Proposal

Believe in Scotland is the national umbrella organisation for grassroots campaigns for Scottish independence. We exist to reach out to undecided voters and to help coordinate, fund and support the needs of the grassroots independence movement on a local and national level.

Believe in Scotland is effectively a coalition of 142 affiliated grassroots local and national Independence Groups (IGs) spanning the whole of Scotland. Fully democratic and inclusive, it is managed by a National Campaign Steering Group (NCSG), consisting of elected representatives from 15 regions across Scotland and representatives from national campaigning groups. The second round of elections to the NCSG took place in August/September 2023. Representatives are elected by the local Yes Groups in each of our regions.

Representatives from national organisations have been chosen internally by each national organisation. Believe in Scotland hosts the Scottish Independence Congress every year for all IGs to attend and a Mini Congress four times a year.

This ensures that Believe in Scotland has democratic participation at the core of the organisation. Believe in Scotland, first and foremost, is an organisation whose members wish to find a way to build a better Scotland. Our core belief is that the best way to govern Scotland, and to improve the wellbeing of our nation, is for decisions that affect Scotland to be made in Scotland, by a government elected by the people that live in Scotland. Scotland’s wellbeing is therefore intrinsically and inescapably linked to Scotland becoming an independent state.

Believe in Scotland, first and foremost, is an organisation whose members wish to find a way to build a better Scotland.

Believe in Scotland, first and foremost, is an organisation whose members wish to find a way to build a better Scotland. Our core belief is that the best way to govern Scotland, and to improve the wellbeing of our nation, is for decisions that affect Scotland to be made in Scotland, by a government elected by the people that live in Scotland. Scotland’s wellbeing is therefore intrinsically and inescapably linked to Scotland becoming an independent state.

We champion the cause of rejecting neoliberalism and its addiction to economic growth at all costs. We campaign for Scotland to adopt a Wellbeing Economic Approach, one that understands that quality of life, equality, fairness, happiness and health are all economic outcomes that should be given equal weight to economic growth. Those are the values Believe in Scotland, first and foremost, is an organisation whose members wish to find a way to build a better Scotland.

If you have any more questions, see the FAQs on our website’s About us page.

This proposal has been approved and is offered for consideration by the members of the Believe in Scotland National Campaign Steering Group (NCSG) listed below.

• Mid Scotland (Jacqui Jensen, Iain MacEchern)
• Argyll & Bute (Chris Sagan, Kevin Johnstone)
• Fife (Julian Smith, Lorna Ross)
• Scottish Borders (Stewart Dickson, Cecelia Clegg)
• Angus (Alistair Ballantyne, Ruth Watson)
• Orkney (Mike Robertson)
• Edinburgh & Lothians (Angi Maxwell, Stewart Kerr-Brown)
• Dumfries & Galloway (Ruth Ritchie, June Hay)
• Glasgow (Adrian Doherty, Bob Furness) • Central Scotland (Deborah Sheppard)
• Inverclyde (Irene McLeod) • South Lanarkshire (Vikki Cameron)
• Ayrshire (James Dippie, Joseph Hopkins)
• Grampians/Aberdeen (Kenny Lochrie, Andy Stuart)
• Highlands/Moray (Peadar Morgan)
• Christians for Independence (Gareth Morgan)
• National Yes Network (Sharon Trish)
• Yes for EU (David Spacey, Morag Williamson)
• Pensioners for Independence (Alan Logue, Mary McCabe)
• Business for Scotland (Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp)

Given the Supreme Court’s blocking of the Scottish Government’s referendum legislation and the extremely low probability of Westminster agreeing to a referendum of any sort, the path to independence is unclear. It seems that none of the leading pro-independence political parties have a solution to this constitutional roadblock.

In early 2023, Believe in Scotland (BiS) published a document called the Route to Independence. This suggested, amongst other things, that the Scottish Government (then an SNP/Green coalition) should create a new Convention on Independence and prepare to use the next General Election as a de facto Referendum. The SNP conference eventually passed a motion that included the idea of a Convention to engage civic Scotland but as with their conference’s 2020 motion to start such an organisation, no progress was made.

