New declaration on independence, same old problem

The Herald Scotland

07-07-2025

The latest one to catch my attention is The International Commission for European Citizens or ICEC (gotta have an acronym). It was established in 2011 and has been very busy indeed proving something is being done by issuing lots of declarations and determinations and resolutions. The latest one was signed at the weekend and was called, with suitable solemnity, The Cardiff Declaration. It's worth taking a look at in more detail not only because it is a classic of the genre, but because it helps reveal the curious hyperopia common among nationalists: the contradictions are there, right in front of them, but for some reason they cannot see them.
The stated aim of The International Commission for European Citizens essentially is to gather together several pro-independence organisations, institutions and individuals into one organisation, a commission of commissions. It has members from Scotland, Wales, Catalonia, the Basque Country, Flanders, South Tyrol and Veneto and all of them were there on Saturday to sign the declaration. It is, we're told, a commitment to peaceful, democratic self-determination and closer collaboration.
The fact the commission chose to meet in Wales is interesting because support for independence in the country appears to be growing, with one recent poll showing 41% excluding the don't-knows. The changing situation was enough for the Welsh Government to establish a commission (but of course) called The Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales which called for greater devolution on a range of subjects including policing and energy none of which has happened yet (but of course). Perhaps we need another commission to look at the implementation of the commission's proposals.
But let's look at what The International Commission for European Citizens actually came up with. 'We believe,' says the declaration, 'that the Europe of the future must be built on the foundation of democracy, equality and the sovereign will of all its peoples. In the face of persistent democratic deficits and centralising forces, we reaffirm that our shared vision is one of self-determination, greater citizen participation and the right of all nations to shape their own futures." The declaration also promises to 'work as closely as possible together as nations' and to 'ensure that our campaigns for independence are open, accessible and representative of all our people'.
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On the face of it, this is all perfectly reasonable, particularly on the subject of the self-determination of peoples, a principle unionists and nationalists should agree on. Where they might disagree is how you determine what the people think (is 50.0001% enough?) and the possible consequences of the principle. The British defence of The Falklands for example was absolutely justified on the basis of self-determination but it would be interesting to find out how many supporters of Scottish independence think Margaret Thatcher's reaction to the Argentinian invasion was right. Not many I imagine because self-determination is not a cool and objective principle, it involves nationalistic emotions which aren't always logical.
The language used in The Cardiff Declaration also highlights the same old problems that lie at the heart of the independence movements which support it, and they're particularly obvious in Scotland. The declaration says for instance that we face 'persistent democratic deficits and centralising forces' – this in a country that had a referendum on independence with an 84% turnout. In the last 30 years, the UK has also been precisely the opposite of centralising: devolution in 1998 profoundly changed the UK and devolution has been extended since; the idea of a 'centralising force' is wrong.
However, it's the first solemn promise of the declaration that is especially revealing – 'to work as closely as possible together as nations' – because it underlines the contradiction that the SNP, Plaid Cymru and other proponents of independence struggle with. They talk about working closely together, supporting each other in the face of challenges and helping each other in mutual advancement and yet they support a cause that seeks to undermine all of those things.
Stephen Flynn (Image: Newsquest)
It is particularly obvious in the case of the SNP when they talk about the European Union. You may remember the party's Stephen Flynn saying how we should be back in the EU working closely together, supporting each other in the face of challenges and helping each other in mutual advancement. 'We should be seeking to rejoin the European single market,' he told the Commons. 'We should be seeking to rejoin the European customs union.'
But what the SNP has never resolved is the contradiction at the heart of that. Mr Flynn says the Scottish economy is intrinsically linked to our relationship with the EU and we should therefore be seeking to rejoin. But if the Scottish economy is intrinsically linked to our relationship with the EU, it is even more intrinsically linked to our relationship with the UK. The only logical – not emotional – conclusion is that seeking to rejoin the EU means seeking to remain in the UK and that if leaving the EU has created barriers, damaged growth and hurt our mutual advancement, then Scotland leaving the UK would do exactly the same.
This is the problem The Cardiff Declaration cannot see, particularly in the case of the SNP. Self-determination is a principle all of us can get around, unionist and nationalist; it should be the bottom line of international politics and law. But a declaration like the one we've seen coming out of Cardiff denies reality if it does not acknowledge, or refuses to see, that nations and regions working closely together for economic, social, security and other practical reasons requires serious compromises on independence. That is the reality that unionists accept, and support. But it appears to be a reality the signatories to The Cardiff Declaration simply cannot see.