This section brings together some of the most common questions people have about Scotland’s Four Words of Hope.
Here you’ll find simple, straight answers about where the four words come from, what the pledge is (and isn’t), who the project is for, and how you can get involved whether you’re a voter, a candidate, an organisation or simply someone who cares about Scotland’s public life.
If your question isn’t covered here, we’d be very glad to hear from you. Get in touch here.
We aim to increase trust in Scottish politics, starting with greater humanity in how they are conducted
Moving from words that sit passively on a Mace to seeing their power make a difference. Shining a light on all that is good in Scottish society and public life, so that it at last gets airtime.
The transforming power of honesty. Getting people to a place where they have nothing to hide.
Implementing rather than debating again what is already in place.
The words were chosen in advance of the reconvening of the parliament in 1999. They were proposed by Michael Lloyd the silversmith and approved by the first First Minister, Donald Dewar, and by the committee responsible for establishing the parliament. Mr Lloyd has told us that the proposal was based on the aspirations which were being articulated for the parliament at the time. Since then, they have been widely accepted as the values to guide the work of the Scottish Parliament.
The Mace could not contain every value. The words chosen have been described as implying indirectly a large number of other values. It is always an interesting debate as to what values we would each want to add: our survey of the people of Scotland has brought up words like humility and courage.
Ultimately, they must be relevant because they guide the thinking of those who make decisions about people's everyday lives. Our key task is to bring them alive. We will do that through things like our survey of people across Scotland and vivid worked examples.
In fact, the words are not as complicated as they might appear. The idea of being kind, honest, fair and wise is a straightforward expression of what many see as the basics of being human with each other. The words cut through attempts to spin or overcomplicate.
We are taking a number of steps to promote these 4 words, both in the short and medium term. In particular we are:
It would be naive to ignore political parties. They are a reality which this project is not trying to change. But there are different ways of doing politics. This project is about how individuals and parties behave but also about the systems and processes in our democracy which either get in the way of, or support, the values we are promoting. Our job here is to promote those processes which make it more likely that the values will be in evidence.
We are just starting these conversations. Everyone's views are relevant and we hope everyone will join the conversations, see the merit of what we are doing and sign up. Ultimately, it is not for us to say what particular actions follow from what particular values: it is for us to shine a light so that others can make up their minds for themselves
Clearly values such as compassion and integrity have implications for what we all say, for example in terms of empathy and honesty. But it is not for us to draw lines. We are focusing on creating frameworks for light to be cast on what people are saying and doing.
It is clear from public service and from the many conversations we have been having that there is widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo. People want things to get better. That extends to the political parties, individual candidates, members of the public and the many bodies in civic Scotland who are behind what we are doing.
Moreover, the four values themselves, well established in the fabric of our democracy, have great power.
We have no illusions about the scale of the task. Anything we can do to arrest the sharp decline in public trust is worth working for.
Any legitimacy we have comes from the authority and established status of the Mace. Our systematic survey of people around Scotland as to how they understand these words ensures that a very wide range of people have their interpretations reflected in what we're doing.
We are careful to ensure that we focus not on laying down what answers should flow from the words but rather on the questions to which these words give rise.
Scotland's Four Words has a very small team who work almost entirely on a voluntary basis. The only significant expenditure so far has been on the survey conducted by Abertay university. This is being funded predominantly by the Royal Society for Edinburgh.
Scotland's Four Words are in the process of seeking grants to cover most of the costs of post election activity.
Everyone will have stories to celebrate. Here are a few examples:
Compassion
The welcome and support given to displaced Ukrainians.
Nathan Newby who spent two hours persuading a would-be terrorist from bombing St James' Hospital in Leeds, including hugging him to calm him down.
Nicholas Winton whose Kindertransport saved over 660 primarily Jewish children from Czechoslovakia in 1939
Integrity
José Mujica - Former President of Uruguay - Donated around 90% of his salary to charity and continued living in a modest farmhouse instead of the presidential residence. His lifestyle matched his political message about equality and simplicity.
Those employed by social media firms to research whether their algorithms are harmful, resigning from their jobs when they realise that the findings of said research are consistently ignored.
Justice
Denmark men’s football team refused a pay rise in order to ensure their female counterparts receive equal basic pay when representing their country.
Wisdom
The smoking ban