A second chamber should be set up in the Scottish parliament comprising members of the public randomly selected like a jury, a leading figure in the Scottish independence movement has claimed.
A “citizens’ assembly” to revise laws and scrutinise the Scottish government was among the ideas raised at the Scottish Independence Convention, a gathering of more than 800 pro-independence activists held in Glasgow yesterday.
The suggestion was put forward by Robin McAlpine, director of think tank Common Weal, who said the chamber should be drawn from around the country to reflect the population as a whole, and that it would fulfil a similar role to the House of Lords at Westminster.
The convention, chaired by actress Elaine C Smith, also heard contributions from cabinet secretary Angela Constance, SNP MP Tommy Sheppard, and Scottish Greens co-convenor Maggie Chapman, as the movement prepares for a second independence referendum.
Sheppard told the convention that 2017 should be the year of answering the big questions and, to cheers from the audience, called for Scotland to have a central bank and its own currency.
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Constitutional expert Nicola McEwen, professor of territorial politics at the University of Edinburgh, spoke of “immense, new and difficult challenges” after independence in creating governmental and institutional arrangements in the changed circumstances following Brexit.
She injected what she called “a dose of realism” when describing potential difficulties in setting up institutions in an independent Scotland. “A Scotland inside the EU, with the rest of the UK outside, would mean previously envisaged shared institutions would be more difficult,” she said.
McEwen argued that the experience of setting up revenue and social security agencies in Scotland had provided a massive insight into how new bodies might be created — but that it might take more time to establish these than previously thought.
Former Labour MSP Graeme Pearson, appointed this week to head the anti-independence Scotland in Union group, said of the proceedings: “It just seems we are caught in a loop, going round and round in circles going nowhere fast.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour has denied a rift between its leader Kezia Dugdale and head of the UK party Jeremy Corbyn over legislation for a new act of union. It described the row as one over language and terminology and not of substance.
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A party spokesman said: “Both Jeremy and Kezia support the setting up of a UK constitutional convention and are committed, to a federal solution for the UK.”
Eyebrows have been raised over Corbyn’s appointment of a new Scottish adviser. Tommy James, who also works part time for the left-wing MSP Neil Findlay, has been described as the “eyes and ears” of Corbyn’s office in Scotland.
But a Scottish Labour spokesman said Dugdale supported the appointment.
Corbyn is due in Glasgow on Friday for a series of meetings.