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Remember, remember ... - November 2011

In 1605, the man who gave us a very good excuse to add a bit of sparkle to an otherwise frequently dark and dreich November, was found sitting on a pile of gunpowder, whiling away the hours until he could light the fuse which would send parliament sky high.

Unhappy with the anti-Catholic stance of Edinburgh-born King James I and VI (1st of England and Ireland; 6th of Scotland), Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, planned to blow up the Protestant King and his parliament and replace him with a Catholic monarch. The plot as we all know failed and we’ve continued to celebrate every year since on November 5.

When first questioned by the King’s Privy Chamber, Fawkes said his reason for having so much gunpowder was “to blow you Scotch beggars back to your native mountains.”

Now, more than 400 years later, a Scottish influence continues to have a bearing on the future shape of the parliament – hopefully in a much less explosive way.

The Scottish Affairs Committee has launched two new inquiries relating to a potential referendum on Separation for Scotland.

The first inquiry will focus on the processes and mechanics by which such a referendum would be organised and conducted and the Committee is currently gathering input for this. In particular it has indicated that it would welcome submissions on the following questions:

  • Which jurisdiction should conduct such a referendum and what is the legal and/or moral basis for such a determination?
  • How should such a referendum be initiated e.g. should it be via provision in the Scotland Bill?
  • What should be the process for determining the timing of a referendum?
  • How should the eligibility criteria for voting in such a referendum be determined?
  • What is the role of the UK Government, the Scottish Government/Executive and the Electoral Commission in the process?
  • What lessons can be learned for the process of conducting a referendum from the experience of other referenda in the UK, including the March 2011 referendum for the devolution of further law making powers to the Welsh Assembly Government?

Deadline for the initial written evidence from anyone or any organisation which would like to get involved in the inquiry is November 18. Anyone wishing to submit written evidence after that date may be able to do so if they contact Committee staff directly.

The second inquiry has set out to identify those issues which will need to be resolved before a referendum is held in order to allow voters to make an informed choice.  Within this, Michael Moore MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, has identified six areas which need to be clarified:

  • Bank regulation
  • Pension payments
  • The national currency
  • Membership of international organisations
  • Scotland’s defences
  • Costs of Separation

Digging deeper into this, the SAC inquiry will look at any matters that need clarification amongst these broad themes and also what additional issues need to be resolved or clarified in advance of a referendum.

First deadline for initial written responses to this inquiry is November 11 although further written evidence may be accepted after this date with the agreement of committee staff.

  • Emailed submissions should be in Word or rich text format and sent to scotaffcom@parliament.uk. Submissions should not be in pdf format. The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address.  The e-mail should also make clear who the submission is from.
  • Submissions must address the terms of the inquiry and should not, as a rule, exceed 2,000 words.  Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document should include an executive summary.
  • Information on the Committee’s future meetings is available on the What’s On section of the Scottish Affairs Committee homepage.

Moving towards Separation would be a major step for Scotland, impacting on all of us. The Committee has said that the pros and cons of taking that step need to be considered rationally as well as emotionally.

There will undoubtedly be a few fireworks along the way, whatever decision is reached but the important thing is that people – whether individuals or businesses – take the opportunity to contribute to the debate.

Of course there is also the thorny issue of the precise question to be asked in any referendum, as the answer you get depends to a great extent on the question which is asked. This is the most likely cause of the first fireworks.