Believe in Scotland, has concluded that a Citizens’ Convention is the best solution to unblock the constitutional logjam and also to co-create an inspiring vision for an independent Scotland

BiS Scottish Independence Congress (SIC) on the 22nd of November 2023 was attended by delegates representing 142 Yes Groups and there was a general consensus calling for BiS to seek to take the lead in establishing a Constitutional Convention on behalf of the independence movement. It was suggested that this Convention might follow a similar path to the Scottish Constitutional Convention that led to Scottish Devolution.

Following a period of consultation and research into Constitutional Conventions, Citizens’ Assemblies and other policy engagement programmes (see Appendix 3 for summary), BiS has concluded that a Citizens’ Convention is the best solution to unblock the constitutional logjam and also to co-create an inspiring vision for an independent Scotland that will move support into an unassailable lead in the polls.

The independence movement blossomed during the 2014 referendum campaign but very quickly following the result, it became too political, focussed on policy debate, and not on the hopes and dreams of the people. Believe in Scotland, has concluded that a Citizens’ Convention is the best solution to unblock the constitutional logjam and also to co-create an inspiring vision for an independent Scotland

A key goal of the Citizens Convention will be to form a deep understanding of how independence relates not just to hopes and dreams but also to people’s daily concerns, so that we can provide relevant solutions to their everyday problems. In short, it will refocus the conversation on independence away from the echo chambers of social media and onto a genuine and far-reaching inclusive national conversation. This will reconnect the independence movement with the needs of the people. A Citizens Convention means everyone will be heard on this new road to an independent Scotland.

In early 2024 BiS approached both parties of the Scottish Government asking them to work with us to create a plan for a convention route to independence. Jamie Hepburn MSP, then Minister for Scottish Independence, and Ross Greer MSP, the constitutional spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, led on behalf of their respective organisations. Significant progress was made and an outline plan agreed after several meetings (some of which happened after the dissolution of the Bute House Agreement). At the Believe in Scotland march and rally on April 20th 2024, former First Minister Humza Yousaf MSP announced that the three organisations were working in partnership to design a convention.

The Convention plan is designed with the goal of giving independence a higher purpose beyond politics

The next step was for wider engagement within the two political parties and for BiS to share the plans throughout the independence movement. However, following the confirmation of John Swinney MSP as First Minister and the calling of the General Election for 4th July, all work on this convention project by the political parties has been suspended. Believe in Scotland considered that this work was far too important to suspend for any length of time and have completed work building upon the initial discussions, so that momentum is not completely lost.

Several major organisations from civic Scotland, non-partisan think tanks and union officials have already been approached informally and have indicated that their organisations could join a Citizens’ Convention but not a dedicated Independence Convention, as they are required to remain neutral on the constitutional question.

BiS now presents this plan for a Citizens’ Convention for consideration and open discussion. It has the goal of creating a vision for a better Scotland by engaging the people of Scotland and capturing global best practices to inform the independence movement and pro-independence political parties.

The Convention plan is designed with the goal of giving independence a higher purpose beyond politics, by engaging the population on the topic of independence in a totally non-party-political way. The design is a combination of systems thinking for social construct change and includes the thinking on citizens’ democracy and wellbeing economics which must sit at the heart of the independence cause.

The outcome of the Citizens’ Convention will be a new vision for Scotland, based on the Scottish people’s hopes and dreams and ambition for a better Scotland. That vision then becomes a challenge to all political parties in Scotland and both governments of Scotland to deliver. We suggest that there is zero possibility of the recommendations of the Citizens’ Convention being able to be implemented through any form of government other than full independence for Scotland.

Thus, without being called into dispute by the Supreme Court ruling, the Convention offers a path to independence that can be funded by the Scottish Government. If unionist politicians are to try to block the proposals being adopted by the Scottish Government, then they will have to vote against the will of the Scottish people.

Until now, Westminster has simply been saying ‘no’ to a political party but the language and style of the Citizens’ Convention will not be party-political; it will be plain speaking, engaging, inspiring and creative. It will be a turning point, not just for the constitutional question, but in answer to the question: What would a nation that was truly invested in the wellbeing of its people, environment and economy, and fit for the challenges of the 21st century, look like?

The Scottish Government maintains a mandate for a referendum on Scottish independence from its victory in the 2021 Scottish parliamentary elections. Indeed, there is a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament. However, it is clear that the referendum route to independence is closed for the immediate future, regardless of how undemocratic the Westminster parties’ stance may be.

