So who are the people on the SNC Steering group?

Organised jointly by Salvo and Liberation a steering group has been meeting weekly for the last few months building the Scottish National Congress which will be the vehicle that will prepare and present the case for Scottish Independence to the United Nations.

At the outset of this important process I promised that the names of all those involved in the Steering Group would be made public. That time has arrived and over the next couple of weeks I hope to do better by not only making public their names but also in the form of an audio recording from each what their motivation is in seeking Independence for Scotland.

They are a mixture of home based Scots and others living abroad. They were invited to participate because of their skills and experience. In some cases it may be organisational and research skills, others it may be IT and security experience, for some political experience and other for campaigning abilities. They all share the deepest commitment and have already devoted a great lot of time and effort to bring us to the point where we can be really confident that our work will be completed early in 2023 ready for the launch and first operation of the Congress.

Work to still be completed involves launching a very detailed website for Liberation.Scot that will also include the application form for those Liberation members who would like the honour of being members of the First Scottish National Congress will be able to apply. There will be no selection. Members will be appointed by ballot. The information sought on the Application Form will allow us to control the ballot to ensure those appointed provide a truly diverse Congress with a true balance that reflects the Scottish population in terms of age, race, location, employment etc.

We seek as accurate a representative body as possible. A small proportion of places will be reserved for trade unions, community organisations, business, political parties etc. These groups combined will never exceed 20% of the total membership as this is intended as a People’s Congress. Like the other ordinary members who will be rotated after serving their fixed term, those present representing groups will also be rotated at the same time. The Congress is there to deliver Independence, not create careers.

So here is the first testimony of those serving on our Steering Committee, Leah Gunn Barrett.

Leah Gunn Barrett is a dual US-UK citizen. She worked for several years in London for Data Resources (DRI) Europe, The Economist Group and Tetra Pak UK. In the US, she led gun control organisations in Maryland and New York, after having lost her older brother, Greg, to gun violence in 1997. She holds a degree in economics from Carleton College, a Master’s in International Affairs and Russian from Columbia University and a Master’s in Teaching from Johns Hopkins University. Leah lives in Edinburgh.