16/01/2013 Newsnight Scotland

On Newsnight Scotland, it might not match the rhetoric of the American

constitution or the Declaration of Arbroath, but Alex Salmond has come

up with a constitution for an independent Scotland. It includes

banning nuclear weapons and enshrining free education. But are

they fundamental rights or just SNP policies? Another report bemoans

the state of Scottish sport. We speak to a leading athletics coach

that says it is time to encourage the nation's mums and dads to do

more. Britain famously has no written

constitution. The same would not be the case in an independent Scotland,

at least if Alex Salmond has his way. He says if he wins a

referendum he would like a constitution that is not just

written down, but enshrines what he thinks our fundamental rights, like

free education and day ban on nuclear weapons. But are these

really basic rights or just things that happen to be the policies of

the SNP? More than 200 years since it was

written, the American constitution remains a document revealed by its

citizens. Having emerged from the bloody struggle of revolution and

inspired by the Declaration of Arbroath, the Founding Fathers set

down in ink the values that would define their new republic. As Alex

Salmond looks beyond the referendum, he is determined that his mission

of an independent Scotland is For this Texan academic working in

Scotland, the parallels are fascinating. Many times, we refer

to the US constitution as effectively establishing a civic

religion. Americans are very devoted to their constitution and

take it very seriously. I think part of what Alex Salmond is doing

is attempting to establish that within Scotland. Saying, OK, let's

take Scotland as an independent country, let's take the idea of it

seriously. If we are going to take it seriously we want to have a

written constitution, as other established countries have. Other

countries, but not the UK, as the First Minister is quick to point

out. Modern states have constitutions. The UK is the

exception. Every other country in Europe has a constitution

protecting its citizens. An independent Scotland would be a

modern democracy and a modern democracy should have a

constitution. What would feature in a written constitution for

Scotland? Alex Salmond says that is for Scots to discuss. But he put

forward what calls ideas. The right to free education and the right to

housing I initials suggestions. A constitutional ban on nuclear

weapons is another. Finally, and enshrined commitment on the use of

the armed forces. But are these constitutional rights or policies

straight from the SNP manifesto? When the First Minister tries to

include these things, he's talking about them on the level of

principles rather than policies. So, obviously, we have to see what

detail emerges from the future constitutional discussions that

will take place in future years. I would expect to see a commitment to

the principle of things like education. This is what a model

constitution would look like? Having written his own model

constitution for Scotland, he believes it is vital that a

conversation about what to included it gathers pace. For others,

however, assuming the longevity of shared values is a potentially

problematic. A as public understanding of what policy should

be changes and the vaults over time, the Government of the day can

respond to public demands for policy. By having a constitution

that entrenches things like re- education for all, that might mean

that future parliaments would have to change the constitution, not

just to change policy. According to Alex Salmond, today represents a

shift away from the process of the referendum. Instead, he says, he is

focusing on why Scotland should be independent. An argument on which

the fate of any written Well, I am joined from Edinburgh by

Rob Gibson, an SNP member of the committee that is scrutinising the

Referendum Bill, and by the deputy leader of the Scottish

Conservatives, Jackson Carlow. Written constitution, there is no

object against it, is there? didn't know whether to laugh or cry

today. This struck me as being, to borrow one of Alex Salmond's more

famous quotes, an act of unpardonable folly. After 2016, in

the event we did vote for independence, which I hope Scotland

will not, we are going to spend, the great claim, the great hope,

years debating a constitution. I think when there are so many

practical issues that need to be dealt with today, so many practical

issues to deal with in 2016, whatever the outcome of the

referendum, a big debate about the constitution which seems to be a

pork-barrel assortment of SNP manifesto promises, hardly the

stuff you would expect to find in a constitution, I think it is a very,

very limp prospectus. OK, but just imagine for one second that the

unthinkable happens and you lose the referendum. If Scotland does

become independent, it is perfectly reasonable to suggest it should

have a written constitution? This is a matter we can discuss after

such an eventuality. I would hope it would be rooted in far more

profound principles than last year's SNP manifesto. Some of the

things Alex Salmond talked about the day, free education, when we

have seen a 24% cut in college places, no nuclear weapons when it

is SNP official policy to apply to be the nuclear alliance in NATO.

