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People & Parliament
Part
2 of the Full Report - Vision
2.
Question 2 - “By the year 2020 we would like to see a Scotland in which...”
Responses
here are analysed according to the same pattern as for question 1 above. The
difference is that whereas the above mainly represents peoples’ view of how
things are now, the following reflects their “wish list” aspirations for the
future.
2.1
Sense of Environment and Place
In
the future Scotland “the impact on the environment is taken into account in
all decision making, particularly in the development of sustainable
transportation systems in Scotland, the impact of genetic engineering, resource
use and waste minimisation,” say Aberdeen’s
Friends of the Earth group. Another environmental group suggested that
“priority is given to sustainable organic farming methods,” that “the
release of genetically engineered organisms into the environment is banned,”
and “remaining nuclear waste at Dounreay is dry-stored above ground.” Other
groups widely agreed with this range of views. “The environment is
acknowledged as paramount in sustainable development,” said the Morayshire
branch of the Scottish Landowners’ Federation.
“No
more building on the green belt,” said an Edinburgh woman’s guild, and a
chorus of voices called for such advances as “salmon and local sea trout in
the river Clyde,” “more trees,” “the right to roam enshrined in
statute,” “no worries about the ozone layer,” “large retailing complexes
cease to be developed,” “natural, clean sources of energy are harnessed,”
and “better and appropriate uses” are found “for our natural resources
such as ... whisky.”
A
pronounced number of groups opposed nuclear weapons and nuclear waste. No groups
spoke in favour of these things. Scotland should become “drug free and nuclear
free” said some adults with learning difficulties.
People
should “care for their environment because they feel it is their own,” said
biological scientists in Edinburgh. This means that in 2020 “The power of
landowners is reduced.”
There
were a number of calls for land reform. The Scottish Tree Trust, summed these up
in urging a Scotland “which has its land ownership in the hands of those who
use its resources humanely and not cruelly and selfishly for ‘sport.’”
They believe that:
Financial help should be given to non-New Age groups
to set up a huge system of self-sufficient and financially viable communities
that would act as restorers of our land through proper native re-forestation;
humane livestock rearing; non-environmentally and wildlife destructive
fish-farming; wood skills and permacultural food growing being practised to
provide local food supplies.
The
basic principle, said a retired woman teacher in Speyside, is that “The
produce of the land would belong to the steward who worked it, so no nonsense
about trees planted by a farmer for whatever reason not belonging to him.” Two
Church of Scotland rural congregations urged particular “support for
traditional crofters and farmers,” while crofting and land reform activists
meeting in Wester Ross looked towards a Scotland in which, like Stornoway,
Assynt and Eigg:
Land belongs to communities, the people being tenants
unto their own democratically accountable control.
“Sustainable
communities” were therefore seen as central to achieving “sustainable
development.” Thus, a rural group in Fife foresaw “Good, cheap, safe and
accessible public transport, sustainable communities including local jobs and
rural workshops, redistribution of wealth and more rented housing, especially in
rural areas.” Even highly urbanised groups such as low-income Glasgow groups
expressed such hopes as to see a time when, “Land is developed and used by the
people who live here,” and, “There is a safe environment for our children
and for their future.”
2.2
Sense of Community and Belonging
Apart
from the individual who remarked that by the year 2020 “I will not be here,”
there was widespread aspiration that the future would be marked by a regenerated
sense of community. Edinburgh’s Centre for Human Ecology looked towards an era
where:
... there is a mind shift and people start to express
this sense of identity and create communities in richly diverse bio-regions
which achieve their potential and thrive within their ecological carrying
capacity.
Others
called for the “protection of small communities,” “growth of ‘Community
Action Groups,’” a Scotland that will “move forward in the next century
keeping our traditions and customs alive,” a “greater development of the
‘Scottish’ identity to harness the self-esteem of the people,” safety on
the streets and in the home, “more community spirit [and] community police,”
the protection of schools and post-offices, reversal of the closure of community
centres and development policies whereby “Town centres can once again be a
centre for the community with a real sense of identity.”
