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Revision as of 06:20, 13 October 2008 by Radagast83 (talk | contribs) (Removing doa merge tag)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The National Conversation is the name given to the Scottish Government's public consultation exercise regarding possible future increases in its powers, up to full independence.
It was launched on August 14 2007 by Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland. It consists of a 59 page white paper, titled Choosing Scotland's Future, and a website. The white paper includes a draft referendum bill. The website encourages comments to be made on the white paper. Uniquely for a public consultation exercise in the UK, comments are encouraged from members of the public, rather than just interest groups.
The unionist response
The three main unionist parties in Scotland, Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, are now engaging in talks to set up a 'constitutional commission' with a view to getting expanded powers for the Scottish Parliament but still firmly within the UK.
Influence
The initiative influenced the Parti Québécois and, in March 2008, shortly before the Parti Québécois National Council, leader Pauline Marois presented the party's plan to propose a conversation nationale to Quebecers as part of Marois' renewal of the party's approach on independence and social democracy. In this case, however, the conversation is to be solely on independence, instead of three options. The expression was met with less enthusiasm in Quebec and arose cynicism in the press and objection with some party hardliners. Shorty after, the Parti Québécois replaced the term with débat sur la souveraineté ("debate on sovereignty").
References
- Party people confront new realities, January 18, 2008, BBC
- Logique impériale by François Brousseau, March 25, 2008, Le Devoir