There is scope to analyse and question what constitutional and political direction Great Britain takes in the coming years.
The idea of a Citizen’s Assembly has gained traction in recent years. It is a powerful mechanism for generating and reporting public views on major social questions. The SNP government has certainly embraced the practice. A key benefit is to counter the influence of party politics, popular propaganda, and ill-informed opinions. Establishing a representative assembly of citizens who benefit from expert information and have the time and space to discuss issues in a secure environment will improve the quality of debate.
A Citizen’s Assembly on the future of Scotland’s relationship with the monarchy could consider different scenarios:
- UK status quo as a hereditary monarchy.
- An independent Scotland as a constitutional monarchy.
- An independent Scottish Republic with an elected head of state.
This would allow informed discussion of the questions raised by each scenario. These could be carefully debated as opposed to propagandised by partisans of any one position or pre-determined by party policy on monarchy and independence.