Such
community should be capable of “supporting people at times in their lives when
they need support,” said a Kirkcaldy women’s group. It should nurture the
fundamental human need to belong and be cared for “from the cradle to the
grave.” Thus, in 2020 “the generation coming behind us has something to look
forward to in their old age,” said old age pensioners in Aberdeen. But the
biggest emphasis was on changing the climate in which children grow up. Somebody
from Aberdeen urged that:
Children are nurtured, their talents developed, where
they live and are brought up in quiet loving homes ... where violence and
aggression are a thing of the past, and where income is channelled into their
development instead of into the local pub.
Similarly,
a Strathclyde University group looked towards:
... a Scotland in which children are celebrated, not
ignored, in which children are accorded respect and status as they deserve as
our next generation. We would like to see a Scotland in which the full-time
carers of children (usually mothers) are accorded the same recognition for the
work they do as those in full-time paid employment.
An
individual from a Moray community council linked a rich human culture back into
authentic relationship with the nature of place. For him, the future Scotland
would ideally be a community:
... in which the song of the curlew counts for more
than the clink of cash: in which future David Humes, James Watts and Robert
Millers may freely develop their talents at home: in which Wallace, Burns, Kier
Hardie and John MacLean would be happy to live and cask-conditioned Scotch Ale
in evry pub.
2.3
Sense of Identity (including Ethnic Minorities)
2.3.1
Ethnic Scots and English People
Many
groups expressed the hope that antipathy towards English people would be
overcome once devolution and/or independence allowed Scots to feel fully
responsible for their own affairs. An inner-city Edinburgh community centre
looked towards a situation where Scotland might even be:
Cheering for England in future world cup games.
A
group of young male social science students in Aberdeen hoped to see that:
The divisions have been bridged as far as possible,
the chip on the shoulder no longer hinders ambition and self-achievement, our
identity is secure without being turned against others, England especially.
2.3.2
Indigenous Ethnic Groups
“You
can’t become one, you have to be born one,” said the Gypsies or Romanies.
Their aspiration from the Parliament was to “Give us back our freedom [to
travel]. Let our nation live.”
Surprisingly,
there were no calls for Scots indigenous language development except where
Gaelic was concerned. Interestingly given the Gaelic cultural tradition of
fostership and their renowned good race relations with the Pakistani community
in the Hebrides, many of the Gaelic community’s statements made links with the
needs of other ethnic minorities. For example, a university Gaelic society
looked towards a time where:
The bilingualism of the nation is recognised where
ALL linguistic minorities are accepted. We would also like to see official
status for Gaelic on the model of the 1993 Welsh Language Act alongside a
national policy for Gaelic education. The bilingualism of Scotland should also
be increasingly observed outwardly through bilingual signage and such like.
Gaelic
broadcasters and other language professionals in Stornoway considered that
linguistic confidence is inseparable from other dimensions of socio-economic
sure-footedness. They therefore looked to an era where:
Gaelic has a prominent profile within the plurality
of the Scottish nation [sharing] in the national self-confidence that has
evolved as a result of devolution. Peripheral areas must have access to the same
economic and social opportunities ... including adequate provision of
transportation at reasonable cost.
Aomann
an Luchd Ionnsachaidh, a group of Gaelic learners based near Inverness, looked
towards a Scotland in which:
Gaelic has a national, public profile contributing to
Scottish and international plurality and tolerance; and in which there is a
right for all throughout Scotland to Gaelic education.
2.3.3
Non-Indigenous Ethnic Groups
One
north-east Scottish group, who were distinctly not typical of other groups -
Christian or otherwise - urged the “immediate deportation of all [immigrants]
who commit crimes” and “Christian norms to be accepted by all immigrants.”
They also urged the death penalty for abortionists, homosexuals, vandals, etc..
However, the overwhelming majority of others looked towards a racially tolerant
and racially educated Scotland. For example, Glasgow students positively
affirmed the importance of an ethnically inclusive sense of Scottish national
identity by saying:
We would like to see a Scotland in which refugees and
asylum-seekers are welcomed, not treated like common criminals as is presently
the case. We would like to see a Scotland which welcomes immigrants, as a means
of encouraging multi-ethnicity and diversity, as a way of importing talent to
make up for the talent which emigrates.
