I once held, such is my high standing in The Party.  Actually it was on a certain day in Edinburgh, a memory from the campaign.  So Nicola will be our FM, subject to ratification by Holyrood, and unless a chunk of the SNP contingent happen all to be waylaid on the same day.

The party conference is next month, and what an occasion that will be, with Alex Salmond receiving what will be a very fond farewell, and massive appreciation for what he done, so far.  Much as I’d like to be, I won’t be there.

Between now and then those of us who are members of the party will receive voting papers to fill the vacancy for Deputy Leader.  A month or so ago, in the light of the resignation statement, around 25,000 papers would have been being planned.  But now they will need to send out significantly more,such has been the staggering response to the decision of Scotland’s people.  That said perhaps less than half of the newly expanded 84,000 strong membership may be eligible to vote this time round.

We have three candidates.  One is an MSP, a member of the Holyrood front benches; one an MP, one of the six; and the other, also an MSP stands on the basis that whilst she wants to be deputy to Nicola in the party, she doesn’t want to be Deputy First Minister, which is interesting.

The Smith Commission is deliberating, trying to turn this into something positive:

I expect little meaningful, and certainly not what we seemed to be proposed in the much vaunted Vow.  They have to find a way to improve on this:

So the next stage in this game is the Westminster election in May 2015.  The SNP have six members at present.  They could well have a much louder voice from May, and quite conceivably be a significant player as coalition talks take shape.  No doubt the BBC will maximise the role that UKIP may have to play in the months ahead.

Incidentally did you see that M. Farage has reached an agreement with an ultra right wing holocaust denier in order to rescue his party’s funding for the EU parliament?  I digress.

So a Deputy Leader standing at Westminster could be an important role.  Angus Robertson’s been a fine leader of the Westminster group for some time.  And speculation bounces round that our retiring FM could himself have a last stand down London way, rattling sabres and more beyond.

So do we appoint an MP or an MSP?  We could even have one MSP as Deputy Leader, and another as DFM.  Or an MP as DL, and an MSP as DFM.  Who to choose; how to vote?

Well all three candidates have been on the hustings.  The Sunday papers have given column inches for each to set out their stall.  So too has Lallands Peat Worrier  for whom each so far, the two male candidates have written a guest post.  I certainly got more from those than I gleaned from the press articles.  Whether you have a vote or not you might wish to consider the vision of each of the three candidates, in these very important times for the future of our nation, for whoever is elected; whoever becomes Nicola’s deputy in the party, and whoever becomes Scotland’s Deputy First Minister, he, she or they will have important roles in shaping Scotland’s future:

Firstly Keith Brown MSP.

Next up Stewart Hosie MP.

Finally Angela Constance MSP.  (link in due course, hopefully)

In the aftermath of our nation’s cowardice, and at many gatherings since, the desire for a Yes Alliance  has been much discussed.  We have momentum, cross party; and the need for a significant presence at Westminster, and then a second ‘impossible’ majority government at Holyrood the following year, has never been greater.  Stewart Hosie has that Alliance in his sights.  The Branches will need policy direction.  Candidates need to be selected, very soon.

It’s going to be an interesting conference.  Decisions , decisions.

 

 

Community Singing

The clip that follows is the final fifteen minutes of a wee gathering of friends recently.  Enjoy.  The young lad singing is Gerry Cinnamon.  He sings himself to tears, then sings it again.  By then you’ll know the words, so join in:

Now you might be forgiven for thinking that could have been a scene from those days leading up to 18 September; it took place last Sunday, 12 October, in Glasgow’s George Square.  It was supposed to finish at 5.00.  After seven hours we had to disperse.  Scotland has not been put back in her box.  And white-washing over the much-vaunted Vow; excluding the Scottish voice from the next round of debates, will serve only to increase the numbers attending these events.

