The Campaign for a Referendum on Scotland's Constitutional Future...
Ever since the creation of the Scottish Parliament, there have been calls for more powers for the parliament, and/or a referendum on Scotland's future regarding the Union and the possibility of Independence.
I don't want to get into a 'What's better?' debate over the Union or Independence, as this is covered extensively elsewhere, this is simply a campaign for a referendum on the issue, no matter your political persuasion. It has been shown on numerous occasions that a large majority of the Scottish people want a chance to vote on this issue, but the political parties feel the need to decide this very important issue for us!
THE PLAN - To get a group of like-minded individuals (Pro-Referendum) to act as a loosely-connected group through the use of this blog to bring attention to the campaign.
I know most of the people in Scotland want a chance to vote on this issue, and this campaign hopes to draw attention to that. I don't plan to 'take charge' of any of this, I'm simply going to put this out there and see what happens, in the hope it builds from the ground upwards. All of the 'details' here are changeable by anyone who has an opinion, be it from the amount of people involved, the type of involvement, to how the campaign itself is organised.
I am a frustrated ex-Labour party member, but am fed up with them (political parties) treating us (the people of Scotland) like fools who cannot make a decision for ourselves.
Despite the recent Wendy Alexander debacle, Labour as a whole still seem to point-blank refuse to support a referendum, as do the Lib Dems (which is amazing, given it seems neither Liberal nor Democratic to do so!) and the Conservatives are more tightly-lipped on the issue. Of the MSPs in Holyrood, only those in the SNP and the Green party support a referendum (and possibly Margo MacDonald), but they together make up an minority, and alone cannot get the legislation through parliament.
I am unsure at this moment in time as to how I would vote in a referendum, but what I do know is this; the people of Scotland want and deserve a chance to do so.
It is very difficult to get polling data on the particular area that I am interested in, which is the % of the population who want a referendum. I would be grateful if others could point me in the direction of data regarding this.
The only poll data I can find on this issue is from Independence First, which gives details of the ICM polls from the late 1990s. In this instance, whether a majority support Independence or the current devolution arrangement is irrelevant, the figure I'm interested in is the 'For a Referendum' column. This shows that 5 polls asked the question of the respondent of whether they think there should be a referendum held on this issue. The results of the 5 separate polls, held between June 1998 and February 1999, were as follows (FOR a referendum); 69%, 79%, 69%, 74% and 74%. The average of these polls show that 73% of respondents believe there SHOULD be a referendum held on Scotland's constitutional future.
This is why attention needs to be drawn to this democratic deficit...
HOW TO ACHIEVE THIS? - To collectively act in ways which require very little time or effort, but which catches media attention in a 'Flash Mob' style. For example, getting a large group of people to put a large 'X' on a blank piece of paper, adding the web address to it (www.democracyscotland.co.nr), then posting it to the same person/address (First Minister/Labour Leader?) on the same date. Each campaign should raise the profile of the campaign and thus help it grow exponentially. 2 minutes of your time at home, every couple of months is all I'm asking for in return. 'Stage 1' will be acted upon once 50 'pledges' have signed up to the campaign. If we get more than much more than 50, great, by all means keep adding your respective names to the list once the magical number of 50 has been breached.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO - Pledge to join the campaign, by CLICKING HERE and adding you name to the list (a pseudonym if you so wish), using the format; '1. name1', '2. name2', '3. name3' and so on, so each new person adding to the list is keeping a running tally of the total involved. Keep checking the site every few days to see whether we have breached the 'Stage 1' number, and we'll take it from there!
Spreading the word is the oxygen of any campaign, and we need YOUR help to do so. So, if you, like most people in Scotland, are 'Pro-Referendum' and have a blog or website, a mention of the campaign and/or a link to the site would be much appreciated. If not, then just tell people you know via email or good old-fashioned word of mouth!
Thanks in advance,
DS
P.S. CLICK HERE to pledge to join the campaign!
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