A
Dumbartonshire ethnic minority forum recognised that integration means sharing
rather than merging:
The awareness, the harmony and the information
between the groups and minorities are in good stead, along with the Natives in
Scotland, so that we can feel proud to be Scottish... Integration may not and
should not mean merging and [being] engulfed by the majority group, [but] it
means that we are on an equal footing in all respects.
Such
a position raises the question of whether it might be meaningful to speak not of
being “half Asian and half Scots,” but, for example, “wholly Asian and
wholly Scots.” “Scotland,” said a black community development project in
Edinburgh, should “embrace different cultures and recognise their importance
as much as their Scottish culture is recognised.” There needs to be, said a
Glasgow ethnic group, “vigorous campaigns to eradicate racial harassment among
young people because they are the future of Scotland.”
Many
religious groups put in pleas for their special interests and needs to be
catered for. Several Catholic groups, for example, called for abortion to be
outlawed and state-funded Catholic schools to be maintained. Jewish teachers
asked that their needs “would continue to be met, allowing them paid or unpaid
leave when necessary in order to observe the Jewish laws of not working on holy
days.” And a Scottish Muslim women’s group looked towards a Scotland:
…[in which] Muslim women were catered for in
education for our children, funded by the state. The freedom to go to sports
centres to participate in activities which were women-only. The right to become
active in politics and not be excluded because of our Muslim dress. The right to
legislation to protect our beliefs. To make incitement to religious hate an
offence for all faiths.
2.4
Values and Characteristics
Most
of the values expressed here were reiterations of those already discussed in
section 1.4. These were well summarised by an anonymous group of eight from
Glasgow who wrote:
No high-rise flats; full employment; no pollution; no
child or animal abuse; peace and justice with fair employment and rewards; high
standards of education for all children; people and children can play [in]
safety; elderly to have free telephones and TV licences; higher state pensions and
a quality of life where everyone has someone to love, something to do and
something to look forward to.
The
new Scotland should be “A Scotland which cares for and serves all its people,
looking to the future with confidence and fostering diversity and ecumenism,”
surmised a group at Edinburgh University Settlement. There should be “no
poverty, discrimination, homelessness and no Trident” said an Iona Community
group, with “green policies as a norm in action” and “humanitarian
treatment of animals,” said members of the Findhorn Community. Many groups
advocated, like a social and pastoral ministry group in Glasgow, a “return to
traditional family values without necessarily turning the clock back.” Many
hoped to see a deeper spirituality but greater religious toleration, like a
Glasgow interfaith group hoping that “All religions are fully recognised and
given equal status within the body politic.” A Glasgow order of enclosed
religious sisters brought many viewpoints together in praying for a Scotland:
... in which the United Nations’ Universal
Declaration of Rights in all its 30 Articles is agreed to and adhered to; a
Scotland which has addressed positively the issues of homelessness,
unemployment, drugs, land reform, prison overcrowding, protection of human life
at all its stages, respect for every individual, for human rights; a Scotland
which is open to other nations and ethnic groups, refugees.
Young
men at a Glasgow independent school urged that “Scottish culture should be
upheld, because in recent years, the English seem to have taken some of the
traditions away,” but they emphasised that they wanted to “still remain
linked with England.” Another group from the same school echoed several
less-articulate groups in suggesting that national values are linked to sport.
Thus:
Football should be reintroduced to schools to improve
the standards of the game and bring pride when club and the nation of Scotland
do well.
Another
group called for:
A future in which we have found new ways of being a
man in Scotland; where boys can grow up with sensitivity and creativity rather
than role models that promote destructive male values.
A
group of east of Scotland Quakers, for example, wanted to see Scottish values
balanced by the spiritual and the feminine:
[We want to see] respect for other people, including
the integration of feminine values [and] an open discussion of spiritual value
[where] we are able to celebrate our culture alongside all the cultures of the
world, and our children are deeply valued.
2.5
Public Sector
The
massive volume of quality responses analysed in this category reflect both the
extent to which people felt that public services are the main business of
Parliament, the extent to which they see public service provision within
community to one another as the mainstay of social cohesion (including economy)
and a probable element of bias insofar as the profile of groups responding to
People and Parliament contains an above average proportion of those whose lives
revolve around the use of public services, such as hospital patients, disabled
people and those involved with education. Whilst our data is not sufficiently
quantitative to allow disaggregation of the latter factor, we observe, however,
that similar points were being made from all sectors of society and so the
effects of sample bias are probably not as distorting as might otherwise be
suspected.
