Without doubt, the low point of my day attending the Independence Forum Scotland (IFS) Spring Convention on Scotland's Future was a blessedly brief but deeply unedifying interaction with unsurprisingly former SNP MP, Tommy Sheppard. Happening to encounter him as we both moved about the hall, I took the opportunity to hand him a card with a QR code link to the Manifesto fo Independence, suggesting he might like to take a look. From his reaction you'd have thought I'd offered him a wetly leprous hand to kiss. Suffice it to say, he had less than no interest in anything that didn't bear the imprimatur of his party. It was immediately evident that I was attempting to engage with a mind not merely closed, but shuttered, barred, and barricaded against the intrusion of anything that departed so much as a whisker-breadth from the Sturgeon doctrine which continues to hold the SNP leadership in its stultifying, intellect-killing grip.
The moment bordered on slapstick. My first fleeting thought was that Sheppard was hamming it up for laughs. If only! The reaction was genuine. And quite shocking. I ruefully recalled the hopes pinned on Sheppard, Mhairi Black and the rest of the SNP's 2015 contingent which took almost 50% of the vote and just short of 95% of the seats. The chance meeting with Tommy Sheppard really brought home to me how completely the leading lights of the SNP have been captured by the British political system.
If the SNP is as much of a lost cause as that guy's behaviour suggests, then the party to which he is so mindlessly devoted has no future beyond the 2026 election. It is our misfortune that the party will inevitably continue to be the major force in Scottish politics after that election. The incident brought home to me very forcefully the need for those now outside the SNP to support the party members who continue the fight to wrest their party from the tentacles of the British state and restore it to its role as the 'party of independence'. I know - but hesitate to name - more than a few of these doughty fechters. And I am well aware of what they are up against. The more so having met Tommy Sheppard
I refuse to have the day defined by that individual. It would be a great disservice to the organisers and other participants to do so. I know a little of what it takes to put together an event such as this, and full credit must go to all involved. This remains the case even if the utility of the event in relation to Scotland's cause is dubious. such occasions can be judged in terms of their narrower purpose as well as in terms of the struggle to restore Scotland's independence. From the former perspective, IFS can justifiably be well pleased. I have attended a great many similar events and took more away from this one than most.
Two things made it a worthwhile day for me. There was a very good session on land reform with a presentation by Ailsa Raeburn, Community Land Scotland and Laurie Macfarlane, Future Economy Scotland. Land reform has the potential to play a major part in the anti-Union campaign that we so desperately need. there is something visceral about this subject. We'd had a rather drily academic address by Alastair McIntosh on the topic of 'The Roots and Vision of a Nation'. At the time, I thought it a poor choice as an opener. But as I listened to the presentation that followed, I realised how the two provided context one for the other. In combination, they were highly effective.
But what impressed me most was the section on 'Scotland’s Energy Future' conducted superbly by John Proctor and colleagues from Energy Scotland. This was a team of, I think, eight people every one of whom was very evidently an expert in some aspect of the energy sector. what struck me most, however, was not their erudition or their eloquence but their eagerness. As I listened to these people, I couldn't help but think we need to harness that expertise and enthusiasm every bit as much as we need to harness our nation's potential for sustainable energy production.
Just prior to this, the redoubtable Robin McAlpine (Common Weal) regaled us with his always fascinating and informative take on 'How Can the People Influence Risk-Averse Politicians?'. What struck me about what he said - in part, at least - was how closely it relates to what New Scotland Party is attempting with Manifesto for Independence. Robin spoke of the need to provide politicians with authority from above and impetus from below. The #ScottishUDI process aims to provide the authority of international law and the impetus of a mass petition to cover both of these. I'm hoping Robin will take a closer look at what it is we are doing. After all, he wouldn't want to be like Tommy Sheppard!
I missed the final session on 'Scotland’s Democratic Future' because I got involved in a series of side-meetings with various people. Valuable an (mostly) enjoyable as these meetings were, I regret missing this discussion. I long since learned, however, that there is usually so much going on at these events that you can't possibly take in everything. And you're likely to miss a lot in the attempt.
My criticism of this event does not relate to the content, but what was missing. I think I can best explain what I mean by referring to the heading on one of the talking-point sheets put up by the guys doing the section on energy. It read (from memory), "Overcoming the challenge of energy being reserved". My immediate response on seeing this was to think, if energy being reserved is a problem, then surely the solution is to 'unreserve' it. To take back the power. Instead, however, the discussion focused on what could be done despite the powers being withheld and what might be achieved if only the powers were where they belong. Nobody, it seemed, wanted to talk about the challenge of restoring these powers to the democratically elected Parliament of Scotland where they rightfully belong.
That, for me, encapsulated the problem with events such as the Independence Forum Scotland (IFS) Spring Convention on Scotland's Future. Every time I attend one of these events where we spend time talking about nothing else but creating a 'vision' of Scotland's future, somebody says we never spend any time talking about Scotland's future. Over the years since the start of the 2014 referendum campaign I must have attended thirty or forty events discussing Scotland being independent. I don't recall a single occasion when we discussed the matter of becoming independent.
I'm constantly told we must have a 'vision'. But what use is a 'vision' if you haven't figured out how it is to be realised?
I'm constantly told we must have a 'plan'. But what use is a 'plan' if you haven't a clue about how to implement it?
A 'vision' without a process is mere wishful thinking. A 'plan' lacking a means of implementation is worthless. Potential will never be more than that if the practicalities are not addressed.
New Scotland Party might consider hosting a conference to discuss the practicalities of restoring Scotland's independence. But who would attend? Who has anything to say on the topic? Who has even considered the matter?
The suggestion is on the table. Will anyone pick it up?