Elaine C Smith is one of Scotland's best known and best loved actresses and comedy entertainers. Her starring roles in television comedy series like City Lights, Naked Video and the award-winning Rab C.Nesbitt have earned her a place in the heart of the Scottish public.
Elaine is a much sought after stand-up, following her sell-out tours and performances of "Elaine with Attitude" and "Hormonally Driven" (both the basis for highly successful TV series for BBC Scotland). She is also a very experienced after dinner speaker, appearing for numerous charities and corporate events.
As well as being the first woman to headline Scotland's favourite pantomime at Glasgow's Kings Theatre, her acting career has seen her take on dramatic roles for both the BBC and Channel 4.
On stage she has starred in everything from Guys and Dolls and Shirley Valentine to new plays at the Glasgow Tron and the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.
Apart from writing much of her own comedy material, she has also written a best-selling book about her life, "Elaine¹s World", and contributes a weekly page in the Sunday Mail.
A lifelong supporter of independence, Elaine is not a member of any political party but she has always taken a keen interest in politics and is a strong champion for women's rights.
Elaine and husband Bob Morton run a small production company, RPM Arts, in Glasgow, which produces all of Elaine¹s work. They have been together for 25 years and have two daughters, a dog, a cat and a goldfish.
I am delighted to have taken over the Chair of the Independence Convention at such a crucial and important time.
After a great deal of time and effort from the likes of Stephen Maxwell, Aileen Orr, David McCann and Murray Ritchie and many other dedicated souls, the whole convention has been kept alive in the midst of a certain amount of apathy and the hostility of a largely Unionist media. The new government, the launch of the National Conversation and the demand for a Referendum on Independence have moved things on a great deal. The Independence Convention with its inner workings and its constitution well in place and is ready to move on apace.
I hope that SIC proves to be a gathering place for all of those who are interested in the debate around Independence. My dread is that this issue is left to four guys in suits on a bad political programme or as a small debate in the politics pages of the newspapers. Our job is to engage the thinkers, the artists, the writers, the workers, the economists, the unions and the politicians and get them along to this gathering place to have what we in Scotland do best....to argue!!
Scotland is basically, as the wonderful writer Peter Arnott has asserted, an argument !! I for one want this argument to be a good and fair one that fully involves the people of Scotland.
In the end the people will decide and simply saying no to even having a debate is no longer an option.
My aim is to get the notion of the Convention out there into the consciousness of the people of Scotland, to fundraise and campaign for a referendum in which the people of Scotland are allowed to decide on their own future.
Let the games begin…
All the best,
Elaine C. Smith
Introduction: Aims and Questions
In brief, the aims of the Convention are as follows: firstly, to create a forum for those of all political persuasions and none who support independence; and secondly, to be a national catalyst for Scottish independence. The Independence Convention will seek to achieve this in the following ways:
- Produce the Independence Convention Document that people can sign
- Be an effective and broadly based membership organisation
- Hold conferences and other meetings to stimulate the independence debate and to attract support
- Use this interactive website to publicise the Independence Convention, what it is doing and to encourage people in and beyond Scotland to participate in the independence debate
- Harness the support of political parties and politicians that advocate independence.
There are three immediate questions that the Convention needs to address:
- What are the specific benefits of national self-determination for Scotland—in social, cultural, political and economic terms?
- How will the transition between devolution and full independence be managed?
- What are the principles and values that will underpin an independent Scotland and its relationships with the UK and the rest of the world?
