Yesterday we in Scotland had an
important referendum. Those of you who read my previous post will
know that I am not an enthusiast for referendums. Some of you will
know that I got run over (my fault) soon after writing it, so maybe
that was a judgement. Be that as it may. This recent referendum in
Scotland has had some excellent consequences. There has been a
widespread, thoughtful and committed involvement in serious politics
by an overwhelming majority of the electorate, including some young
people new to voting. The YES campaign developed a vision for the
future which included many inspiring social and political reforms.
The NO campaign was drawn into trying to match these, and so the
whole country has been enthused by the need do more, soon, to make
Scotland and the UK a better place.
This does not pretend to be an academic
paper, and is woefully short of necessary detail. I like to hope that
it will contribute to debate and to thinking and to progress of a
modern sort.
To my way of thinking there are three
mighty issues which we should tackle, perpetuating the energy
generated by the referendum.
One is that the widespread cynicism
about politics and politicians must be eliminated. There are two
things that must be done to achieve this. The first is that
politicians must stop behaving in ways that invite cynicism. All
politicians in our democracy are concerned with winning the next
election. All politicians are concerned with wealth creation. All
leading politicians are a bit ambitious (thank goodness, or there
would be no one to do the job). As a result some politicians (not
all) behave in ways which invite cynicism. I'll mention expenses
scandals and spin-doctoring – but, as I said, this is not a
detailed paper. We must use our energy to support those who want to
outlaw dishonest, selfish, arrogant behaviour.
The second way of combating cynicism is
for the many politicians who are honest and able and unselfishly
dedicated to the common good to do more to project their correct
image to voters. The media have a heavy responsibility here. If you
watch or listen to obscure channels outside prime time, or if you
read long articles in journals written in small print, or read the
best political memoirs, you soon learn of politicians of great
ability and considerable knowledge who are able to have sensible
discussions about ways of tackling our problems. But in headlines,
and on prime time you see would-be celebrities showing off their
skill with words, romping in the bear-garden of party-political
competition and indulging in point-scoring. (This leaves out serious
scandals which erupt from time to time.) The better sort of
politician (the majority) need to work harder at showing they are the
people we want to do the job. Journalists could help them – whilst
still subjecting them to rigorous scrutiny.
Incidentally, there is a supplementary
point that involves Scotland – and any other devolved part of the
UK. A journalist at a party once told me after a few drinks (you see
I am not claiming this as proof) that at the Holyrood Parliament, where
he worked, the SNP members were much the most interesting, because
the best young members of Lib, Lab and Con all had ambitions to be
successful in UK politics. For devolution to work as it should be
need some “big hitters” to stay working in devolved politics, or
return to them after a spell in London.
The second mighty issue that needs to
be tackled with redoubled energy is the issue of equality and
poverty. Anyone who professes an easy solution is probably a
charlatan. But again and again during the referendum campaign I saw
this issue raised. Please do not stop raising it. At the moment the
poorest in our community have a very raw deal This is unjustifiable.
Do something about it, with energy.
The third mighty issue is the one I am
personally involved in, in a little way, which is the whole question
of sustainability, climate change and mass extinction. There are some
UN summits on climate change about to happen. There are People's
Climate Change Marches designed to show the democratic politicians
that there is support (votes) to be won by pursuing sensible
policies. Devote to them the energy and enterprise and unselfish
desire for the common good that illuminated the referendum debates.
There are many other important issues
in politics. I have selected three, acutely aware that I have omitted
many – notably international issues of diplomacy, peace and war.
Nevertheless, the main point of this post is the stress that all the
energy and enthusiasm generated by the referendum will have been a
waste of time if our democracy does not take the opportunity to build
on it and to move on.
