Robert Ingram: We have made new additions to our work on a Scots constitution

The transition period between the Yes vote and Independence Day will likely be at least two years, and during that period, preparations will need to be made to extend the powers held by the devolved government in Holyrood and the capacity of its civil service to include the powers and authorities currently reserved to the UK Government.

These “reserved matters” currently include the financial system, benefits and social security, broadcasting, constitution, defence, employment, equal opportunities, foreign policy, immigration, trade and industry, non-domestic rates etc. One key question is, can we financially afford to be a self-governing state again? The answer is – yes, of course we can. We are an affluent, resource-rich, country.

How would it work? The Scottish Government’s general bank account will be held by the Scottish Central Bank and the Scottish Treasury will issue general spending from this account – in accordance with the annual Budget, as authorised in advance by Parliament.

All financially independent nations have two sources of income for spending – mainly from all the familiar taxes and duties arising from a buoyant economy. Less well-known is the benefit arising from creating “new” money, both as cash and credit. This is something only governments with their own currency can do, but it is a double-edged sword.

If the new money is used to create productive employment and national assets, it increases the overall wealth on the country. But if the new money is spent to bail out banks, subsidise financial markets and monopolies, then it simply dilutes the money in circulation and we have inflation. The evidence is not far to seek at this time.

These numbers happen even in genuine cases of emergency – like the billions paid out over the Covid pandemic, when diluting the currency to keep people alive was perfectly proper.

Monetary policy can be a wonderful tool for government, but it will also corrupt if not open to intense public scrutiny and accountability.

So, following years in development, the Scottish Currency Group has evolved a programme which embraces this entire spectrum, from the national currency and financial regulation in Scotland to state pensions and business ethics. There will be no excuse for being caught out next time – see Article 8 of the draft Constitution for Scotland for further options on currency and banking.

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However, before we return to being a self-governing sovereign state again, we will need to set out comprehensive policies defining all areas of governance, covering both currently devolved and reserved powers.

Initially, our elected representatives are unlikely to have the experience or collective in-depth knowledge required to formulate the legislation for all these needed policies. With Project Fear being ramped up again by the Unionists, we will be hearing the same old scare stories that Scots cannot handle self-governance. Well, we governed ourselves for more than 800 years before the 1707 Treaty of Union, and for much of the past 300 years it was Scottish universities that provided a major portion of the administrators for the British Empire.

Let's put a wee bit of thought into this. After all, we have plenty of able thinkers and entrepreneurs in Scotland, and only recently the Scottish Government showed considerable initiative in the use of a Citizens’ Assembly. The resulting proposals, set out in a comprehensive report, were impressive.

So why doesn’t the Scottish Government enlist the assistance of several Citizens’ Assemblies or equivalents, each with a brief to research and develop, then report on identified policies within a specified timescale?

By such means, the extensive knowledge of a wide range of citizens, many with international as well as home-based experience on social, economic, academic, commercial, diplomatic, defence, and environmental issues etc, can be harnessed and fed into the legislative process to achieve a forward-thinking and progressive Scotland.

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These matters will affect the future of Scotland, yet currently there appears to be little published about the planning for the work required between a Yes vote and the election of Scotland’s first independent Parliament.

This situation requires urgent attention, and the Constitution for Scotland website is providing three new Articles X3, X4, and X5 for you to provide suggestions and proposals for achieving the smooth transition that we will need.

www.constitutionforscotland.scot is a registered Scottish charity with the aim of advancing participative democracy within the community of Scotland. You can join more than 14,000 visitors, read more than 1000 comments, and participate in preparing a constitution for Scotland. Many people post comments and amendments and vote on this interactive website. So why not join in and have your say in how you think an independent Scotland should be governed?

To interested groups, the Constitution for Scotland team offers a guest speaker introduction, demonstration and Q&A session within their own Zoom meetings. Please contact info@constitutionforscotland.scot to arrange.