On 30th March 1989 at the General Assembly Hall in Edinburgh, the first Scottish Constitutional Convention signed the Claim of Right for Scotland, which begins:
“We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine the form of Government best suited to their needs, and do hereby declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations their interests shall be paramount.”
On 30th November 1995, Scotland’s Parliament, Scotland’s Right was published by the Scottish Constitutional Convention, and this document, described as the “blueprint for devolution”, was used as a basis to create the structure of the Scottish Parliament, re-opened in 1999.
This survey is hoped to become the early voice of a Scottish Constitutional Convention for the 21st century, to be held before the referendum. (Poll results here suggest autumn 2012.) A Scottish Constitution may become the blueprint for an independent nation or, like the Claim of Right itself, a statement of values for our devolved nation. It is open to anyone, whichever way they may vote in autumn 2014.
This survey is not of any official character: not connected to either of the campaigns for or against Scottish independence, but was begun out of a belief that:
Whether Scotland becomes independent or remains a devolved part of the United Kingdom, we should have a Scottish Constitution and we should decide for ourselves what our Constitution should be.
This survey will remain open until 31st July 2012. The results of this survey will be published by 1st October 2012.
Update, 27th June – I have a last-minute place in the audience at this event tomorrow.
Now that the Scottish Parliament has committed itself to independence, and to the notion that sovereignty rests with the people, it is essential to consider what sort of state the people feel is desirable.
Enjoy a distinguished panel including Lesley Riddoch, Sally Foster-Fulton, Kate Higgins, Elliot Bulmer, Patrick Harvie, Ross Martin and Willie Sullivan at a Question Time style meeting to discuss the issues. Each speaker will outline the elements of a Scottish state that they feel are important; then there will be opportunities to put questions to the panel.
There will be blogging!