Devil is in the detail with this constitutional convention plan

AN independence convention is to be welcomed and holding one is long overdue.

It has been called for by many over recent times and in the related form of a constitutional convention by others including Alex Salmond.

For that reason, among many others, John Swinney’s announcement is to be embraced but as ever the devil will be in the detail.

When is it to be held, who is to be invited and, most importantly of all, what strategy is to be on the agenda?

Those fundamentals have yet to be spelled out and suspicions linger that this is just another call for one more heave to try to push the currently broken-down SNP vehicle over the line. Grandstanding, as we’ve seen before at the Hydro or other venues, soaking up the admiration without moving the cause an inch forward.

The gap between independence support and that for the SNP is ever widening, born from frustration at inaction on the constitutional question, and issues of governance by the Holyrood administration. Doubtless part of the reasoning for the First Minister’s call.

However, to avoid it faltering like his earlier pronouncement of a three-point plan for independence, he has to carry through on what is tangible, deliverable and wanted by the wider movement.

The opportunity is there, if the First Minister chooses to grasp it, to bring the movement together and set a direction which can secure independence.

The time is right as the UK is spiralling into a crisis point. It’s at this juncture that those seeking Scotland’s independence should be pushing, not prevaricating.

History shows that the time to strike to escape the clutches of the British Empire is when it’s at its weakest and convulsed with internal struggles.

John Swinney has therefore rightly expressed the urgency of the situation as “Starmerism” flounders, a Reform/Tory government looms and all the time Scotland’s position worsens.

That’s why the convention must be held soon and certainly before an election which must be used to secure the mandate for independence. It is the route, which is achievable, which has been acknowledged by the Supreme Court and, more importantly, which will galvanise the movement.

As spelled out by Alba and supported by a growing number of SNP branches and members, Holyrood 2026 must be a plebiscite election, with the list vote providing the mandate for independence and predicated on all independence-supporting parties contesting it having a commitment to it in their manifesto.

That's why the Alba Party, who will be contesting the list only in the election for just such a mandate for independence, are happy to work with other independence parties and groups to maximise the vote on the list and achieve that mandate.

Seeking to ensure independence parties do not lose to Unionists by default through a split vote, the Alba Party will therefore not be contesting constituency seats.

Of course, a constitutional convention should have been held a long time back when the situation was even more favourable and the opportunity to push for independence was an open goal.

Brexit in 2016 changed the political dynamics of a UK already significantly weakened by the closeness of the referendum vote, never mind the surge to the SNP.

Mandates for action were repeatedly sought in elections by the SNP leadership, but they were allowed to come and go, along with chances to exercise leverage.

Nicola Sturgeon genuflected towards a convention in February 2020 but failed to follow through. Yet that was the moment which should have been seized.

A Boris Johnson landslide in England in December 2019 while a Scotland rightly fearful of the consequences of Brexit rejected him summarily.

Of course, Covid befell the world but political life and the need for independence never stopped.

That wouldn’t have been a convention of independence-supporting parties but of Scotland’s elected representatives.

With a majority of MSPs and MPs, overtures could also have been made to civic leaders and others not committed to independence but conscious of the dangers of Johnson’s rule.

Why that was never picked up again and driven on is inexplicable and a tragic waste.

Compounding that, the offer of additional powers from Theresa May was scorned with not even a smidgen of benefit secured for Scotland.

Similarly, chances to use the weight of SNP numbers in a Westminster where every vote mattered and the UK Government was struggling were passed up, with rhetoric preferred to realpolitik. Scotland was “pulled out of the EU against its will” but not one iota of mitigation was secured, let alone advantage sought.

The plaudits of Guardian-reading Remainers south of the Border took preference over the needs of the Scottish people.

That’s all in the past now and in the past it must remain, but lessons must be learned from those failures. The movement goes again for the dream that shall never die.

Action is needed as the clock is ticking and the situation worsening. John Swinney must call the independence convention soon, inviting all independence-supporting parties and to prepare for a plebiscite election in 2026.

[This article was first published in The National on 04.08.2025]