This is just partisan politics and I don't think it adds to the

decision Scotland has to take in 2014. Rob Gibson, it is partisan

politics, isn't it? To take the example of education, there are

different views between political parties in Scotland as to whether

there should be tuition fees in universities. That is properly a

political decision for the Government of the day to make. It

is not something you writing to a constitution? Making its

constitution would be an exciting time, when people had voted Yes.

That would involve all of the parties. Hang on, can we at least

make an attempt to pretend to answer the question? The matter of

education you're talking about, we are talking about discussions at

that stage between citizens, civic Scotland, all the people from

different parties. They agree what should be in a constitution at that

stage. Alex Salmond has got ideas he has put out today. He also said

that Britain... Sorry, yes, the UK is the only EU estate that doesn't

have a written constitution and that Westminster is, to use his own

words, profoundly undemocratic. In what sense is Britain profoundly

undemocratic? Well, the voting system is very undemocratic for a

start. So we do not live in a democracy? I don't think we live in

the kind of developed democracy that Scotland already has with

devolution. I think we could be much more democratic in Scotland

and the future. If the exciting ideas that are possible, that have

been developed in small countries like Iceland, who have had a

constitutional convention voted for by the people and allowing people

to discuss what should be in their constitution, it is precisely the

thing that a new nation should do. There you are, what do you say to

the idea that Britain is profoundly undemocratic? It's worth pointing

out that we have not had a written constitution. Unlike all of the

other nations that Alex Salmond mentioned, we have endured. They

were all the subject of revolution, invasion or anarchy, without a

written constitution the United Kingdom, the four countries of the

United Kingdom, they prevailed. Our arrangement has worked perfectly

well. If tomato David Cameron was to say, we are going to spend the

next several years making a priority of a discussion about a

written constitution, rather than actually dealing with the issues

that are of material concern to people, I think he would be laughed

out of court. Rob Gibson, that is a point. If you ask most people in

Britain to look at the respective records in defending fundamental

human rights and democracy of Britain over the last 100 years,

these 27 countries that Alex Salmond like so much because they

have had written constitutions, I don't think many people in Britain

would hesitate before they said no, Britain has a much better record?

don't know whether they would. Jackson used the word insured. I

think many people in this country do believe we can do much better.

When you look at the modern... Sorry, which of these European

countries have done better? France, Germany, Italy? Norway, Sweden,

Finland, countries like ourselves that have written constitutions and

have much more democracy than is in in Britain. We are trying to create

a new country that looks at these ideas. It happens after people vote

yet -- yes. I know you do not want people to vote for independence,

but if they do, I don't see that you have come up with an argument

against having a constitutional some sort? I have said, if that was

the outcome of the referendum, it would be a discussion we could have

on the other side of that. I would hope that those circumstances it

would be rooted in the basis of principles are higher than any one

party's political agenda. I don't see that floating all of this just

now is really a material consideration when people are

considering how they are going to vote in 2014. I think it is just a

distraction, to try and kick off another rather lacklustre kind of

effort to stimulate enthusiasm for a project that is really pretty

much stalled at the present time. We really want to talk about

current logical issues and, even in 2016, those issues, those bread-

and-butter issues, for want of a cliched phase, will be far more

Guided noticed that while it had lots of SNP policy in it, the

constitution had certain glaring omissions. Your government is about

to bring forward a bill for same- sex marriage, why isn't there a

provision for same-sex marriage, why didn't he point that out? Why

not point out I get the right to an abortion, all the right of the

unborn child, depending on the point of view. These things were

glaringly absent. I think he didn't give an exhaustive list. He chose

the examples to give. Most people in Scotland do want to see a

nuclear free country. Most people believe in the principles we are

talking about, free education. don't think lots of people in

Scotland want to see single-sex marriages. Once you see these

things carried through, there may well be a majority support. Let's

not get bogged down on the details. That is for after the actual boat.