The Conservative Government agreed to a referendum in 2014 only because they believed they would win. The new Labour Government won’t agree to a second referendum as they know they would lose. Ironically, their best chance of maintaining the union through a referendum would be to offer one now under the Section 30 route whilst the SNP are on the back foot.

…there is a path to independence available to us that is better than a referendum.

However, there are other routes to independence and without ruling out a referendum at some point in the process, there is a path to independence available to us that could end up better than a referendum. SNP politicians often referred to a referendum as the gold standard on how to deliver independence. However, what is most dangerous to the union is the year-long (at least) democratic engagement process in the lead up to a referendum vote, not just the vote itself. This paper proposes that we can have that national conversation in a far more inclusive and productive way, ahead of a potential de facto independence referendum.

A future paper will consider the process of Scotland becoming an independent nation following a de facto referendum, the probable form of negotiations with the Government of the remainder of the UK and supranational bodies such as the EU and UN. It will also consider the likely arrangements for a transition period before independence takes effect.

Delivering independence via a new style Citizens’ Convention

When an opponent puts an obstacle in your path they are unintentionally showing you the path they most fear that you will take. Westminster isn’t just blocking a referendum vote, it is blocking the core social engagement process that a referendum entails. That is what the independence cause most requires: a new national conversation on how to create a better Scotland through the powers of independence.

The Scottish Government doesn’t need a referendum to engage the people of Scotland. It can do so in a way that creates a cultural shift, as well as an increase in ambition for, and confidence in, our nation. This can move independence support to unassailable levels. We can have that national conversation now and we certainly do not need Westminster’s permission to do so. We can create a new vehicle, a new style Citizens’ Convention with a goal of ‘Creating a Better Scotland’, and with a focus on a transition to “A Wellbeing Economic Approach”.

We can create a new vehicle, a new style Citizens’ Convention with a goal of ‘Creating a Better Scotland’

The Citizens’ Convention would engage the people of Scotland, civic Scotland, charities, campaigns, unions, churches and think tanks and more, bringing them together to create a plan for a better Scotland. Such organisations in initial conversations have indicated that they could not join a convention solely based on independence but could join a Citizens’ Convention for a better Scotland such as we have suggested.

The Citizens’ Convention will also seek submissions on global best practices from Governments and academic experts. This process will signal to the world that Scotland is planning for independence and will soon seek their recognition.

The Citizens’ Convention can ask the Scottish people to help design a better future for their nation, to share their hopes, dreams and aspirations for Scotland, because when we help the people co-create a shared story of a better Scotland – that will become Scotland’s national mission.

There has never been a truly open and democratic engagement exercise that maps the Scottish people’s core social values and captures their hopes, dreams and ambitions for Scotland’s future. The Scottish Independence referendum in 2014 came the closest to providing that but it was essentially still a political policy debate led process.

However, the grassroots independence movement independently of the official Yes Campaign and politicians created a national conversation that moved the polls from approximately 27% to 45% for Scottish independence. That said, the 2014 case for independence, and the manifesto “Scotland’s Future”, was overly politicised. The process stifled the cultural groundswell that was happening in spite of, rather than because of, the official campaign.

It is telling that following that period of mass engagement, independence has not risen dramatically in the polls, due to its connection to politics, despite the unpopularity of Boris Johnson’s premiership, Brexit, Liz Truss and Partygate.

The issue of the constitution is the dividing line in Scottish politics and will remain so. Despite the loss of the majority of its Westminster representatives in the July General Election, the SNP remains in Government in Scotland and independence remains the constitutional choice of around 50% of the Scottish population.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the issue of the Constitution is beyond the powers of the Scottish Government. Not only does that mean that Holyrood cannot legislate for an independence referendum, it means it would not be able to fund an Independence Convention. That is to say a Convention that considers independence as the only constitutional option.

The Convention would make recommendations accordingly in its final report, which would constitute a plan for a better Scotland

However, the Labour controlled Welsh Government set a precedent for considering independence by setting up an ‘Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales’ in 2021. It actively considered all of Wales’ constitutional options, including independence, which it concluded in its final report was a workable option for Wales.

