Duncan Hamilton: Give Scots their say – and not just on independence

Published on Saturday 21 November 2009 20:00

The world is full of examples of more direct democracy

SO WHAT is the difference between last week's Queen's Speech and the new nuclear submarine that arrived on the Clyde on Friday? Yes, you've guessed it – only one of them can fairly be described as "Astute". More later of the new Astute class of submarines. But first to the shambolic relaunch of the good ship Brown. The opposition called for the Queen's Speech to be cancelled – aren't they glad no-one listened?

For what opposition party wouldn't welcome the announcement of a legislative programme that covers such an unrivalled spectrum of incompetence? The opposition were spoilt for choice. Should they attack the programme as essentially non-existent, given that most of it will never happen? Should they ridicule the absurdity of measures such as parents suing schools? Or should they highlight the total pointlessness of measures such as legislating to halve the budget deficit – a power already in the Chancellor's gift? It was like someone had handed Gordon Brown the starting pistol for the general election campaign and had forgotten to tell him the safety catch was off and he was aiming at his foot.

For Scotland, there was the "almost, maybe, never" launch of a bill seeking to legislate for the proposals of the Calman Commission, which I am convinced most people now think has something to do with west coast ferries. Allow me to mock, for this was meant to be Labour at its most radical – and instead we got a promise of a white paper. So no change to the Labour strategy – promise just enough to keep the Nationalist dogs at bay and then boot any prospect of genuine reform into the longest grass available.

But now, of course, we have a Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government. So, rather than just raging against the machine in London, maybe the publication of a white paper can be seen as a gift to the campaign for a referendum in Scotland. For, despite the best efforts of Iain Gray and Tavish Scott, there will now be a developed set of proposals contained in a properly constructed white paper with Her Majesty's Government's stamp on it.

Doesn't that allow the Scottish Government simply to add a question to the ballot asking whether, as an alternative to independence, Scottish voters support the proposals laid out in that white paper?

Calman will now finally be in a form capable of being accepted or rejected – ideal for a Scottish referendum. It will be drafted by a Labour government and supported by the Lib Dems in London. Would Iain Gray really vote down a bill offering the chance to support his own government's white paper?

Even the Tories will struggle to avoid supporting the white paper. Certainly, when asked to support the proposals on Newsnight, David Mundell, MP, for the Tories, looked like he was trying to swallow his own tongue rather than say "yes", but, assuming he survived, he has nowhere to go on this.

Such referendum musings take us back to the arrival in Scotland of Astute, the Royal Navy's biggest and most powerful attack submarine. This new class of submarines are part of a plan for the continuation of nuclear weapons on the Clyde. Consider that as an example of where the UK government is massively out of step with Scottish public opinion. Can it be right that in a 21st century defined by the information age and packed full of technical advance, there is no mechanism for public opposition other than a general election?

Let's go back a week. Another by-election with a pathetic turnout. Every party agreed that the lack of participation really was a great shame. But, yet again, no party offered to do anything radical.

The alienation between those taking decisions and those affected by them is ever widening. Yet the world is full of examples of more direct democracy – from Switzerland to California. About 30 of the US states have aspects of citizen-initiated governance, and most of those are bigger than Scotland. The size of Scotland should make such initiatives eminently possible. The scale of voter alienation should make it a priority.

And so back to referendums. The Scottish Parliament, mindful of its founding principles – openness, accountability, power-sharing – should develop a mechanism to facilitate regular national referendums. Like all snapshots of national opinion, those would never be technically binding, but they would always be persuasive.

And maybe it is time for this Scottish Government to champion referendums on matters other than the constitution. Not because it doesn't matter any more, but because there is a danger that the Scottish Government starts to be portrayed as interested in that exercise in direct democracy simply as a vehicle for its own priorities, and not in the other areas where Scots also want a voice. Develop the means for regular national plebiscites on a range of subjects – whether the euro, nuclear weapons, climate change, immigration or tax – and show that the desire for an independence referendum is driven by a core belief in the sovereignty of the people. In doing so, create a culture of sharing power with the people and establish the precedent for referendums on matters of importance, regardless of whether they are devolved or reserved.

The argument for a referendum on the constitution should never be allowed to become "that the SNP wants one". It should always be about the right of the people to be heard. The Scottish Government should not champion an independence referendum as an exceptional circumstance. Rather, it should regard regular national plebiscites as an essential part of government in the 21st century.