When people will have a chance to think about the constitution, what

should be in it, and all the parties will be involved. I look

forward to that exciting day. Thank you both very much.

No parent would dispute the importance of sport in the lives of

their children. Problem is, not enough mums and dads are prepared

to volunteer to help out the youth clubs which can help their kids.

It's something which the Scottish Parliament's Health and Sport

Committee is worried about. And it's also surprised by how little

information is held about the number of volunteers and their

skills levels. It's also worried that any legacy from the 2014

Commonwealth Games could be squandered because of a shortage of

helpers. Holyrood sport and health committee

has an interest in making sure the Commonwealth Games will also be

remembered for what they leave behind, healthier, happier, and

more athletic population. The committee's work today was

officially about community sport, and they made it clear at the key

to success will be the volunteers who run sport at the grassroots, if

you pardon the pun. They are the people, the local heroes who run

the clubs who can transform someone's enthusiasm into a good

participation in sport. They are also worried there are simply too

few volunteers, and too few facilities for them, and this

echoes the submissions made it and the committee's hearings. Where is

the next Andy Murray? I don't see them. Where is the next looks --

Liz McColgan, I haven't seen a runner from Scotland for 20 years?

Sports: say they are taking on board the recommendations -- Sport

Scotland. There are 60 sports tops at present needing 150 by 2016. I

am joined by a Tommy Boyle, the director of the Winning Scotland

Foundation. You think parents are not involved enough.

We have got a wonderful opportunity in Scotland following the Olympic

Games, Commonwealth coming up in 2014, an opportunity that we must

seize and insure that we have the capacity in sports clubs so we need

these young people aspire to come along there are people there to

look after. He will they be, the volunteers? In the main they will

be parents. Are they not doing that?

If you speak to most sporting organisations in Scotland they are

struggling to recruit, retain, and trained volunteers. We have a

fantastic opportunity, so if we really a identified what will make

a real difference, trying to help parents understand the true value

of sport to their child. If we look back 30 years children played out

in the streets, they played in the public parks, that is where they

got fit, learnt their skills. Society has changed.

You have got this idea, Diseases of maternity, but I thought was a

dissertation in French philosophy - - modernity. It is used by a few

organisations to explain what has happened in society, as a

consequence of the changes over the last 30 years, young people are not

physically active so we have to have a structure. Do you mean

things like obesity? It results in children being obese, overweight,

poorer physical literacy, and as a consequence not staying in sport,

not been involved in sport. Do we put too many barriers in the

way of adults becoming involved? There is extreme sensitivity about

child protection these days, health and safety, has gone too far?

I think the robbery is there, but the real key is to try and help

parents understand the value -- I think there are barriers there. If

we want parents to volunteer it has to be a family friendly welcoming

environment for them. That is not really the case today. We as a

nation, or the one thing I believe we could really do, is put the

emphasis on helping parents to understand what is the value? What

is the value for me? Keep my kids off the street, get them fitter,

get them healthier, keep them away from drugs, alcohol. One of the by-

product is they will also be taught character-building wife lessons,

there is a direct correlation between their academic performance

and sport -- life lessons. The key is reaching parents.

You think there is a problem, too much of a focus on just winning the

next football match, or the next tennis match.

I think as a nation, like many European nations, we have become a

win at all cost culture. What is wrong with that?

Winning is OK, it necessary, we need to try to encourage young

people to win, but in many sports the key influence in a young

person's life take that to extremes, driven by what we see on television.

What do you think the government can do about this? Or is it Society

with the problem? The one single thing we can do as a

nation is implement a programme which would put a real focus on

educating parents, supporting parents, and creating a much more

family friendly culture within sport in Scotland.

Oh look at the front pages. A picture of a helicopter crash in

London. Alex Salmond pushes for new rights for Scott, that is what we

have been talking about. Housing and free education in written

constitution. Again in the Guardian a very dramatic picture of the

helicopter crash in London. Militants kill Britain and take 20