Articles by Henry McLeish
For the first time in nearly five years, the constitutional question is a live issue in Scottish politics. The stakes could not be higher. While the option of a second question remains open, we are still talking about a narrow debate involving the Union and the idea of independence. This has to change. We need to redefine Scotland’s role in the Union. As part of this, we have to acknowledge that time is limited. A new and better constitutional debate has to emerge before the end of the consultation period if the voice of the Scottish people is to be heard in London and Edinburgh. Early signs are not encouraging. The SNP launched the consultation with confidence and conviction, but already there are signs that the opposition parties, civic Scotland [...]
After five wasted years in which the SNP and Alex Salmond have dominated Scottish politics and the unionist parties have failed to take seriously the political and constitutional future of Scotland, there is now the prospect of a real debate on Scotland’s future. David Cameron’s “Westminster, we have a problem” moment is having the unintended consequence of ending the phoney war and giving both Labour and the Conservative a wake-up call after the seismic changes that have been taking place since May 2007. Failure to heed the warnings of the May 2007 and the 2011 Holyrood elections could have grave consequences. Time is running out to build and argue a case for keeping Scotland in the Union, especially at a time when the Conservative government at Westminster is becoming more [...]
The auld year was hardly ‘oot’ before the Tories and the right-wing media were urging us to suspend the awful reality of a soulless coalition government, deny the worst attack on our living standards for a generation and enjoy instead the prospect of the London Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee raising our national spirit and battered morale! Then we had the news that Mrs Thatcher, played by Meryl Streep, was to hit our movie screens in The Iron Lady at the same time as a debate was opening up about giving her a state funeral, despite the former PM being one of the most divisive figures in British political history. For Scots, this was not the best way to celebrate 2012! No one will disagree, though, with celebrating the [...]
In his new book, The soul of politics, published in the US, Jim Wallis, a new wave Christian intellectual, talks about the relationship between politics and morality being absolutely vital for the future and argues that “too many people are not making it and are being left behind. Neither the injustices built into our social system nor the irresponsibility this generates is tolerable any longer. Controlling the poor is not the only alternative to abandoning them”. Outlined in stark terms, he asks the question: “Is it possible to evoke in people a genuine desire to transcend our more selfish interests and respond to a larger vision that gives us a sense of purpose, direction, meaning and even community?” Though, speaking about the US, his comments could equally apply to Britain [...]
Taking control
Whether by accident or design, Cameron has boosted the argument for a bigger and better debate, outwith the narrow constraints of independence and no-change unionism, versus that for some form of enhanced home rule for Scotland.
First, he underlined that constitutional change is a process and killed off the idea that the status quo is a tenable political proposition. Second, Cameron has confirmed Scotland will get more powers, however ill-defined and coming in the form of a political bribe to cut the support for independence: you are never quite sure with Cameron whether what he says is based on opportunism or progressive thinking; either way, he will now be held to account for his remarks by the Scots.
Third, he acknowledged that saying ‘No’ to independence is not enough and will not sustain a campaign to a referendum, likely to be held in autumn 2014. Again, the PM prevaricates by pretending this new debate about powers has to be suppressed until independence is out of the way. It is hard to imagine Scots seeing the sense of this. What is really at stake here is a dangerous balancing act between the ambivalence of unionism towards the idea of sub-national government and any form of devolution, an addiction to the highly centralised state and the need to keep Westminster sovereignty intact on the one hand and, on the other, the growing fear of Scotland, anxiety about its increasing sense of identity and nation...
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