Sunday was a pretty special day.  We were treated to songs from fifteen bands and singers.  Aside from Gerry I’d recommend Dorec-a-Belle – a four girl outfit from Inverness with the unusual combination of acoustic guitar, sax, cello and box; and I’m sure there was a bearded one at the back plucking away on a double bass; that and a drum deep in the back, out of sight.  The Stumblers cranked the pace up towards the end, a couple of acoustic guitars, with a banjo and an acoustic bass, tunes belted out.  You Tube will turn up something.

But the speakers, we need to mention some of them, just a few of the two dozen or so who addressed the masses.  Mhairi Black, just turned twenty.  Here she is here:

We are the Hope, for the future, for the people having to use the foodbanks.  And as with most of these gatherings the foodbanks are important.  Dennis Curran, from Loaves & Fishes, drew the tears from many.  Just a handful of miles from where I sit a wee boy had to explain to his teacher why he wanted a pair of shoes from Santa.  I’m fed up wearing my mother’s shoes and five pairs of socks to school, miss.  Dennis took three vans of groceries back with him.

The gasps of the crowd came when Craig Murray addressed us.  That purring from the monarch was, he reckoned, more the death rattle of the monarchy in Scotland.  Wild stuff, even by Craig’s standards.  The full transcript is up on his own blog.  I’d always viewed the monarchy as another subject for another day, possibly with another monarch.  But Cameron telling the world about that purring.  Well it does make you think.

There were more tears; on stage young Gabrielle Sheridan gave us her thoughts, a nine year old maybe, speaking from the heart, without notes.  Wonder where she got that from?  Tommy and Gail were visibly moved.

There were others too; too many to mention.  Speaking from wheelchairs, or aided with oxygen – remember the Indy Climber, Lindsey Jarrett, who put the Yes sign on the Castle Rock?  She’s still with us, more determined than ever.

So we are still here; watching the progress of those ‘extensive new powers’; waiting on the Smith Commission.  Westminster prepares for an election on 7 May.  No one expects a majority government of any colour.  But Scotland will not be sending 40 Red Tories south, that is for sure.  It is not impossible that a large nationalist group, possibly the majority of the Scottish seats, could hold the balance of power, as Lesley Riddoch posited last night.

But the BBC will focus on UKIP.  One day they might wake up.  Perhaps when there’s another gathering at Pacific Quay, on 26 October.  More community singing perhaps.

The hare is running

Just as I begin to turn my mind to autumn colours and changing scenes as the bike hurtles along the roads, so I get dragged back to reality; to where we are now; and to where we are going.

Let’s start with a review of the press.  No I’m not going to ask you to read some dry report, double spaced, double sided, laced with figures.  Instead listen to Dr David Patrick explain what went into his report.  It takes 20 minutes or so, but is time well spent:

 

 

Press bias, well I never…  And as Dr Patrick mentions in his closing remarks that is already beginning to hit newsprint sales, even harder than they were already.  For just as the press can decide to take whatever stance they choose, so we, the readers, can decide what we want to buy.  They’ve had a fright.

The Daily Record, infamous now for The Vow two days before we voted, are suffering.  And in the letters page of that same outlet, reaching a far smaller audience and ironically now excluding many of those he desperately wants to reach, the founder of Iceland is back-tracking on his pre-referendum boast of price rises in an iScotland.  Mum’s not been going to Iceland, or Asda.  Bank accounts are being shifted to Airdrie Savings Bank.  Caramel wafers are being bought in Aldi, and they don’t have Tunnock’s on the wrapper.

In short people are voting now with their feet and with their wallets.  The movement gains momentum yet; and is looking at the long haul.  Immediately we’ve the Smith Commission to monitor, The Vow to implement, or not.  Whatever those new powers turn out to be will then impact firstly on the Westminster election, now racing up before us, and then on the Holyrood election 12 months later.  It won’t end there, for the very make up of the governments we put in place will dictate the progress thereon.  And let’s not forget the possible EU referendum the following year.

As I type these notes I’m conscious that voting is underway today in two Westminster by-elections, and one could well see the first UKIP MP.  The writing, as they say, is on the wall.