2.5.1
Education (including the Arts and Research)
A
huge number of groups emphasised their future hopes for Scottish education.
“Accessible and affordable education throughout life” repeated itself,
“especially for poorer students.” The old Scots experience that education is
the main answer to bettering the quality of life is clearly etched on the psyche
across all strata of society, with a strong sense that a true Scots education
contributes to the economy, but is not the servant of such a master. Thus, a
group of Edinburgh grassroots theologians hoped to see a time when:
... the education system challenges the prevailing
money culture by valuing people through giving them opportunities for critical
questions and reflection. This will allow them to develop their own set of
purposeful and meaningful values and to contribute to the wellbeing of Scottish
society.
Consistent
with the ideas of Paulo Freire whose thought has received wide exposure in
Scottish popular education since the early 1970’s, many groups linked such
“conscientisation” based education (a combination of conscience and
consciousness) to human potential. Thus a Bahai group wanted a state where:
Education is designed to help individuals realise and
develop their own potential... Women in particular realise their own potential
and value within society.
Similarly,
two retired Aberdeen lady teachers said:
Our education system provides opportunities for all
to develop individual potential, ensure full employment and recognise the value
of participation in recreational activities.
Some
respondents stressed particularly Scottish dimensions of education manifestly
rooted in the generalist “democratic intellect” of such luminaries as George
Elder Davie. Thus a group of Kilmarnock professional people said:
Some of the best traditions of Scottish education
should be maintained and developed, notably the multi-disciplinary Ordinary
Degree. There should be more Scottish content in the curriculum at all stages
[and] cultural activity should be properly funded.
Renewed
emphasis should therefore be placed upon the arts in education. Such cultural
literacy was seen by several groups as being essential to nourish the taproots
of national wellbeing. An Edinburgh group of people with learning difficulties
called for “support for the arts reaching right down into local
communities.” A group of mainly fishing industry workers from Aberdeenshire
hoped for “Scottish art to be taken out of the cellar in the National Gallery
and prominently displayed.” University students and chaplaincy staff said:
We would like to see a Scotland in which the
importance of the arts is recognised and properly supported. By 2020 there
should be proper financial arrangements in place to support young artists,
whether in the performing arts, in music, in literature and the visual arts.
This is crucial in the development of the kind of cultural self-confidence which
our people need, and it cannot be assumed that our new-found political status as
a nation will lead to a growth of our cultural self-expression.
As
well as building cultural “capital,” education should contribute towards
“a broad economy based on a diversity of skills,” thereby creating a society
based on sufficiency of material resources where those in need are cared for.
Thus, a group of Glasgow Catholic secondary school girls said, “We would like
living standards to be improved. Society is changing at a fast rate and we feel
education should go at the same pace.” Several groups indicated that such uses
of Scotland’s wealth were not, however to be construed as a lay-about’s
charter. A Strathspey residents’ group surmised:
We want money to be ring-fenced to fund important
issues like health and education, and we want a work culture and not a
dependency culture to be promoted.
On
schools, there was divergence in thought about the desirability of minority
schools. As we have seen earlier, minority religious groups often felt strongly
about the retention of separate schooling. Various other groups wanted what was
called “inclusive education” with “all children involved in mainstream
schools.” A group of Glasgow youth called for “more janitors and better
school security.” A group describing itself as working-class Glasgow women
hoped for “less emphasis on competition within the NHS and between schools.”
Unemployed women in Kirkcaldy called for “increased access to locally based
learning opportunities ... with smaller class sizes and more motivated and
forward thinking teachers.”
Several
groups called for better pre-school provision, a group of elderly women in
Kirkcaldy hoping to see that:
There will be a real choice available in childcare
and support for parents who wish to care full-time for children up to 5.
Some
support was expressed for Scottish science to be funded. One person supported a
Scottish space-travel programme. A Dundee group said, “Scottish research in
ground-based astronomy, for example, should be maintained at its level of
second-to-none.” Unemployed women in Fife said:
[We hope for] more resources to further health
research and therefore increase the real possibility of finding cures for
cancer, HIV and other long-term illnesses.