We have no doubt that The Scottish Citizens’ Convention ought to be legally allowed to have the option to consider the opportunities for implementation of the agreed strategy for creating a better Scotland, against the constitutional options available to Scotland. The Convention ought to be allowed to make recommendations accordingly in its final report considering the constitutional implications of the plan for a better Scotland.

However, Westminster’s blocking of a second referendum is highly undemocratic; it is probable that they would ignore the precedent set by Wales in terms of its ability to consider all constitutional options, and would try to establish a different set of rules for Scotland. If this were the case then the independence movement, as represented by Believe in Scotland, and the pro-independence political parties, should take on the task of considering The Convention would make recommendations accordingly in its final report, which would constitute a plan for a better Scotland 18 and communicating the constitutional issues and recommendations following the report’s publication. This means that the Scottish Government cannot be blocked from funding the Citizens’ Convention by Westminster and its role does not come under the Supreme Court ruling limiting the Scottish Government’s powers.

The constitutional challenge

Once the plan for a better Scotland has been crafted at the behest of the Scottish people and civic Scotland, the challenge for all political parties is to explain how they can best deliver the plan. They will need to explain how their favoured constitutional settlement either facilitates or hinders the creation of that better Scotland, which now forms the nation’s mission.

The Convention’s finished plan will represent nothing less than the hopes and dreams of the Scottish people for a better Scotland. It will be based on the input of citizens and civic organisations, informed by global best practice. Believe in Scotland considers there to be zero possibility of such an ambitious plan being delivered by any constitutional options other than full independence for Scotland.

The Convention’s finished plan will represent nothing less than the hopes and dreams of the Scottish people for a better Scotland.

If taken up by the Scottish Parliament as a priority, the Citizens’ Convention can open the door to using the Scottish Parliamentary Elections in 2026 as a de facto referendum, with the highest possible probability of independence winning. However, without this level of engagement and the co-creation of a new vision for Scotland, a de facto referendum would be harder to win.

This plan does not mean that independence campaigning should pause or even slow down. It suggests that activities should increase and be focussed along the non-party-political, cultural and values-led approach of Believe in Scotland. BiS and its affiliated groups sometimes feel they have been fighting a rearguard action keeping independence support high whilst support for the SNP has declined. That’s not

It’s a little understood fact amongst politically active people that most people tend to find politics really boring. Political tribalism and limited thinking reduces everything to soundbites and makes long term problem solving almost impossible on a national scale. Scotland becoming independent is seen as a party political position but it shouldn’t be. It’s a constitutional position, it’s about optimising the systems of governance of a nation. Politics shouldn’t be anywhere near the constitutional question.

This is because any party, of any colour, running Scotland for the benefit of Scotland’s people, communities, economy and environment, will be infinitely better than London rule because Scotland’s problems are better understood by people who understand Scotland.

No political party can deliver independence on its own, nor a wellbeing economy. Both must come from the people because politicians don’t create waves, they ride them.

Therefore, the addiction to political leadership in the independence movement is a huge problem and limits its progress. No political party can deliver independence on its own, nor a wellbeing economy. Both must come from the people because politicians don’t create waves, they ride them. The nature of tribal politics means that it’s divisive, more about power and survival, rather than the need to manage generational systems change in the face of a pending environmental and neoliberal economic disaster.

All political parties have an overriding goal of winning elections. Political thinking is therefore focussed on being seen to take action rather than actually solving the systemic problems that undermine society, economy and environment. In a nutshell, to address Scotland’s problems we need to apply long term holistic systems thinking and not tick box short-termism. No political party can deliver independence on its own, nor a wellbeing economy. Both must come from the people because politicians don’t create waves, they ride them. 20 Systems thinking transcends the quick fixes of political thinking and sources longer term systemic solutions. Politicians tend to address symptoms and not the fundamental causes of societal problems. This means we get policies that often generate a false expectation of relief but cause long term worsening of the underlying system failures.

In contrast, a systems thinking approach is about engaging with everyone with knowledge to share on problems, so that we are collecting knowledge not projecting politics. Understanding and addressing the complex interconnected components of problems allows the possibility of creating sustainable, long-term wellbeing solutions, by addressing the health of a whole system and not just high profile symptoms. In short, people don’t like to be messaged at, they like to be listened to.

A new referendum right now would be a bitter political debate, not the open and creative cultural conversation that Scotland needs.

