We can’t avoid uncomfortable truth about the referendum result

Setting an important tone of reconciliation in the aftermath of the independence referendum, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly, the Rt. Rev John Chalmers, has called for both sides to put aside their differences and to work together for the Scotland we all care passionately about. And I agree. However, before we move on too quickly, there are two things that need to be said. The first is that the campaign over the last two years is much more of a cause for celebration than reconciliation. In every part of Scotland, we have seen a rekindling of debate about what sort of Scotland we want to live in. The record numbers of people who turned out to vote last Thursday is an illustration of an enlivened democracy. We have moved from being a nation tired of representative democracy – where we elect politicians and then blame them when things go wrong – to a country hungry to help shape our future.

We must ensure that those who have benefited least from the past, benefit most from the future

The Community Empowerment Bill is currently making its ways through the Scottish Parliament. In the light of last Thursday’s events, surely there is a case for that legislation to be much more radical through, for example, the statutory introduction of participatory budgeting. The second thing I want to ponder is the fact that there can be no reconciliation without justice. The sad reality, with respect to the Moderator (who is a good friend who I don’t think would disagree with me on this point) is that in Scotland there is a ‘them’ and ‘us.’ It is not, however, the binary between the ‘Yes’ and ‘No Thanks’ campaigns but rather between those who have and those who have not. Last week four out of the thirty two local authority regions voted in favour of independence. We cannot avoid the uncomfortable truth that these are also, broadly speaking, the parts of Scotland where life expectancy is lowest, health is worst and poverty is highest. People, in record numbers, voted to leave the United Kingdom. And a very significant number of them did so because the current system has left hundreds of thousands disenfranchised and powerless. But even worse, it has left people poor and hungry. As a sector – and much more broadly as citizens – we must do all that we can to ensure that the outbreak of participation that we have witnessed in these last weeks and months continues and flourishes. That won’t be easy but it is vital. And in the new Scotland that we can help to create we must ensure that those who have benefited least from the past, benefit most from the future. Then, there will be no ‘them’ and ‘us’ – only ‘us’.