AS a voter, I’m proud to remember (even some of) the women in Scotland who went before, fighting for the right to vote; the likes of Ethel Moorhead, considered the Scottish leader of the suffragettes despite the fact that there was no unified movement, no appointed leader. But a movement that had spread across the whole of Scotland.
Rather it was her antics and reputation that “won” her that title. She and Dorothea Lynas or Smith were arrested for house-breaking and attempted fire-raising pre-1914.
Another was Catherine Taylor, not identified until 2003 as the person who in 1913 had got into the grandstand at the Ayr Racecourse and set it on fire. This was one of the fire bombings attributed to suffragettes, but in this instance no-one was ever identified or prosecuted. It wasn’t until 2003 that new investigations revealed her identity; a working woman, a cinema cashier from the Gorbals.
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Catherine’s actions were apparently known to her family and very close friends, so this was truly support and solidarity in action. Had she been identified she would have been arrested and most certainly imprisoned, and who knows, there might have been a call for damages, around £2,000 in those days!
But there were so many more, recognised, and forgotten. Can we let them down after their sacrifices, their actions? Can we afford not to register? Can we afford not to vote?
So fast forward to today and surely we have reasons to be proud of Scotland since as of February 20 2020, voting rights have been extended in Scottish Parliament and local government elections with the passing of the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Bill. The bill extends voting rights to all foreign nationals with leave to remain, including all those granted refugee status.
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It must also be celebrated that “this legislation also ensures that Scotland complies with the European Convention on Human Rights when it comes to the issue of prisoner voting, by making provision for the franchise to be extended to those serving a custodial sentence of 12 months or less.”
And the younger generation, our future? Yes! Aged 16 years or over on the day of the poll, they too can vote.
Also recognised with the right to vote are “British or Irish citizens, or a Commonwealth citizen, who has leave to remain in the UK or who does not require leave to remain in the UK, or a citizen of another European Union country, or a qualifying foreign citizen, who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need such permission.’
There is now talk emanating from Westminster and the Tories that some additional form of ID may be required to vote in the future; a passport, birth certificate perhaps, or the need to establish the right of residency. A retrograde step that was discriminatory but challenged and overcome in the past.
There is still time to register to vote, or encourage someone else to do so. We can’t continue being governed by those we do not elect. Nor can we allow our votes to be disregarded in an unequal Union – very undemocratic processes.
Those who went before us knew the power of the vote. They spoke, they acted. We will not change the status quo unless we act, and our vote is our act.
If not for Covid, Edinwfi and all of the grassroots Indy movement would be ootnaboot urging folks: please register, or encourage someone you know not yet registered to do so: how to register to vote by April 19 2021 at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
Selma Rahman
Edinburgh
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