Meanwhile our dear friends at the BBC just can’t stop it.  The anti SNP slant continues.  Just the other day we had Robert Peston, who at times had some interesting things to say as the vote drew closer, was bumping his gums about subsidy junkies, that old canard.  It’s complete bollocks, but there it is again, broadcast to us all.

There’s a fine reply, debunking that myth, from Jim and Margaret Cuthbert.  It’s published over at Bella Caledonia, and well worth a read:

Smith and the Subsidy Myth Makers

I’ll expect to hear an apology from Peston, a correction from the BBC, and an an end to that myth once and for all, imminently.  Or not.

What was it David Patrick was saying?  And when the time comes again, and it will, the 45% will have grown, and will be wiser, better prepared.  We might even have some media support.

PS and on the subject of The Press, Bateman’s in fine form.

Resources

I’ll be brief.  Here’s a couple of links to new sites to bookmark.

First the changing face of media.  I came across Scotland for Yes recently.  It’s an updating resource with links to articles of interest, with much more beyond.  Put it on the daily reading list.

http://scotyes.com/

And then a link to highlights of events of the past couple of years, which really should be available to those that come after us.  Enjoy the memories.  I might spend a bit of time browsing many of the items featured on Documenting Yes.  What a great idea to bring all these together; a marvellous collection of pictures brought to you from National Collective.

http://documentingyes.com/

Another new resource in this very fast-moving environment is the Scottish Statesman, offering pro-independent News, Comment & Opinion.  I’ll certainly be having a good look at what’s on offer.  One to watch.

http://scottishstatesman.com/

And finally, for the moment, some very encouraging news with Derek Bateman and his colleague Maurice Smith, bringing their huge experience to take the editorial reins at Newsnet Scotland, where Lynda Williamson and the team will remain very much involved.  Onwards everyone, and very much upwards.

PS  If you haven’t already done so make sure that your own representations are made to Lord Smith, who has invited  comments from all interested parties, including you and me, for his Commission to take into account.  The email address is haveyoursay@smith-commission.scot.  Every voice counts; make sure yours is heard.

 

A Way Forward

A Way Forward.  This article is re-blogged from Bella Caledonia; another vision by Common Weal’s Robin McAlpine.  As always there is more than just the article itself, so once you’ve read the narrative, which I’ve reproduced in full, follow that ling at the start of this paragraph and scroll down for the BTL comments on Bella.

By Robin McAlpine

OK, even by my standards this is a rather rapid run-through of how we can pursue the twin-track approach of making Scotland a better place for its citizens and showing them in the process why independence will enable us to do even more. So let me write it down.

I do so with a couple of caveats. I cannot stress enough that things are still falling (it’s not even two weeks since the result) and we need to see where they land. Strategy should always change according to circumstances and we do not yet know all of the circumstances. The second is that anyone who thinks they alone have all the answers is a fool. I’ve spoken to a lot of people in the last two weeks but there will be wonderful thinking out there I’ve not yet heard so I know I have much personally to learn. So these are my thoughts at this moment.

Caveats done, something like a plan might look like:

Now until close 2014

Our first priority must be to remove as much of the unionist powerbase in Scotland as we can, as quickly as we can. It is very sad to say but unionism means full support for the British establishment. Not one of the unionist parties is proposing any fundamental change to the economic or social order in Britain. I admire some Labour politicians and many party members, but they are now in the institution which is the biggest barrier to social change in Scotland. As we saw over the last two years, Labour’s primary function is not to fight on behalf of working people but to channel the votes of working people to support the neoliberal economy of the City of London. So long as Labour can continue to channel the votes of working people in the interests of financiers and right-wing media it will be difficult to achieve any real social change in Scotland.

