Ronnie Morrison: We need to change the relationship between the government and the governed

In Britain and America the voters have clearly demonstrated their contempt for those politicians representing the status quo to the extent that they are prepared to jump into uncharted waters rather than stick with a ship sailing towards a very dubious destination.

No one wants to be unpatriotic or disloyal to the UK, but to stick grimly with a team so clearly racing to the bottom will help no one. It is up to Scotland to demonstrate to its nervous unionists that it can and will do a better job on its own - and that remains very much unfinished business.

Measured in financial terms and billionaires the United Kingdom is still in the top half of the OECD list of developed Nations. In social terms it has been in decline since the sixties. America too has deteriorated. Once the envy of the world with its predominant white and blue collar middle class, it should by now have enjoyed prosperity for all its people across its significant racial divide. Instead it too is declining except in respect of its rotten and infamous military/industrial core.

There is a common factor here, but it becomes apparent only if we look beyond all the spin and empty words and appreciate that the vote to leave the EU and to elect Trump were both pure protests. No amount of talk and speculation about what might or might not happen should distract us from the simple fact that the voters want a complete change of leadership and direction. It is not about the Tories negotiating a hard or soft Brexit; it is not even about immigration or EU bureaucracy. Nor is it about the SNP’s inane posturing over remaining in the EU, sipping from the poisoned chalice of more devolution or providing baby boxes for all.

It is about a society dominated by a financial elite dictating to the 99% the kind of country we are to live in. Our leaders perceive technology exclusively as a means of cutting costs, being more competitive and increasing profits – not to shorten the working week and encourage leisure time. Noses must be kept to the grindstone under fear of job losses and even less public investment. So Big Brother repeats his message every hour, on the hour of every day through a compliant media assuring the lieges that the City of London and Wall Street lead the world in financial services and these will see us through. That message triumphs over any other because financial capitalism runs the political system which still trades under the banner of democracy.

Since the early sixties we have endured regular ‘financial crises’ each followed by the quack medicine of economic recession, unemployment and the closure of ‘uncompetitive’ industries. The response has been equally consistent – an artificially high rate of exchange controlled by the finance industry, a decline in real incomes and the glorification of making a profit from manipulating currencies.

The failure of governments on both sides of the Atlantic is grounded in the dogma that making money out of money is easier and just as effective as making it through productive enterprise and a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. Campaign funds and lobbyists may not recognize the difference, but everyone else does.

The problem is that the voters have rebelled but there is no government in waiting. In the States the mysterious Mr. Trump is yet to face the realities of a Congress and Senate still controlled by the forces of financial corruption and here in the UK it is hard to envisage any Tory Party ever being prepared to confront its demons in the City.

The nature of our present society provokes much fully justified criticism but all too often it lacks focus. It is money which fuels the democratic process and it is Big Banking which turns the tap on when it suits the Finance Industry and off when it does not. Government budgets are controlled by this financial criteria of which taxation is but one part – the bit which is honest and open and well understood. It is the other bit called Monetary Policy we need to worry about. That power resides with the Central Banks which remain secretive and mysterious. The Bank of England and the Fed are but the public face of the mega-banking cartel which really pulls the strings of government.

The finance industry is like the curate’s egg - good in parts. We need good insurance companies, pension funds, mortgage providers investment companies, savings banks and even honest moneylenders. We do not need speculative financial markets, derivatives and hedge funds and most of all, we do not need the monstrous megabanks which generate the unlimited credit (guaranteed by the taxpayer), and which floods into these disruptive global casinos.

We are now in the eighth year of the present financial crisis and still no light at the end of the tunnel. The offenders are well known but have not been brought to justice for the simple reason that our legislators have not changed the law. We have witnessed the farce of several official enquiries and there is not even the remotest sign of any effective new legislation. That will not be acceptable in an independent Scotland.

The brightly lit Titanic with the crème de la crème of the city, Wall Street, Washington and Westminster comfortably ensconced in First Class continues inexorably towards the iceberg of reality. In second class the SNP hierarchy enjoys the Holyrood suite in relative comfort and if these politicians were the only ones on board we should wish them God speed. Unfortunately the majority below decks will as always, be the ones to suffer.

When I first joined the SNP way back in the sixties the prospect of the Party enjoying virtual control of Holyrood for ten consecutive years and an overwhelming majority of Scottish seats at Westminster was a pipe dream. Holyrood was still a museum and we had just nicked the Stone of Destiny from under the noses of the Establishment. But we did believe that one day a simple majority at Westminster would secure our independence. I fear that spirit has been swallowed up by the Party Machine and succumbed to the complacency of establishment politics.

Nor can these fifty odd MPs in Westminster do anything to further the cause of independence, but by participating in the game they undermine the purpose of their existence. That is why Sinn Fein currently with only 25% of Northern Irish seats has never taken up its place in the Commons..

OK, that’s my big whinge for 2017 but where’s the New Year Resolution to fix it?

Bearing in mind that the whole of the UK is fed up with establishment politics, we need to change the relationship between the government and the governed and for starters that means ensuring that members of parliament represent our interpretation of our best interests and not their own or those of an army of lobbyists. Sovereignty must rest with the people all of the time – not just every four or five years and long after the damage has been done and written into history.

That means an effective Constitution, a Constitution, carefully and intelligently crafted which clearly lays down the powers of our MSPs individually and collectively. It will for instance, oblige them to act as our representatives and if one or more of their number should fail to do so, then they may be set aside and another representative appointed. That was the essence of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 which placed sovereignty with the people and not the King or anyone else – and it is that sane lack of any such accountability that sparked the majority vote which produced the Brexit/Trump/Farage, La Penne anti-establishment response.

We should not expect such an initiative to come from the present incumbents because as we have seen in Westminster a similar demand was so watered down in the 2015 Recall Act as to be totally ineffectual. It also means that many more of us must participate more deeply in the process of government – and particularly in the framing of this document.

Independence will not be reborn in the womb of a Scottish Parliament infected by the same complacency which dominates Westminster. It will need a strategy based upon change - not like the last time which was just the same old stuff dressed up in a kilt and you’ll not notice the difference. Change will mean some short term pain for long term gain – but it will be well worth it - just like parting with a rotten tooth or a grumbling appendix.

So a really effective recall mechanism would be a good start, and the next priority should be a built-in guarantee against the new National currency ever again falling into the hands of financial speculators and opportunists. A considerable body of work has already been done on this – more than enough to initiate a much overdue debate.

There is of course much more to a Constitution but if we consider just these two key points as a start then we can begin to build a picture of Scottish independence which would be worth voting for. It would be a much more credible platform than one littered with impossible promises and political hype.

The process has been started by a small independent think-tank http://www.scottishconstitution.scot/index.php/constitution Their draft Constitution would make a good start for anyone interested in participating in this initiative.

What we have not yet achieved is a credible non-governmental body which can draw all these threads together. There is the Reid Foundation and Common Weal to name but two, and it will be interesting to watch The Scottish Independence Convention. Each organisation has its own personalities and priorities and the challenge is to accommodate these under the umbrella of a credible focus group.