Although public engagement will remain simple, social and democratic, the design of the Citizens’ Convention and how it operates and gathers evidence and opinion will be based on a systems thinking approach. This is because the Citizens’ Convention will not be in the business of promoting policies or political partisanship but will be there to solve Scotland’s fundamental problems and drive an exponential increase in our nation’s ambitions. It will do this by facilitating a more positive mindset change and socioeconomic paradigm shift.

A better engagement process than a referendum?

Properly implemented, a Citizens’ Convention would be a better way to have that conversation than a referendum campaign: the latter involves adversaries taking set positions and refusing to engage, in a process distorted by political party tribalism and corporate donations to the UK Government made to maintain favour and government contracts. The dominant right wing media would continue to misrepresent the facts about Scotland and the official opposition would scaremonger and make unsubstantiated claims. A new referendum right now would be a bitter political debate, not the open and creative cultural conversation that Scotland needs.

A referendum can be expected to trigger political loyalties, thus encouraging divisive political language. Whereas, in contrast, attacking a Convention, whose goal is the creation of a better Scotland, would backfire on the forces of conservatism.

Managed by a committee of trustees to ensure high levels of organisational governance, the Convention’s conclusions will be voted on in the Scottish Parliament, in order to give official democratic credibility to The Convention’s conclusions.

To deliver Scottish independence from our current position, the independence movement needs to adopt a three-pronged strategy.

This will not attempt to reinvent the wheel. The Independence Congress will complement the great deal of work that has already been done

1. There should be a new style of convention, a Citizens’ Convention, that engages the people on a national scale through a positive and creative conversation about the ideal future they want for our nation.
2. Believe in Scotland, the non-party-political grassroots led independence organisation, will continue to be focused on increasing the nation’s ambition, matching our campaign to the values of the nation and cultural change, not politics and policies. This would be properly funded through grassroots fundraising.
   
   Preparation for independence, a written constitution, plans for transition and more, will be overseen by Believe in Scotland’s Scottish Independence Congress, which will involve the wider Yes Movement and the pro-independence political parties.
   
   This will not attempt to reinvent the wheel. The Independence Congress will complement the great deal of work that has already been done by the many pro-independence think tanks and special interest groups. Everyone will be welcome to contribute.
3. There must also be a strong political arm of the independence movement, which is foccused on independence and a wellbeing economic approach and is willing to compromise and form workable alliances ahead of a potential de facto referendum. This probably cannot be achieved unless we have the above two elements of the strategy in place.

The Citizens’ Convention will seek to understand:

• The hopes and dreams of the Scottish people and their frustrations
• Global best practices from national governments
• Evidence from knowledge leaders and academics
• Scottish regional and sectoral opinions via a national roadshow
• The mood of the nation through detailed polling, online engagement and non-binding online voting on proposals as part of the Convention’s engagement process.
• To mobilise Scottish opinion behind the conclusions of the Citizens’ Convention.

If the issue of the constitution is dealt with separately, then we believe that the Scottish Government can fund the Citizens’ Convention without legal objections

The Citizens’ Convention is about the direction the people of Scotland want the nation to take. However, because there is still a risk of time wasting legal challenges to the Scottish Government’s ability to fund the Convention (despite the precedent set by Wales), we propose that the consideration of the constitutional issues, in terms of how the plan is implemented, will have to be considered in a non Scottish Government funded second stage process. This way no time is wasted with pointless process debates with Westminster.

If the issue of the constitution is dealt with separately, then we believe that the Scottish Government can fund the Citizens’ Convention without legal objections, in contrast to the case with an independence-only convention. However, the focus will be on ambitions for Scotland’s future and enhancing Scotland’s wellbeing, in order to respond to the deepening crisis of the If the issue of the constitution is dealt with separately, then we believe that the Scottish Government can fund the Citizens’ Convention without legal objections 24 failing United Kingdom. Our call to a higher purpose than politics will resonate with the Scottish people and provide the most effective path to independence.

Once the Citizens’ Convention compiles the hopes and dreams and ambitions of the people of Scotland for Scotland’s future, and that plan adopted by the independence movement into a new manifesto for independence that will significantly improve Scotland’s wellbeing, the people will vote for it en masse.

