Independence Day fireworks.
1st May 1976.
The Regiment of the Scots Guards stood proudly to attention at midnight, amidst the glare of the international media as Private Ian Galbraith and Lance Corporal William Taylor marched to the flag pole that was put in the centre of the courtyard of Edinburgh Castle. As it turned midnight, a lone bugler struck up last post as the Union flag was lowered and then, the Saltire raised. That was that. The two hundred and sixty-nine year union between Scotland and England was over. From the temporary stand, erected for dignitaries to witness the occasion, a ripple of applause developed. The revellers down in Princes Street had a party.
Suddenly, fireworks lit the night sky.
A nation was re-born.
2nd May 1976.
William Wolfe sat in the temporary office set out for him in the old Scottish Office building in Edinburgh. He sat down as the temporary Prime Minister of an independent Scotland, his first task, to pave the way for the first General Election. This was not an easy task. Several issues and obstacles were already facing him. It was agreed that a timescale should be put in place of one year for the election and that in the meantime the elected MPs would act as the members for an independent Scotland. The first task of the new Prime Minister, Billy Wolfe was to name his cabinet. He did so with a speed unexpected by many, but it was felt that speed was essential in the circumstances.
The Cabinet of the Government of Scotland as at 2nd May, 1976.
The Prime Minister : William Wolfe MP
Deputy Prime Minister : Gordon Wilson MP
Finance Secretary : George Reid MP
Foreign Secretary : Winifred Ewing MP
Home Secretary : Iain MacCormick MP
Health and Social Security Secretary : Margo MacDonald MP
Education Secretary : Margaret Bain MP
Trade and Industry Secretary : Douglas Henderson MP
Defence Secretary : Donald Stewart MP
Agriculture and Fisheries Secretary : Hamish Watt MP
Transport and Local Government Secretary : Isobel Lindsay MP
Parliamentary Convener : George Thompson MP
Advocate General of Scotland : Ian Hamilton QC
The first meeting of the cabinet was on the morning of the second in Bute House, the new accommodation of the Scottish Prime Minister, formerly of the Scottish Secretary. In Upon the suggestion of Ewing, it was agreed that a Constitutional Convention would run parallel to the Parliament over the next year, the findings to be first voted on by Parliament and then put before the people in a referendum.
The next issue was that of the currency. Reid made clear that he believed that going along with the McCrone Report which had helped fuel the rise in the SNP, he would go along with a separate Scottish currency, but that this should only be introduced after an agreed timescale and with the proviso that for the initial period, the currency be linked to Sterling. Anything else, so he said would risk gambling with the Scottish economy.
One issue which helped point him towards this view was that Edward Heath had signed an agreement stating that Britain would not gain any income from the oil until the petroleum companies were making a profit.
This would, it was stated, initially curtail Scottish spending and potentially create unease amongst the general public, the expectation of whom had been risen to the heights of Icarus. As such, Reid was forced to warn the other ministers that the first few years of independence would be rocky, but after that things would begin to improve.
Several at the table were unhappy with this news, Margo MacDonald openly questioning whether or not the petroleum in the North Sea could be re-nationalised. This was rejected by Reid, and a lively discussion was entered into around the cabinet table on the topic. In the end, a vote was made and Reid won through, if narrowly. Wolfe made the deciding call when he came down in favour of Reid’s position with the interesting aside that “if we use this bonanza wisely and don’t cause too much of a ruckus then we can and will be able to influence matters more than we would otherwise.”
Following the meeting, a number of phone calls came through for the Prime Minister. The first of which coming from the White House, with President Ford calling to congratulate Wolfe on his achievement. Calls from various other world leaders followed, from countries as diverse as the Soviet Union to Spain. Wolfe was privately delighted by this international attention. It was a sign that he had finally achieved his aim.
He could now, with some justification, consider himself the father of the nation.
link to the negotiations.