So let us quickly try and produce a means of clearing out as much of the unionist powerbase in Scotland as possible – which means elected politicians. We should begin by seeking to create an electoral alliance for the 2015 General Election. It will be hard for all concerned but if we can be really honest about who is best placed to beat the unionist candidates on a constituency by constituency basis then a block of at least 30 pro-indy candidates is easily achievable. In most cases that will probably be SNP – but there are quite a few places where that isn’t the case. It might be possible to get a Green candidate or possibly an SSP candidate but often where the SNP are not strong the best bet would be to find an popular local independent candidate. They should stand on a ticket that demotes the party tag to second. So let’s say the alliance was called ‘People’s Scotland’, the ballot paper might say “People’s Scotland: John Smith (SNP)” or “People’s Scotland: Margaret Jones (Independent)”.

The key is the pitch. To win it would need to stand on a platform of ‘we can hold the balance of power – and use it to protect the vulnerable from Westminster’. It would require a shared manifesto platform. There are some things that might be considered for this (Royal Mail back in public ownership, nationalise the National Grid). But at it’s heart should be a call for a one-off wealth tax substantial enough to largely eradicate the national debt and therefore remove the need for austerity (and that tax would mainly hit the super-rich of London). It would stand on a ‘confidence and supply’ basis with Labour – if Labour is the minority government it will back it in votes of confidence and supply votes on a case-by-case basis, dragging Labour to the left.

Scotland would vote for a powerful block of people ready to fight Westminster on this platform. Labour would be in real trouble.

Now until Spring 2016

‘Don’t rock the boat’ was tried as a strategy. It didn’t work. We now need to create a devolved agenda in Scotland which is not small-c conservative but big I inspiring. If we want to make a cast-iron case for more powers then we need to push much harder at the boundaries of the powers we have now. And if we are pitching Scotland as different politically than Westminster, holding back from implementing the worst of Westminster policies is not enough.

So we need a much more ambitious and ‘Nordic’ manifesto for the 2016-2020 parliamentary term. This means bringing together the interests of the maximum number of groups – high-wage policies for low-pay workers, industrial policy for indigenous businesses, housing policies for low-wage workers and young professionals, massive decentralisation and local democracy for everyone, better community planning and service provision for the elderly and so on. It must show what we could be – and make clear what we can’t be with existing powers.

I make no apologies for saying this is what the Common Weal policy project was all about and for stating my belief that it is an essential approach to moving us the next step forward. We have a Common Weal Policy Unit almost up and running and it has already begun work on producing a manifesto for 2016. We aim to have it ready for conference season in the Spring 2015 with a year to go for the election. An agenda which differentiates Scotland from Westminster is essential.

Election 2016

By this point (hopefully) we will have learned the benefits of an electoral alliance – and also have learned the practices that make it possible and effective. We need to use it again. Yet again we need to go constituency by constituency and make sure there is only one pro-indy candidate standing against the unionists. We have independent (or loosely aligned) candidates that can make serious inroads to even the most hard-core Labour areas and we need to use them. So we need to be thinking about a ballot paper that says “People’s Scotland: Allan Grogan or Deborah Waters (Independent Labour)” or whatever we have to break those areas. We need to stand on a shared manifesto – which will certainly take some negotiating but it is not impossible.

Then we stand as ‘with one vote elect your own minority coalition government’ (it would be helpful if no one party had a majority…). We unite on the constituency vote but stand against each other on the list (this will maximise representation). We can win big on this approach.

But at the moment I think we need to stand on a ‘no call for another referendum in this Parliament’ ticket. I just think there is ten per cent plus of the No vote we can take but would be put off at the thought of another rapid referendum.

Now until 2017

With the best will in the world to the White Paper (which I maintain had a lot of good stuff in it), it wasn’t nearly a full implementation plan for independence – and we suffered because of it. We must take a leaf out of the Constitutional Convention book. After losing in 1992 the pro-devolution forces made sure that the next time people voted they had an absolutely cast-iron proposal sitting on the shelf waiting for use. We must do the same. We need to get every element worked out properly with everything from the public sector accounting to the treaty negotiation stance in place.