Having looked at past exercises of this level, such as Irish Citizens Assemblies and the Welsh Independent Constitutional Convention (as detailed in appendices), we estimate the Citizens’ Convention will cost between £2.5m and £3.5m. Critically, because it will consider Scotland’s future rather than be a specific Constitutional Convention, the Scottish Government can fund it. There is also the precedent of a much smaller Citizens’ Assembly mobilised and funded by the Scottish Government in 2019, which we see as a test exercise.

We envisage the Creating a Better Scotland plan will be put before the Scottish Parliament in early 2026 and MSPs should pass it by majority vote.

Because it’s not just about independence, unionist MSPs who wish to oppose it will have to vote against the dreams and ambitions of the people of Scotland.

Because it’s not just about independence, unionist MSPs who wish to oppose it will have to vote against the dreams and ambitions of the people of Scotland. This should see them face electoral fall out if they do so.

Believe in Scotland will run its own self-funded and non-political cultural and storytelling based campaign alongside the Citizens’ Convention. It will take the plan to the people, alongside the Convention’s official communication activity, making it a dualcommunication strategy approach, which is then democratically ratified by the Holyrood vote.

Independence support will rise during the process. Polling based on a Wellbeing Economic Approach, with a Wellbeing Pension at the heart of the independence cause, suggests 62-65% support for independence. As the Convention’s plan will almost certainly include such elements and more, we believe the top end of that scale should be achievable

1. This proposal has been published with the intent of gaining feedback and suggestions for improvement from leading thinkers in the independence movement, pro-independence political parties and stakeholders across the independence movement. We would aim to have a final agreed process soon, so that the Convention could be launched and run through to its conclusion at the end of 2025 with publication of results in January 2026.
2. We will offer to engage with all the organisations within the independence movement through a mini Scottish Independence Congress in early August 2024 and adopt all agreed improvement suggestions.
3. We will call upon all pro-independence political parties to back the proposals at their next party conferences.
   
   With regards to the Scottish Government, the plan to launch what was termed a Constitutional Convention (which would involve all political parties and civic Scotland) was included in their Programme for Government in 2020 and reaffirmed at the 2023 SNP party conference. The move to a Citizens’ Convention format should therefore be unanimously accepted by all the pro-independence parties and their elected representatives.
4. Assuming agreement and that the Citizens’ Convention is approved by the political parties, we would hope the Scottish Government will announce its intention to initiate the Citizens’ Convention at least by Autumn 2024.
5. The preparation for The Citizens’ Convention will start in September 2024 with a Foundation Poll of 25,000 Scottish voters, utilising multiple regression analysis to set the benchmark on the values and priorities of the Scottish people.
6. In September 2024 the launch committee will meet and agree on the draft engagement process and research themes as defined by the Foundation Poll. A full systems thinking process for social construct 27 based change has been designed, including a draft project plan. Further, a team of leading thinkers has been identified to be the pre-launch committee, based on their expertise and knowledge.
7. Several key organisations from civic Scotland, non-partisan think tanks and union officials have already been engaged through informal discussions and have indicated that their organisations could join a Citizens’ Convention but not a dedicated Independence Convention, as they are required to remain neutral on the constitutional question. Assuming the Citizens’ Convention is agreed those organisations will be officially approached in September 2024.
8. The Convention will operate through 2025, with initial reports and plans being published from August 2025 onwards. The full report will be published at the end of January 2026, leaving three months to campaign for a potential de facto referendum with independence polling expected to start well in the lead.
   
   Actors in the independence movement, related think tanks, political parties and interested civic organisations need to either back this recommended program, or put forward a better alternative route to independence. In our liaison with such groups, we have not come across any stronger ideas than this plan.
9. Assuming the launch of this Convention is properly prioritised and that the vision cannot be implemented without the full powers of independence, Scotland could be in a position to vote for independence in May 2026 via a de facto referendum and followed by a one year negotiation period and then a transition period of up to two years.
   
   During that time, the Convention could become the body that negotiates the transition and trade deals with the remainder of the UK. That way it’s not a political party that leads the cause but a body representing the people of Scotland.
10. Managed by a committee of trustees, the Convention’s conclusions will be voted on in the Scottish Parliament in order to give official democratic credibility to the Convention’s conclusions.