2.5.2
Health
Much
anger was expressed at the current state of the NHS so many aspirations were
placed upon amelioration. A justice & peace group said:
[We] wish to witness ... the re-emergence of a health
service affordable to all and non-dependent on charitable activities for the
purchase of vital equipment.
As
with the funding of other dimensions of public service, several groups affirmed
willingness to pay for adequate services. A Kilmarnock group said:
We would like to see a return to the principle of a
Health Services which is free at the point of need - including the services of
dentists and opticians... We are willing to pay more taxes provided the revenue
is properly used and the agenda is based on [social justice and Scottish
cultural] priorities.
Many
people deplored recent trends leading to the depersonalisation of health
provision. An older women’s group in Fife said:
We expect a better use of resources in the health
service, a less top-heavy management and greater value given to human resources
- face-to-face access to doctors and nurses - on a local basis and a choice of
race and gender in each area.
A
number of groups revealed an holistic understanding of how health links in with
other problems. For example, there were many references to drugs and the need
for “a national strategy to tackle alcohol misuse.” Some called for
supply-end solutions to drug addiction such as harsh punitive action against
pushers. Others wanted to see the user-end being tackled. Interestingly,
nicotine was hardly mentioned. A group of young adults in Glasgow displayed a
holistic perspective in saying:
We would like to see more attention given to sports,
for example, new leisure centres, which would bring a lot of the youths off the
street, bring communities together [and alleviate] the drug problem.
Some
church groups, mainly Catholic, called for “respect for human life - abortion
reform and abolition; ban euthanasia.” Others spoke of “NOT ‘officiously
keeping alive,’” “bonuses after tubal-tie [vasectomy]” and from women
students at a college in Edinburgh the imperative to “Keep the PILL FREE”
along with “tax-free tampons.”
2.5.3
Housing & Transport and Utilities
“No
more privatisation” echoed through a number of responses. Large numbers of
respondents expected to see “homelessness abolished” and housing standards
raised. Planning should encourage
the “building of mixed communities (i.e. different tenures)” where:
Each and every individual should feel secure in their
home and have the ability and right to eat, drink and make merry.
Young
and old women in Edinburgh’s Craigmillar housing scheme linked housing back
into wider considerations of “environment,” saying:
We would like a better environment in this community
and permanent housing, semis with their own gardens that do not need patching
up.
Similarly,
a local authority tenant’s group said:
The dire social standards and housing in estates like
Logie in Aberdeen are finally removed [and] social stability is established.
“There
should be wheelchair access for all new buildings,” said disabled people at an
Edinburgh day care centre, adding that “traffic lights should give people more
time to cross roads.”
The
need for better public transport featured strongly in many responses; indeed,
there were no calls for the strengthening of private transport provisions.
“Less cars, more bicycles and provision for bicycles” was strongly expressed
by young people. Older people and disabled people looked towards “more
underground stations, more buses, fewer cars.” Others called for “investment
in our rail network” and for “The British Rail link to the Borders and
beyond [to receive] urgent consideration.” An ecumenical church group struck
many resonances where it hoped for a 2020 where:
There is an integrated transport system with reduced
atmospheric pollution providing services throughout the country, especially
rural and island communities.
Many
of the low-income groups called for “the complete abolition of the standard
charges on electricity, telephones, gas, etc..” No support was expressed for
the privatised status of these utilities; on the contrary, community trust
directors in Perthshire wanted a Parliament that:
Ensures that essential services such as health,
police, water, sewerage, electricity and gas are controlled by directly elected
and accountable local councils.
2.5.4
Law & Order and Defence
There
was one call for the death penalty to be restored and some calls to be “hard
on crime, law & order and benefit fraud.” A completely anonymous
respondent spoke of a future that:
Puts law and order to the very top of the priority
list. Without law and order there is nothing. Make prisons a punishment - no
soft options. Make all drugs illegal... People who work hard are sickened by
benefit scroungers.