At its heart (in my opinion) we must accept that we can’t ever go into a campaign again wholly relying on a narrative that involves a currency union we can’t guarantee. Scotland lacks a really strong monetary economist. I’d like to see us (probably the Scottish Government) recruit a world-class monetary economist now with a three-year project to develop a really bullet-proof plan for an independent Scottish currency. And everything else too, from a plan for pensions to a tax model.

That model for independence should be there by 2017 or so, ready for people to understand and be inspired by. Common Weal will certainly be undertaking some work of this sort but this needs to be a shared national project.

Now, ongoing

We then need to make sure that the movement does not dissipate. We are going to need it to be ready to take the next campaign forward in a couple of years. Many people have ideas about how to do that. We’ve outlined some of our thinking at Common Weal – creating places (‘The Common’) to meet and organise and socialise (socialising is important to keeping movements together), creating a powerful social media site (CommonSpace) to enable people to connect, communicate, organise, share information and materials, train and so on.

Beyond that, we all need to find roles, person by person, organisation by organisation. We need to be very careful not to slip back into protest mode – only marching and shouting against austerity which we cannot stop in Scotland is simply asking people to get involved in a campaign that hasn’t in the past reached a wider public and which is doomed to failure. Of course we must do it, but we need positives to win – nationally, locally, community by community.

I would say something here about institutions and media but right now the picture is somewhat crowded. We (at Common Weal) had been thinking about trying to employ a proper news editor and team of experienced journalists to create a news service. However since a lot of others are now talking about similar things we’re going to wait and see what happens – we certainly don’t want to duplicate good work if its already happening.

The same is true of broadcast (or podcast). We need documentary, discussion, news and much more. This movement definitely has the ability to produce it. But it must be good and we must make sure that it amounts to something coherent and consistent. Yet again, I don’t think anyone has a single answer. We’re again waiting to see what plays out and will concentrate (through CommonSpace) on linking to the best of what is there and producing some policy-focussed documentary if we can.

This only scratches the surface of what we need to do collectively to keep motivated, keep active and keep focussed.

2016 – 2020

We have won a big majority as a progressive political alliance which supports independence. We have a strong and inspiring policy agenda which flexes the powers of the Parliament and sets a much clearer political direction for Scotland, moving it further away from the Westminster approach. We make Scotland better, and in the process make it different – and popular with voters.

We also use government to do much more to highlight the failures of Britain. So regularly promoting international comparative statistics, setting targets to bring Scotland up to the level of performance of countries other than Britain and so on. Accepting the UK failure for fear of having to come up with an alternative must end. Lowest state pension in Europe? We NEED to say it very loud and very often.

We also need to use government to highlight the false data used in the campaign. Make sure every new oil price information is publicly compared against what Better Together said it would be. Hound the IFS every time its data projections turn out to be completely false and so on. We need a proper process of undermining institutions which were flexible with the truth.

In 2017 we get the new prospectus for independence. That marks the starting-point for a three-year campaign to get people to support it. That is when we really start to hit the streets again and really push these ideas. The target is to make sure that by May 2020 we have close to 70 per cent support for that prospectus right across Scotland.

2017 – 2020

The work done on the prospectus is just the start. Once it is in place the remaining three years should be used to create a solid, ready-to-go implementation strategy. The UK won’t pre-negotiate, but we don’t need them to. We just put our case together and make sure everyone understands it in detail. List all the treaties and state the position of Scotland. Put in place plans for every transitional arrangement and publish them. Explain our reasonable position on accepting some liability for UK debt and all the rest. If everyone sees it and accepts it is reasonable, the process of negotiating independence should be rapid.

2020

We have our last electoral alliance. We need to continue with a shared manifesto but what that means is impossible to tell from here. But we have one central policy – a fast referendum. We will have been running our own campaign for three years by this point. We will be ready – very ready – to fight a quick referendum campaign.

Scottish Election in May
Independence referendum in September
To all intents and purposes, out by Christmas.

After 2020

And then I really am going to take a holiday.