Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee 26 November 2025
Convener, I was pleased that you made reference to the fact that, sadly, Henry Black Ferguson, the petitioner, has passed away. It is fitting that I say a few additional words.
Mr Ferguson was an accountant who went to work in the Bahamas and was the chief executive officer of an airline company, but he never lost his love for Scotland, and his commitment to the cause of independence for Scotland was absolute. He was the co-convener of Respect Scottish Sovereignty, and he pursued the petition doggedly—along with many others, some of whom, I should acknowledge, are in touch with me—attracting 7,500 signatures, which is a significant number.
At its heart, the petition is about the principle that is set out in article 1 of the covenant, which Ewan Kennedy quotes in his submission:
“All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”
12:00I hope that we would all support and endorse that principle in its entirety. However, the implementation of it in Scots law has become ensnared—a matter of principle has become ensnared—in an entirely technical issue; namely, interpretation of the Scotland Act 1998. I am no expert, but I understand the argument that section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 allows matters to be devolved. That, in turn, requires the permission of the UK Government, which is the superior Parliament in the devolution arrangement. In short, that is where we stand.
This is an argument that a cause that will never die will continue until it is successfully achieved. I pay tribute to Mr Ferguson and all the petitioners, but we are plainly not going to get any further with the petition in this parliamentary session. Although we might have a dream, we are also pragmatists, and that dream will not be achieved in the immediate future. However, thanks to Mr Ferguson’s and others’ dogged pursuit of the cause, we shall prevail one day, if I may be permitted to make that assertion.