However,
most of the comments on law and order were in favour of a more humane penal
service and a visibly present community-based police force to keep the streets
safe. There should be a better and more humane justice and treatment system for
abusers. There should be “no guns, weapons and knives. These have been
banned.” One group encouraged police to employ “more creative and inventive
methods of catching criminals.” Some groups voiced concern about police
corruption. Otherwise, the police seemed to enjoy an underlying groundswell of
support. The main complaint was that we don’t see enough of them. Accordingly,
there should be “more awareness and more support from communities” for the
“bobby on the beat” along with:
... more therapeutic criminal justice system, more
open prisons, alternatives to prison, more police on the street, fines for
destroying environment, better house protection, alarms, etc., more police
recognition of abusive neighbours and anti-social behaviour, less smoking and
drinking in public.
This
comment came from a group of people with learning difficulties - a segment of
the population who clearly felt strongly about the need for a protective police
force. Another such group affirmed that:
We would like better policing of visible crime, like
neighbourhood nuisances, drinking in public, loud thuggish behaviour.
Local
control over police with local knowledge was felt to be important by some
groups. Thus a Highland Perthshire crime prevention panel hope to see a future
where:
Police must be stationed in their own areas and keep
a close liaison with the residents, with the police being encouraged to buy
their houses and stay in the area for longer terms.
There
were very few comments about defence except that many groups looked towards a
future where:
All nuclear weapons are a fading memory.
Retired
members of the trades union, UNISON, in Tayside looked towards a “reduction in
military hardware and defence forces.” A group from the Borders put in a plea
for subsidiarity, saying:
We would still like to have local army regiments
represented, and no further expansion of the areas under the control of police,
fire, water, etc..
2.6
Private Sector
Changes
during the 1980’s of the boundary between what constitutes private and public
sector activities have made the placement of certain statements into this and
the previous category somewhat arbitrary. In general terms, however, a
reasonably coherent vision for Scotland’s future emerges from the People &
Parliament responses. These were encapsulated by an
Edinburgh group of retired professional women who foresaw a 2020 where:
Legislation has been enacted to ensure our use of
renewable resources - wind, water, sun - with a requirement on all developers to
comply, thus lowering costs. Water remains in the public domain. We are
suspicious of PFI schemes. Start-up capital is available to ‘small’ people
to generate ‘small’ businesses, including recycling. The big boys’ inward
investment has not been a howling success.
Several
groups wanted to see “businesses given incentives to stay in Scotland and
penalised if they move.” Many expressed the hope that “Scotland will build
up manufacturing industries again” whilst “protecting the environment while
promoting investment and industry,” ensuring that “people have job security
and job satisfaction,” sponsoring home-grown “centres of research and
development,” and while there should be “less dependency on service
industries” there was a recognition of the importance of tourism and the value
of seeing that “the ‘shortbread’ image of Scotland is used to our
advantage abroad.” Community trust directors hoped to see a situation where,
“Highly qualified and experienced people are encouraged by salary and
constructive roles to stay in Scotland.” Others emphasised the need for
“minimum wages and a raised respect for ‘menial jobs.’” Industry,
according to a family group in the west of Scotland, should return to “proper
apprenticeships to provide skilled labourers.”
Various
groups expressed concerns about sovereignty and industry. School students in
Newlands called for “More head offices [to be] located in Scotland as opposed
to branches.” Home grown businesses should be encouraged by government
support; not foreign businesses, said another school group, because “foreign
companies leave in search of greater profit.” Oil industry money should be
prevented from “all going down South” and the Government should have “more
control over the press.” There should be a “fairer commercial rating
system” and in general, said a family group:
We would like to see a fairer society where the
rights and conditions of employees are respected, e.g. limiting temporary
contracts and profit sharing with the entire workforce.
The
Glasgow Mosque and Islamic Centre saw growing opportunities for international
trade, saying:
We want to establish business and trade links,
cultural exchanges and educational interests with Pakistan to bring economic and
educational benefits for Scotland and Pakistan.
2.7
Social Exclusion
The
elimination of social exclusion represented the biggest single aspiration of the
Scottish people as reflected in the People & Parliament process. Groups
wanted to see a Scotland where “poverty and poor people no longer exist”;
characterised by:
The eradication of poverty - physical, spiritual,
emotional.
A
women’s group at a Glasgow ecumenical institute said:
[Everything is] important but [only] if poverty is
challenged. It’s a reflection on our society how we treat our ‘poor’.
