The decision by both Plaid Cymru and the Greens to stand down at the recent Brecon and Radnorshire by-election has sparked a lot of talk in Westminster about political pacts (writes Willie Sullivan). Continue reading Westminster: an anti-choice stitch-up?
The Scottish Government has proposed a Citizens’ Assembly on Scotland’s future, providing an opportunity for greater citizen engagement on issues facing the country. It’s early days, but an event in Edinburgh last week gave grounds for optimism. Continue reading First steps towards a Citizens Assembly
The Scottish Government has proposed a Citizens’ Assembly of Scotland, but what IS a citizens’ assembly?
The University of Edinburgh and Electoral Reform Society Scotland have organised a panel discussion on Monday (July 8th) from 6pm – 8pm with speakers including:
The event has been incredibly popular, and is oversubscribed so we will be live streaming it at https://livestream.com/DemocracyTV/ers-citizens-assembly
We are collecting suggestions for questions for the panel. You can submit your questions here https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/M9WZCLN
Bookmark the link now and add the event to your calendar – don’t forget to tweet along with the stream with the hashtag #ShapingScotland
Phil Connor,
Campaigns Officer,
ERS Scotland
The full line-up has been announced for today’s ceremony celebrating the Scottish Parliament’s 20th Anniversary.
The first part of the day will see Her Majesty The Queen address Parliament. The Queen will be accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Rothesay.
This will be followed by a fun packed afternoon for all the family. The doors of the Scottish Parliament will be opened to everyone to explore with a huge range of free events and entertainment.
Her Majesty The Queen’s Address to Parliament: 11.00 am – 12.00 pm
Order of Ceremony
Her Majesty The Queen will be preceded into the Chamber by:
• The Scottish Parliament’s Mace
• Royal Company of Archers.
• The Crown of Scotland borne by the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, escorted by the Lord Lyon King of Arms and the Captain-General
Fanfare for Elizabeth, Her Majesty The Queen, composed and conducted by John Wallace CBE and performed by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Brass Ensemble, will play on The Queen’s arrival in the Chamber.
This will be followed by the welcome from the Presiding Officer
Her Majesty The Queen addresses the Scottish Parliament
Performance The Bonnie Banks O’ Loch Lomon’ arranged by D M Gardner
Conducted by Mark Evans and performed by The National Youth Choir of Scotland Chamber Choir.
First Minister responds followed by Ruth Davidson MSP
Poem THE LONG VIEW written and performed by Jackie Kay, Scots Makar accompanied by Lewis McCaskill, Scottish Youth Theatre performing in Gaelic, Suzanne Bonnar singing and Moira Anne McAuslan performing in BSL (BSL translation by Amy Cheskin)
Richard Leonard MSP responds.
Performance Farewell to Govan composed by Phil Cunningham
Arranged and conducted by John Logan, Head of Brass and performed by Braw Brass accompanied by Phil Cunningham, Artistic Director of Traditional Music and Jenn Butterworth, Lecturer in Practical Studies The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Patrick Harvie MSP responds followed by Tavish Scott MSP
Song Ae Fond Kiss by Robert Burns arranged by Donald Shaw and Kevin McCrae
Sung by Karen Matheson accompanied by Donald Shaw on piano and the Harvey String Quartet.
The Presiding Officer closes the meeting of Parliament and the Scottish Parliament’s Piper Stuart McMillan MSP plays A Man’s a Man for a’ That by Robert Burns to mark The Queen’s departure.
From 3pm, the Parliament will open its doors to the people of Scotland for an afternoon of celebration and commemoration. Everyone is invited to join the Parliament in marking its 20th birthday at this unique event.
Looking back at two decades of achievements, there will be live music from across the eras, from a wide range of performers; retro games, face painting and lots more.
Looking forward to the next 20 years we will also have a future-focused area showcasing technology of the future and environmental priorities for protecting Scotland’s natural environment.
The event is free and unticketed but you can RSVP on Facebook to stay updated.
The results of a consultation carried out across Scotland on the impact of Brexit has been published in a new report. Brexit: Unheard Voices brings together the views of 13 groups on preparing for the UK leaving the EU. Continue reading Brexit: Unheard Voices – consultation report published
First step to set up new Assembly to help shape Scotland’s future.
The process of establishing the new Citizens’ Assembly to explore some of the major challenges facing Scotland has begun.
A contractor is being sought to randomly select 120 members of the public to serve on the Assembly. The individuals will be broadly representative of Scotland’s adult population in terms of age, gender, socio-economic class, ethnic group, geography and political attitudes.
The Assembly will consider three broad issues:
* what kind of country should be
* how can Scotland best overcome challenges, including those arising from Brexit
* what further work is required to enable people to make informed choices about the future of Scotland
Constitutional Relations Secretary Michael Russell said: “This is the first time a Citizens’ Assembly has been used in Scotland and will bring together a wide range of ordinary people from across our country in a genuine attempt to reach consensus on the issues that we face. Similar models have been used successfully in countries including Ireland, Canada, Australia and Poland.
“It is a bold idea and one I hope everyone, whatever their political view, can embrace. I believe we all want the best for Scotland and if we have learnt anything from Brexit it is the need to make space for people to engage with information and to exchange different views.”
The Citizens’ Assembly is one strand of the Scottish Government’s three pronged approach to chart a distinctive course for Scotland. The others are the establishment of a legal framework providing the option for a referendum and cross-party talks to identify areas of agreement on constitutional change.
The Scottish Government’s approach is based on lessons learned from a range of Citizens’ Assembly initiatives.
Members will be identified by early September, with the Assembly meeting on six weekends between the autumn and Spring 2020.
Assembly members will receive a gift of thanks of £200 per weekend to recognise their time and contribution. Travel, accommodation and other reasonable costs, such as child care, will also be covered.
MSPs, MPs, MEPs, councillors and members of the House of Lords, political party staff, public appointees and senior public and civil servants will be ineligible to sit on the Assembly, as will representatives and officials of relevant advocacy groups.
An announcement on the convenership of the Assembly will be made by Constitutional Secretary Michael Russell shortly.
Ten members of the public will have the best seats in the house as they watch Her Majesty The Queen address the Scottish Parliament on Saturday 29th June.
Continue reading Win tickets to see Her Majesty The Queen address Parliament’s 20th Anniversary
A new initiative has been announced by an alliance of women’s organisations and the Scottish Parliament in a move to tackle the gender imbalance in Scottish politics. Continue reading Major new initiative to get more women into politics
The Scottish Government has published legislation to set the rules for any referendum within the competence of the Scottish Parliament. The SNP, supported by the Scottish Greens, want to hold a referendum before the end of next year – but they need Westminster’s permission, and it’s unlikely that the current UK government will give their assent. Continue reading Scotish Government starts process for a new independence referendum
