It’s day one of our country’s regained independence, and there’s a collective intake of national breath as Scots realize they’ve done it. But what now? Where do we begin? What’s first on the list?
Well, if we’re smart, we’ve already got teams of homegrown experts lined up to take on each aspect of rebuilding our country in our own image.
Currency is easy, that’s designing, printing, and distribution, and if we need help, our friends in the EU, who have been waiting patiently for us to get our act together, will oblige. A new Scottish pound set a comparable value with the Euro, for example. We don’t want to be linked with what is now the English and Welsh pound, as it’s likely to tank almost immediately Scotland takes control of its own rich resources again, and there’s a lot of those, including our people.
Then there’s the Scottish Central Bank. Again, there are folk who have put a lot of work into building this financial institution, and much of that work is done.
And likewise the constitution, which groups and teams have been working on and building for some time.
Our legal system is already mature, and once we crush those parts of it that are english establishment based, like the insincere and duplicitous Crown Office, then we can, with the help of our own advocates, update it to a 21st century model that is fit for us, replete with not only the tools of fair justice, but the compassion and empathy we want in our society, something completely missing from English based legal structure.
And pensions, yes. An initial pension of 250 Scottish Pounds a week would get us going, but let’s not stop there. Converting our entire welfare system to UBI (Universal Basic Income), and converting our taxation base to entirely Scottish, with all taxation paid into entirely local national accounts, in our national bank, simplifies the entire process of supporting our citizens and removes the brutal interrogative nature of current welfare systems, which are english establishment constructs, and cruel by default, because the english establishment seem to enjoy that sort of thing. We will restore our national confidence as a society, and remove the stigma associated with living in an english establishment class structure that seeks to relentlessly shame the poorest in our society, because, well, they enjoy seeing folk suffer, and that’s not Scottish at all.
So.
Our elected politicians will be in a unique position. A brand new parliament, in a brand new/ old/ new Scottish Republic. If we’re clever as citizens, we’ll do our homework and elect those who are actually capable of helping us build our old/new country, and not full of hot air and blah blah blah. In other words, politicians who are as far removed from the Westminster Model as it is possible to get. Politicians who consider Public Service a unique honour and privilege, not a trough to stick their noses in for all their worth. Politicians who will work tirelessly to implement systems and structures that are created for them by our teams, and who will do the work on the ground. Politicians who will put the people of Scotland first, and always first, in those first days, weeks, and months of our new reality. Politicians who will swiftly remove the terrible laws and edicts foisted on us by the English Establishment and their supporters among our fellow Scots. Politicians who will adapt quickly to any challenges that arise, and there will be some, discussing and solving problems in short time frames, without filibustering to satisfy their egos, and feed any personal narcissism they intend to inflict on us.
They will work for us, and with new laws that enable the public to quickly recall anyone who’s not working in our best interest, we will hold the sovereign power.
Politicians will get our help to build our country, because it’s ours. There will be no more massive expense accounts because we’ll provide them with accommodation and meals in state owned premises and facilities, so they’ll be free of the burden of submitting reams of paperwork, including most expense claims. Politicians will be trained to used online systems, so a virtual Holyrood is the norm, and we’ll have the best remote parliament in the world. One day a week in Holyrood for example, and the rest operating from home or a local constituent office in their electorate. The time saved with relentless, and frequently pointless, travel across our country merely for the spectacle, will be significant, and ensure elected officials are right where they should be, within easy reach of their constituents. A digital system of collaboration, and debate that is the equivalent of Zoom+++, and then some, with the capability for the public to watch, and see and hear what our leaders are saying, and planning to do.
And most of all, politicians will be, once again, people like us, doing their Public Service work, paying their bills and saving and investing their money here, and collecting a Scottish pension. The same Scottish pension the rest of the nation will get, as it should be, in a country where a man or woman working to clean the streets, or a bus or train driver, a ferry operator, a care worker, a doctor, a nurse, a car park attendant, and many more, are treated equally with admiration and respect.
A politician’s pension set at the national rate will ensure the national rate is sufficient to live on.
And that’s a good start to making sure the wealth of our nation, is for the people.
As it should be.