The
staff and management of a Glasgow housing association looked towards a Scotland
in which:
All people within our communities are valued as equal
citizens, regardless of ability, and where equal access to all aspects of life
in our communities is an agreed priority for public policy.
Thus,
parents of deaf children saw it as imperative that:
The stronger accept it as their inheritance to assist
those who through no fault of their own need occasional or even permanent
support. If this needs a reallocation of resources then our Parliament should be
willing.
It
was not just the ‘poor’ who wanted a “more redistributive tax system”
and reduction of the rich-poor divide. Well-to-do groups seemed equally willing
to pay for justice. For example, a group of ethnic Indian Scots describing
themselves as “some rich, some
poor” said:
We would like to see Scotland as a caring society,
which may involve lowering the standard of living of all people for the benefit
of the needy and those who are deprived.
Indeed,
Scotland should be “the best and most caring for ALL people.” Old people
should be able to “afford to heat their houses in winter” and have “a
dignified old age.” It should be a Scotland in which “people with learning
disabilities are treated as human beings,” with “no more ‘tale of two
cities.’” Addressing “spatial concentration” of housing is a priority
and policy should “help people to escape from the rent trap.” An Edinburgh
group wanted:
A fair society that doesn’t depend on your
postcode. Not being ashamed of your address - no stigma attached to living in
Pilton. Improved life expectancy for people who live in what, at the moment, are
called ‘deprived areas.’
Those
suffering from exclusion aspired, most fundamentally, towards having dignity and
being respected as fully human. A Dundee Christian group wants:
... to see a Scotland in which none of its citizens
are disenfranchised, no-one sleeping rough or dependent on charities for food
and clothing.
Service
users resented a sense of being treated like a commodity.
Residents at one residental care centre wanted a Scotland where:
People with learning difficulties are treated as
human beings, [with] proper funding made available for care in the community.
More consultation on needs at grass root level [and] less like a cattle market
[with] people going to the highest bidder [for care service provision].
Emphasising
their wish for respect, another such group wished that:
People with learning difficulties are treated with
more respect. Many of us have been the victim of bullying and name-calling on
the streets. Very young children need to be taught how hurtful this is so they
won’t do it when they are older.
A
group of mental health service user activists wanted a Scotland where:
There is a Mental Health Commission with stronger
powers and greater independence from the medical establishment. There is no
stigma attached to mental illness... There are adequate safeguards for
vulnerable people and an end to abuse. There is a greater range of treatments
and strategies available for responding to mental illness, and a greater choice
for mental health service users. There is a greater openness to debate among
mental health professionals and across a wider society. Mental health
legislation geared better to individual circumstances and to maintaining
independence and dignity.
A
deaf children’s society group reflected themes of empowerment, choice and
optimisation of human potential:
A campaign to encourage teachers to become teachers
of the deaf as there is a great shortage in Scotland. Every deaf child to have
access to all new technology from computers to hearing aids, requiring liaison
between health education and social work. Adequate funding for deaf children in
mainstream education - this provision not to be seen as a cheap option.
The
New Scotland should be one where, as several groups of both indigenous and
ethnic Scots said, “there is fair and compassionate treatment of refugees and
asylum-seekers.” Jewish teachers urged that “racist attacks are recognised
as such and shown to be intolerable to the judicial system.” Glasgow
schoolgirls wanted the future to be one where “All people of all age groups
and backgrounds can enjoy our country.”
The
sexual exploitation of young people should become “as rare as it was once
believed to be.” A Glasgow woman’s group said there should be “better
public services for Asian women, for whom Zero Tolerance has not worked.” An
interchurch women’s group looked to a Scotland:
Where violence against women, and abuse of power to
control or limit others’ lives, is socially and legally unacceptable.
While
Scots were strong on compassion, there was plenty evidence of impatience with
those who work the system. Only one group went as far as to suggest that “if
you don’t work then you don’t eat,” but a broad consensus would probably
gather around the views of staff at an enterprise trust in the north-east, who
said:
We would like to reduce the inequality of lifestyle
of the Scottish population in cities. We would like to break the cycle of
poverty in generations of families who ‘don’t work.’
