Trying to figure out WTF is going on There are three important dates in the history of the Scottish Parliament. Two are in the past. The third is yet to come. The three years in this timeline are 1707, 1999, and another - which we can only hope will be 2026. Strike that! Hope is not enough! We must act to make the 2026 Scottish general election the democratic event which restores to the Scottish Parliament the status of the national Parliament of Scotland. 1707In 1707 the Scottish Parliament was sold to England and absorbed into the Parliament of England. The intent fully realised in 1707 was to award England a huge and perpetual advantage relative to Scotland. The aim was to make England stronger by making Scotland weaker - and ensuring Scotland was never able to alter that grotesque imbalance of power. In terms of parliamentary powers, this meant the members elected for constituencies in Scotland would always be outnumbered by around ten to one. The parliament of England (plus annexed territories) eventually became the British parliament. The change was cosmetic. It remained the parliament of England, with annexed territories having token representation. This remains the case today. In reality, there is no such thing as a Scottish MP. MPs from Scotland or any part of the periphery can only ever be British MPs - because they are elected to the parliament of England-as-Britain. The longer they sit in the parliament of England-as-Britain, the more they become British MPs. If they achieve high office it is only because they have become British MPs. Contrary to the claim that there have been many Scottish Prime Ministers, there has never been a Prime Minister who was Scottish in any sense other than happening to have been elected in Scotland. They were all British. They would not be there if they weren't. The Scottish Parliament was captured in 1707 and has been held captive ever since. 1999In 1999, after decades of campaigning in Scotland, the British returned the Scottish Parliament. But what they returned was a parliament defanged on a tight leash. It was the Scottish Parliament. But in no sense was it the Parliament of Scotland. What was returned us was a small, thin, deformed husk of the parliament which was taken from us in 1707. It was recognised as the stolen parliament returned by Winnie Ewing, who famously said in her opening address:
The Scottish National Party (SNP), then the unquestioned 'party of independence', also tacitly recognises the 'new' parliament as the 'old' parliament reconvened. The party's constitution states as it's main aim (emphasis added):
The SNP's participation in the devolved parliament implies - at the very least - that this is the parliament to which they want "full powers" restored. The devolved Scottish Parliament is certainly a mere executive arm of Westminster. But only because the colonising power has deemed it so. It is the Parliament of Scotland. But it has been reduced to a subsidiary status by the imposed English doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty - meaning the parliament of England-as-Britain. What we have in the devolved Scottish Parliament is our ancient parliament absent its teeth and securely bound by the Scotland Act. In order to make it once again the national Parliament of Scotland subject only to the sovereign people of Scotland and not some foreign parliament, we must put its teeth back in and break the shackles that hobble it. 2026?The next significant date in the history of the Scottish Parliament will be when we, the people of Scotland, give it back it's teeth and remove the choke-chain held in the grasping hand of jealous Britannia. The next opportunity we have to do this is the Scottish general election in 2026. We can only safely assume that this will be our final opportunity. It would be an amusing understatement to say that it is important we get this right. Restoring "full powers to the Scottish Parliament, so that its authority is limited only by the sovereign power of the people of Scotland to bind it with a written constitution and by such agreements as it may freely enter into with other nations or states or international organisations…" will necessarily and rather obviously require that we break the rules that bind Scotland to England-as-Britain in a manner indistinguishable from the way a colony is bound by the coloniser. We can expect that England-as-Britain will resist. Therefore, we would be wise to consider carefully which rule(s) we break and how we go about it. The most effective way of restoring fangs and freedom to the devolved (constrained) Scottish Parliament is for it to assert legislative competence in matters relating to the constitution. Having powers in relation to the constitution means having powers over everything. Asserting legislative competence in matters relating to the Union is a de facto unilateral declaration of independence (UDI). But stating the immediate purpose of asserting legislative competence as facilitating the free and full exercise of our right of self-determination makes it a human rights issue. By taking the moral and legal high ground of defending a fundamental human right, we make any legal challenge problematic for the British state. It is safe to assume that either there would be no challenge, or that we would win the case. We then proceed to a proper constitutional referendum on a proposal to dissolve the Union and restore Scotland's independence. The most effective way of restoring fangs and freedom to the devolved (constrained) Scottish Parliament is for it to assert legislative competence in matters relating to the constitution. In terms of the history of the Scottish Parliament, it is asserting legislative competence in bold and resolute defiance of the British state that is the significant moment. That is the moment the devolved Scottish Parliament ceases to exist and reverts to being the true national Parliament of Scotland. The parliament of a soon-to-be independent Scotland. But this will not happen unless the independence movement acts to make it happen. We have to be able to demonstrate mass support for a demand that the nominally pro-independence parties commit to specified action within a defined time-frame. If we do not, the next five years will be nothing more than a continuation of the nominally pro-independence MSPs sitting comfortably in the devolved Scottish Parliament still lacking teeth and still tightly leashed. The opportunity will be lost. By taking the moral and legal high ground of defending a fundamental human right, we make any legal challenge problematic for the British state. 2026!If we are to seize the opportunity offered by the 2026 election, we need to be clever, bold, and determined. A bit more clever and a lot more bold and determined than any of the nominally pro-independence parties. It is up to the independence movement to impress on these parties that the 2026 election cannot be a de facto referendum on independence because we cannot sensibly have a referendum on something that cannot be delivered. We have to 'get them telt' that the first thing is to secure a means of exercising our right of self-determination. Be very clear that the issue in 2026 is self-determination and not independence. Be very clear also that these two things are not the same. If we are not clear about this, Scotland's cause loses. We must also teach the nominally pro-independence parties that an election does not become a referendum just because Kenny MacAskill clicks his heels three times saying 'there's no place like Holyrood'. If an inherently non-binary election is to work as a necessarily binary referendum then a binary element must be introduced to the election. The #ScottishUDI plan provides this binary element by the (theoretically) simple device of having all the (former) nominally pro-independence parties adopt an identical commitment to action on the constitutional issue in the first year of the new parliament. Be very clear that the issue in 2026 is self-determination and not independence. When all the pro-independence parties have adopted the same Manifesto for Independence, all votes for any of these parties is demonstrably and unequivocally a vote for that manifesto commitment. Independence ceases to be the electioneering device and party-political football that it has become. Be very clear that the aim of the Manifesto for Independence is to acquire a mandate for the Scottish Parliament to assert the legislative competence needed to legislate for a proper constitutional referendum on a proposal to dissolve the Union and restore Scotland's independence. This is how we make the 2026 election the last to be held for a parliament made less by the British state. Just as Scotland is made less. Just as everyone in Scotland is made less. We will always be less until we take back our government, then take back our parliament so we can take back our nation! You're currently a free subscriber to Peter A Bell. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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Monday, 23 June 2025
1707! 1999! 2026?
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