Alex Salmond's Alba Party have launched their manifesto "Shake Things Up" for the Scottish Parliamentary election 2021. Here's the cover:
Graphic design
I can't honestly say the image of a dog shaking itself thrills me particularly. Yes, I know its to "shake things up", but I'm still not impressed. The image looks dirty and mucky.
Nor do I like their choice to have large amounts of body text in italics. it makes it hard to read except at big font sizes.
Overall, it looks like it was done hastily by someone who isn't a graphic designer using a word publishing program (I'm guessing Microsoft Word). There's nothing wrong with that particularly, especially given that Alba are a new party and are doing things in a hurry. It's functional (mostly) and does the job.
Also I cannot cut-and-paste most of the text in the manifesto, which is annoying (I mean more annoying than most PDFs, where cut-and-paste works badly; here it doesn't work at all).
Now, on to the policies...
Independence
Delivering Independence
This is what matters most and this is why Scotland needs independence with urgency.
Alba clearly set out their top priority. I like it when politicians are direct. I wish they all were, but many have a serious case of verbal diarrhea.
If a section 30 Order is refused, then the Scottish Government must then pass a Referendum Bill with urgency and be ready to fight it through the courts if need be. A range of other tactics should be employed including diplomatic pressure and international legal action and the mobilisation of the Scottish people though popular and peaceful demonstration and direct action.
This makes sense. If Boris Johnson says "no", Scotland must have an answer other than just accepting it and meekly walking away with our tail between our legs.
Constitution
What would the constitution of an independent Scotland look like? The Manifesto says:
There can be no ambiguity. The sovereignty of the people means the people are superior to the Parliament, the Executive and all other public and private organisations.
I agree. The sovereign body in Scotland is the Scottish people. Not politicians in Holyrood. Certainly not politicians in Westminster. And not multinational companies either.
A singular advantage of a written constitution which starts with "the people are sovereign", is that it empowers any citizen or group of citizens to challenge parliamentary, government, or other public and private body's action, if any measure they take infringes the rights of the people as set out in the constitution.
Alba’s policy is that the Scottish Parliament should refer the setting out of the principles and framework of a written constitution to a Citizens’ Assembly. This should build on the work of the Scottish Sovereign Research Group and appoint a full range of expert advisors. These principles and framework should be ready for study, development and decision in a final draft by a Constitutional Convention, formed in the first three months of independence.
Makes sense.
Democracy
Implementing the radical proposal from the first Citizens’ Assembly and create a second Citizens’ Chamber for Holyrood which could sit in the Royal High School on Calton Hill.
The best means of election or selection can be discussed but the intent is clear.
It would be like a permanent Citizens’ Assembly, 100 people given the powers to review the legislation produced by Holyrood, produce its own ideas and hold inquiries into anything it likes.
This is unnecessarily vague. The way to do a Citizens’ Assembly is sortition: choose 100 Scottish citizens at random from the electoral roll. This means they will automatically be demographically representative of the people. Service on the Citizens' Assembly should not be compulsory, since there's no way to force someone to to do a conscientious and good job.
The members of the Citizens’ Assembly could perhaps serve a 4 year term, with 1/4 of them being replaced every year.
In terms of powers, the House of Lords at Westminster has the power to delay a non-money bill for up to 9 months. Maybe the Citizens’ Assembly could have that power, and also the power that a 2/3rd supermajority on it could defeat any parliamentary bill, and then if parliament still wants to go through with the bill they could put it to a referendum.
The future for Alba
What will happen with Alba? I envisage 4 scenarios, based on how many seats they win:
0 seats => complete failure
1-3 seats => partial failure
4-6 seats => partial success
7 or more seats => full success
A complete failure means they will likely fold and will never be heard of again.
A partial failure probably means they will limp on but not be successful in the long term.
A partial success means they will compete in the 2022 local elections and pick up a few council seats, but probably only in single figures.
A full success means they will likely be a permanent fixture in the Scottish political scene, and will probably get 10 or more council seats in 2022.
If Alba do get MSPs elected, they will make independence their first priority and hold Nicola Sturgeon’s feet to the fire to make sure she does too. The SNP will be forced to make independence their top priority, and be seen to be doing so, because otherwise independence supporters might desert them in future elections and vote Alba instead.
If Alba is successful, independence is more likely. On that basis, I would like to see Alba succeed.
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