Address to Stirling Directive rally 22/07/2023

Canon Kenyon Wright famously said,

What if that other voice we all know so well responds by saying, ‘We say no, and we are the state’,’ Well we say yes – and we are the people.

Was he right?

Of course he was right! We all know that the people of Scotland are sovereign. we hear it said every day. We read it regularly on social media. We probably say the words ourselves from time to time.

The people of Scotland are sovereign!

If the Yes movement had a strapline below that familiar logo, it could well be,

The people of Scotland are sovereign!

YES! it would proclaim to the world. The people of Scotland are sovereign!

YES! The people of Scotland are sovereign!

Wouldn’t that make a better chant on marches than that tired, pointless stuff about ‘Tories out’? Or even the clichéd ‘What do we want? Independence!’?

YES! The people of Scotland are sovereign!

Shall we try it?

YES! The people of Scotland are sovereign!

YES! The people of Scotland are sovereign!

…

Sounds good to me. How did it feel? Did it feel good shouting ‘YES The people of Scotland are sovereign!’?

Of course it did.

You know the words. They are very familiar to you. But sometimes when a statement becomes very familiar, we stop thinking about what the words mean.

We know the words. We know it feels right to shout those words. We like to say, ‘YES! The people of Scotland are sovereign!’. But do we appreciate in our minds what the words mean?

We say that the people of Scotland are sovereign. But do we feel it in our hearts?

We shout about the people of Scotland being sovereign. But do we act like it in our daily lives? Do we behave as a sovereign people would?

Being sovereign means that the people of Scotland are the ultimate political authority in Scotland. The ultimate authority! The is no greater authority. When we say, ‘The people of Scotland are sovereign, that is a complete sentence. It is the whole statement. It is the entire truth. There is no ‘if’ or ‘but’ after that statement. There are no caveats or conditions. The people of Scotland are sovereign. That is all.

The people of Scotland are sovereign. We are the ultimate political authority in our nation. We are the sole source of rightful political authority. All legitimate political authority derives from the sovereign people of Scotland.

The people of Scotland are sovereign!

It is more than a strapline. It is more than a slogan. It is more than something to chant as we march the streets of our towns and cities in support of Scotland’s cause.

It is who we are!

When we proclaim the sovereignty of Scotland’s people, we are telling the world what kind of people we are. A sovereign people! With all the rights, entitlements and responsibilities that this implies. All the rights! Including the right to instruct the government we elect.

The people of Scotland are sovereign! We expect our government to act like the democratically elected government of a sovereign people!

We demand that our government act as the elected government of the sovereign people of Scotland!

But do we set an example? Do we behave as a sovereign people would behave? When we talk about our aspirations for Scotland, do we talk like a sovereign people?

When we campaign for Scotland’s cause, do we conduct ourselves as a sovereign people would? Do we walk the walk? Or do we just talk the talk?

Think about it!

I’m going to finish with another one of my favourite quotes. It’s from the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville.

In democratic countries, knowledge of how to combine is the mother of all other forms of knowledge; on its progress depends that of all the others.

Being sovereign is one thing. Exercising that sovereignty is quite another. Acting as a sovereign people requires that we rediscover the knowledge of how to combine. The knowledge of how to act as a sovereign people. Only by combining – by becoming as one – can we exercise the sovereignty that we like to talk about.

The people of Scotland are sovereign!

That sovereignty is the thing that we all hold in common. It is the thing that binds us. Acting as a sovereign people is our common cause.

The Stirling Directive is a reminder of our sovereignty. It is a reminder to our government and our parliament. But most importantly, it is a reminder to you – the sovereign people of Scotland.

You – WE are the people of Scotland and in this nation, we are sovereign!

Will you go from here today determined to act as the sovereign people of Scotland?

Let me hear you say it!

YES! The people of Scotland are sovereign!

Let our government hear it!

YES! The people of Scotland are sovereign!

Let our parliament hear it!

YES! The people of Scotland are sovereign!

Let the world hear it!

YES! The people of Scotland are sovereign!