Scottish Greens to hold independence debate on 10th anniversary of referendum
On Wednesday 18th September, the 10th anniversary of the Scottish independence referendum, Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater will lead a landmark Member’s Business Debate on 10 Years since Scotland’s Independence Referendum.
It will be an opportunity for MSPs from all parties to reflect on the last 10 years as well as on Scotland’s constitutional future and how the people of Scotland can have a legal route to independence if that is their choice.
The motion submitted by Ms Slater notes the historic level of democratic engagement during the referendum campaign and calls for a reset in relations between the UK government and Holyrood after years of disrespect for devolution from successive Tory Prime Ministers.
Ms Slater said: “With the powers of a normal independent country we could do so much more to build a fairer, greener future focused on wellbeing and our environment.
"It would allow us to re-join Europe and move on from a brutal Tory Brexit that Scotland rejected and that has cost jobs and increased prices. It would allow us to end the hostile environment against refugees and migrant communities and extend a hand of friendship to the world. It would give us the power to raise wages, support workers and invest in the public services we all rely on while undoing the punishing cuts that the Tories have implemented and that Labour is continuing.
"I was inspired to get into politics by the referendum. There were lively and warm debates in every home and community across our country. But now there is now a whole generation of young people who have not had the chance to have their say.
"Independence is about the people of Scotland taking our own future into our own hands. By seizing the opportunities it offers, we could make the fundamental changes that are so vital and do far more for people and planet.
"It would allow us to build a new and better future. The Scottish Greens believe that Scotland should be a democratic green republic. Others will have different visions, but without the chance to make the big decisions we won't be able to turn any of them into a reality.
“So much has happened over the last 10 years. We need to have a debate about the future we could build and the next stage on our journey to independence. My Member's Debate will be an opportunity for different ideas to be heard and an important step in that process. I hope to see MSPs from across the Chamber joining me for it.”
Text of Lorna Slater’s motion
That the Parliament notes that 18 September 2024 marks 10 years since the referendum on Scottish independence; recognises what it considers to be the historic level of democratic engagement during the campaign, which, it understands, resulted in the highest voter turnout since universal suffrage; understands that support for Scottish independence has consistently polled at 45% to 50% of Scotland's population in the decade since; considers that the Scottish Parliament has been undermined in recent years by the UK Government, including through Brexit, the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, and the use of an order under section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998; welcomes the commitments made by both the Scottish Government and the recently elected UK Government to reset the relationship between the two governments, but considers that it remains unclear whether either government has set out what would constitute such a reset, and notes the belief that the Parliament and the people of Scotland, including those in the Lothian region, must have the opportunity to shape any improved relationship, including by establishing how the people of Scotland could progress a legal route to independence if that is their wish.