Scottish government sets out plan for written constitution

The crisis-hit Scottish National party government on Monday unveiled plans for an independent Scotland to have a written constitution safeguarding human rights, saying these could currently be overturned at the whim of whichever political party was in power at Westminster.

Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader, proposed embedding rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights in a Scottish constitution.

The constitution would also provide formal recognition for the NHS and compel a future Scottish government to “pursue” nuclear disarmament.

But opposition parties said Yousaf’s plans showed he was of touch with Scots who were focused on the cost of living crisis.

The publication of the SNP government’s latest paper on the case for independence comes as the party is embroiled in a crisis over a police investigation into its funding and finances that has led to the arrest of Nicola Sturgeon, Yousaf’s predecessor.

Opinion polls suggest the SNP could end up with fewer Scottish seats at Westminster than Labour in a UK general election, as Yousaf struggles to overcome controversies that have overshadowed his first 12 weeks in office.

“The position we are outlining today contrasts quite starkly with a Westminster government which is taking Scotland in a different direction . . . one where, I am afraid, rights are not protected,” said Yousaf. “Relying on Westminster supremacy has consequences.”

The ECHR has become a focus of heightened attention at Westminster after the Conservative government admitted its contentious legislation to try to halt migrants coming to the UK in small boats over the English Channel could breach the convention.

The government said there was a more than 50 per cent chance that its illegal migration bill would be incompatible with the ECHR.

The Scottish government paper has been releasing the papers to try to demonstrate how Scotland would be run in the event of leaving its more than 300-year old union with England.

The latest paper said Scotland would adopt an interim constitution after attaining independence and then call a convention to agree on a permanent document that would be adopted after a referendum.

It envisaged Scotland remaining a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as head of state “so long as the people of Scotland desired it”.

The Scottish Conservatives accused Yousaf of “the height of self indulgence” by publishing the document about a written constitution, while Scottish Labour dismissed the proposals as “pipe dreams”.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said spending money and civil servants’ time on the document was “an insulting distraction” to people waiting for help with the cost of living crisis.

Nicola McEwen, director of Glasgow university’s centre for public policy, said constitutional questions could not be completely depoliticised even if it was “perfectly legitimate” to hold the view that a codified constitution would leave rights less vulnerable to political whims.

“All constitutions have to be living, breathing things, capable of adaptation as values and societies change,” she said. “Finding an amending formula that satisfies everyone in a diverse society is often one of the most difficult aspects of constitution making.”