Such
a position reflected a widespread understanding that social exclusion usually
has causes which society must help to eradicate. It would seem that the success
or failure of the new Parliament will be judged on this dimension perhaps more
than any other.
2.8
Political Process
Political
process is the subject of question 3, but it was apparent from responses to
question 2 that many people wanted to state their aspirations here as well. The
main theme expressed was that people wanted to see a Parliament based on
different values than Westminster - “people power.” Thus a Glasgow group of
community police officers and others hoped that:
Parliament will engender a spirit which will be
encouraging to those who in the past, have considered Whitehall somewhat remote,
and will therefore feel that a Scottish Parliament is, which it is, looking
after the jobs, the health, the education, the housing etc. of Scotland.
Whilst
warning of “rascalism in the council,” several groups hoped to see power
devolved from the centre to the periphery. A housing group correspondingly hoped
to look back on:
... a drastic reversal in the trend towards
dictatorial government control [of local authorities] and a firm commitment to a
healthy democratic local control by locally elected representatives with
adequate powers and financial resources.
A
Fife group hoped for:
... meaningful consultation and debate rather than
meaningless and exclusive forms and rituals. Shows a willingness to listen and
involve people by travelling to different parts of the country. Honest and open
[and] a building which is as accessible as possible.
Other
points included the hope that we “get away from the ‘blame’ culture that
is so obvious at Westminster,” “the
churches are actively involved in social justice and politics (but not party
politics),” that “the English Aristocracy play a less dominant role in
Scottish affairs,” that we are “not paying a TARTAN TAX [for] jobs for the
boys,” that we “abandon the extremes of Thatcherism and nationalisation,”
that “there is a Freedom of Information bill,” that “we do not want to be
controlled by quangos,” that “representatives should reflect the people NOT
the party,” that “the views of a rural locality are not swallowed up by
representatives of the urban Central belt,” and “Scottish people should be
more politicised, taking control of decisions which affect their life.”
2.9
National Stature
Many
groups recognised that the next 20 years will be a time of considerable
reflection on constitutional status. To some, the year 2020 would be an
opportunity for “our grand kids [to] say thanks for fightin’ for our
independence AT LAST after 300 years.” Others, slightly fewer in number,
wanted “Parliament to recognise us as part of the nation of Britain [so that
we] are included in nationwide issues.” A number of groups seemed to be taking
a “wait and see” approach to constitutional relationships with England and
the Union. One, for example, expressed the expectation of independence but with
“free movement of people and recognis[ing] England as its closest ally and
trading partner.”
What
were perceived in some cases to be residues of a onetime Empire were remarked
upon. A group of fishing industry workers and others said they wanted to see
“the Scottish flag encouraged and the Union Jack abandoned as a thing of
colonialism.”
It
was recognised that we might have to “address the problem of the choice of
monarchy or republic,” though by and large, the Queen was left out of
people’s comments. However, where traditional power was felt to be intrusive,
it was condemned by a number of groups. Thus a group of people with mental
health problems in Dumfries and Galloway surmised:
We would like to get rid of the military, archaic
landed gentry and large foreign conglomerates. We want nuclear disarmament, to
be ecologically aware and improving health and education. We want to be strongly
part of the United Nations and be an example in improving world situations.
A
number of groups felt that we could “take a lead in Europe” on such issues
as “human rights and representative structures which are responsive.” There
was a sense of getting rid of the ancien
regime and bringing a fresh perspective to the practice of freedom:
“people [will] have come to understand who they are and what they are.... The
old rules and laws that were of a past era no longer apply to them.” A group
called Education and Nation hoped:
As an independent Scottish state [celebrates] its
21st birthday, it continues to make progress towards a genuinely open society,
free of all the patronage, political corruption and totalitarian characteristics
that have strangled the good life here for centuries.
Several
groups expressed the “hope that we can reach out to other countries in their
times of need” and that “Scotland will support peace and understanding
worldwide.” On environment, we should “‘act locally and think globally’
- but short on rhetoric and strong on action.” Parliament should “protect
from the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI)” and make “a strong and
successful Scottish contribution to the worldwide movement for the eradication
of unpayable debt burdens on impoverished countries.” All this would,
doubtless, be helped along by fulfilment of the aspiration for “a World Cup
win.”
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