We are proposing a new style of Citizens’ Convention, rather than a strictly independence-only convention, as we feel that an Independence Convention would require a mandate from a national election, otherwise:

1. Any financial spending or investment of elected politicians’ time will be open to challenge due to the Supreme Court ruling;
2. Civic Scotland charities, unions and business organisations and others will be unable to join as it will be seen as a political convention, rather than one that is driven by the will of the people;
3. Multi-level non-governmental international relations, which should be a major part of the activities, would be unattainable as the convention will be seen as ‘internal, political and opposed by the UK Government’ rather than ‘international, inclusive and democratically mandated and backed by the Scottish Government.

Scotland’s current constitutional impasse is unique (even compared to the Scottish devolution campaign) and so a unique form of convention is required.

When the writing is on the wall, when the polls say the Union is over, then Westminster will either offer to negotiate for a referendum or face a de facto referendum at the next possible opportunity (May 2026).

If the de facto opportunity were to be Holyrood 2026, that would require a pro-independence party alliance on the list (at least). The Citizens’ Convention approach would be the only way that victory could be confidently predicted, as such detail and vision would struggle to be communicated in a short political style campaign.

The Scottish Government should not accept any offer of a Section 30 referendum, as that is only a temporary transfer of powers and therefore accepts Westminster sovereignty over Scotland on the constitution. Because the Convention will not just be about independence, unionist MSPs Scotland’s current constitutional impasse is unique (even compared to the Scottish devolution campaign) and so a unique form of convention is required. 29 who wish to oppose its findings will have to vote against the dreams and ambitions of the people of Scotland.

Having carried out research into national engagement programme types in 2023 (see Appendices 2-3), our conclusion was that Scotland’s current constitutional impasse is unique (even compared to the Scottish devolution campaign) and so a unique form of convention is required. The Citizens’ Convention takes the best elements of each format reviewed and tailors the engagement program to Scotland’s current situation. The outcome will be a unique and radically ambitious vision for Scotland as an independent nation, a story that will appeal to the nation in the run up to the 2026 Scottish Parliamentary Elections.

That election most definitely cannot be about asking for a Section 30 (S30) order. Said path is closed for now and inadvisable, partly as it would undermine Scotland’s sovereignty by implying that Westminster is sovereign over Scotland when it is not. Secondly, it would lead to a collapse in the support for pro-independence parties akin to the result of 2024 UK General Election. Any talk of ‘asking’ demoralises believers and is inconsistent with ‘standing up for Scotland’. It is essential to point out the undemocratic nature of the previous S30 mandate refusals.

Following the Holyrood vote to approve the final Report of the Citizens’ Convention. The Scottish Government can demand the permanent transfer of the power to hold a referendum whenever the Scottish people desire (perhaps subject to a Northern Ireland style rule that unification referendums can take place no more often than every seven years). If that is not forthcoming, then a de facto referendum will be implemented where 50%+1 of the vote cast for pro-independence parties would equal a mandate for independence

The Citizens’ Convention would have prepared a new prospectus for independence, through its ‘Creating a New Scotland’ programme. Simultaneously, before Holyrood 2026, all the decisions needed to create an independent Scotland should have been taken (by ScotGov and the independence movement) and there should be a detailed project To be effective the Citizens’ Convention will have to operate separately from the Scottish Parliament 30 plan in place covering nation-building steps. These should be clearly communicated to the people of Scotland. This would include a plan for negotiating independence and gaining international recognition (the opposite of the Brexit implementation experience where there was no plan). Managed correctly, a definitive vote for independence is deliverable.

To be effective the Citizens’ Convention will have to operate separately from the Scottish Parliament and also be independently managed by a committee of trustees – hence the design of the Citizens’ Convention. However, a mechanism should be introduced to allow a free vote in the Scottish Parliament on the recommendations of the Citizens’ Convention, demonstrating that the Convention’s plans command majority support from elected members of the Scottish Parliament. This will give official democratic credibility to the Citizens’ Convention’s conclusions.

Thus the Citizens’ Convention will have a democratic mandate, traction with the Scottish people, and the independence movement, and will be capable of motivating campaign activities and changing Scottish public opinion.

Given the constitutional straitjacket placed upon Scotland’s progress towards independence, the next move needs to break the mould of constitutional politics. A boring political talking shop will not come close to delivering. It needs to create a paradigm shift, to drive, within two years, a social construct change across the nation.

The new style Scottish Citizens’ Convention will do that.