The
Geographer
22-23
Spring 2014
Integrity and community should be at the heart of the debate
about Scotland’s future
Right Reverend Lorna Hood, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
In February 2014, I helped
launch the report Imagining
Scotland’s Future: Our Vision. The
report is based on the views of
over 900 people who attended
32 community events run by
the Church of Scotland as an
alternative national debate on the
referendum. The events were held
right across Scotland in 2013.
• here was a strong expression
T
of the need for prayer and for
the Church to be involved in
social action and in promoting
Christian values such as love,
hope, respect and forgiveness, as
the fundamental building blocks
which would contribute to the
common good.
We asked people to think about
what kind of Scotland they wanted
to live in; to do this, participants
were asked to write down the
values they felt were important,
the issues they considered a
priority, and what actions we
should take to make Scotland
a better place. The results were
fascinating, and here are a few
examples of the conclusions.
The top ten values mentioned
in the meetings (see table) are
all about our relationships.
While these appear to be
about relationships between
people, care and concern about
Scotland – the place, the natural
environment, and our stewardship
of the land and nature – were also
big concerns.
• he referendum is about far
T
more than the simple question,
“what is in it for me?”. The idea
that being £500 better off or
worse off would affect how
people voted was conspicuous
by its absence in all the 32
events. Instead, participants
prioritised the building of local
communities on the principles of
fairness, justice, and sharing of
resources.
• here is dissatisfaction with the
T
political system at all levels, not
just Westminster. Holyrood also
featured strongly. Participants
wanted to see integrity,
accountability and transparency,
being able to hold politicians
accountable between elections,
and for the party system to be
less powerful.
• here was a call for radical
T
changes, including far greater
local decision-making, and for
politicians to see themselves
as public servants in a more
participative democracy.
• modern, successful economy
A
needs limits placed on freemarket forces; business models
should be more focused towards
the employee and more valuedriven. There was a willingness
to consider alternative and more
progressive models of taxation
to build a better society.
Our common values
A strong theme running through
the contributions made about
the environment was recognition
of the beauty of Scotland’s
natural environment, and that
the resources within it should be
protected and shared. Concern
for the natural environment was
matched by discussions about the
urban environment, its quality and
safety, and global environmental
issues including our impact on
climate change.
Such concerns started in the
same discussion of values
that started all the meetings,
suggesting that care for each
other and care for the environment
are not two irreconcilable aims
but are strongly linked together
and have a common ethical origin.
How do we relate these findings
to the current referendum
debate? We asked no-one how
they intended to vote in the
referendum, though in such a
cross section of Scottish society
we would surely have encountered
people who will vote no, some who
are committed to independence,
and a number who are uncertain
or uncommitted. What is striking
is that the responses from people
in opposite camps should have so
much in common, and that the
values underpinning the debate
could be repeated so many times
in such different circumstances.
This really encourages me and
helps give substance and depth to
the public debate. We can all ask
the same question and encourage
this debate together: what kind of
Scotland do we want to live in?
Top Ten Values
1 Equality
2 Fairness
3 Justice
4 Education
5 Respect
6 Honesty
7 Community
8 Opportunity
9 Compassion
10 Tolerance
The report Imagining Scotland’s Future: Our Vision is available
from www.churchofscotland.org.uk.
“…care for each
other and care for
the environment are
not two irreconcilable
aims but are strongly
linked together and
have a common
ethical origin.”