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Arbroath Abbey

It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Mr. Gale. It is appropriate that the debate is taking place in a building that is part of a world heritage site. There are now some 27 world heritage sites in the UK and dependent territories, ranging from historic buildings to fantastic landscapes. Sites in Scotland are as diverse as neolithic Orkney, the city of Edinburgh, Robert Owen's village at New Lanark, the Antonine wall and St. Kilda. The last is the only one that I have not yet managed to visit. In fairness, I have also visited several sites in England and Wales. Each site is chosen for outstanding universal value to the world's cultural and natural heritage. The idea first began in 1959 with a campaign to save Abu Simbel in Egypt from flooding. A convention was passed in 1972, and there are now 851 sites worldwide. This debate concerns the campaign to have the historic abbey of Arbroath designated a world heritage site, but it also raises a more general point regarding the Government's policy on world heritage sites, particularly on applications for further sites. There has been an ongoing campaign in Arbroath for the abbey to become a world heritage site, not only because of its grandeur in its own right—it is a magnificent example of a mediaeval abbey—but because of its association with the world-famous declaration of Arbroath. The campaign is completely non-political and encompasses people of all parties on the political spectrum and of none; indeed, one of its leading figures is a Conservative councillor, Jim Millar. The campaign has been supporting the case for the abbey and raising money for several years, appreciating that it would be some years before the abbey could be granted world heritage status. A problem arose in early December last year when the Culture Secretary launched a review of the future designation of sites in the UK. The review was undertaken partly because UNESCO is seeking changes to the system, but a report prepared for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport by PricewaterhouseCoopers states that UNESCO believes the world heritage site list to be unbalanced in terms of the location and nature of sites included. It has therefore asked that well-represented countries consider slowing or temporarily ceasing nominations and that nominations, to the extent that they continue, constitute under-represented sites, such as scientific, natural or cultural sites, rather than urban or ecclesiastical sites, which are considered over-represented. The campaign's feet were cut from under it somewhat when the Department for Culture, Media and Sport was reported to have changed its policy, refusing to propose any more UK sites for UNESCO approval, although the PricewaterhouseCoopers report stated that the Department had several options. The campaign sought my help, and I wrote to the Culture Secretary to seek clarification. To date, I have received no response. I therefore took the opportunity to raise the matter at Culture, Media and Sport questions last week. The Minister answered my question, but I was slightly concerned by the phrasing of her response. She said that after consultation, the Government would decide whether to put forward another list, which gave the impression that perhaps no more sites would be proposed. I can guess what she will tell me today: consultation is still ongoing, and we should await the outcome. That is not sufficient. There is great concern about the outcome of the consultation, given the various options before the Department. Furthermore, if we await the outcome of the consultation, we will in effect be challenging a decision that has already been taken, and it will be much more difficult to obtain any change. We need to put the case for Arbroath abbey now, before we are faced with a fait accompli. It is of the utmost importance due to the nature of Arbroath abbey and the comments about UNESCO. On the face of it, it could be argued that Arbroath abbey is an ecclesiastical site, but it is much more than that. Its significance goes to the very heart of our culture and the democratic culture of the world. UNESCO's list of properties includes two categories that could have been written with Arbroath abbey in mind. Criteria III says that it must"““bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition””." Criteria VI says that it must"““be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.””" I shall relate the history of Arbroath abbey and explain why I feel that it falls in those categories. The abbey of Arbroath was founded by William the Lion, King of Scots, in 1178. It is dedicated to Thomas Becket, the turbulent priest who was killed at the instigation of Henry II in Canterbury cathedral, which is also a world heritage site. In its day, the abbey must have been a very impressive and powerful institution. Even its ruins—particularly the impressive ““Round O””—are an impressive sight in the centre of our town. William the Lion is believed to be buried before the high altar. Nowadays, however, the abbey's best known association is with the first declaration of Scottish independence, or the declaration of Arbroath as it is often referred to. As many hon. Members will be aware, that magnificent document was written by the then abbot of Arbroath, Bernard de Linton, and signed by King Robert I—the Bruce, as he is often known—at Arbroath on 6 April 1320. It is a letter to the Pope in Avignon and sets out the case for the continuing independence of Scotland, which had been regained following the battle of Bannockburn in 1314. However, the declaration is much more than that—great though it is; it echoes down through the centuries as one of the great documents of not only Scottish history but world history. In his book ““For Freedom Alone”” Professor Edward Cowan puts the point very well:"““Scottish activists and thinkers of the period not only attempted to resolve their own political philosophies in response to the unprecedented contingencies which potentially threatened the very existence of their nation and kingdom, but they contributed towards ideas of constitutionalism which would ultimately feed into the mainstream of British, European and eventually American political thought.””" It should not be forgotten that in mediaeval times, the kingdom was very much considered to be a fiefdom of the king, who ruled by divine will. In the declaration of Arbroath, however, the first stirrings of democracy can be seen. The people of Scotland declared that the king was subject to the people and not just God. In this magnificent section, the declaration said:"““Divine providence, the succession to his right according to our laws and customs which we shall maintain to the death, and the due consent and assent of us all, have made him our prince and king. We are bound to him for the maintaining of our freedom both by his right and merits, as to him by whom salvation has been wrought unto our people, and by him, come what may, we mean to stand. Yet if he should give up what he has begun, seeking to make us or our kingdom, subject to the King of England or the English, we would strive at once to drive him out as our enemy and a subverter of his own right and ours, and we would make some other man who was able to defend us our king. For so long as a hundred of us remain alive, we will never on any conditions be subjected to the lordship of the English. For we fight not for glory nor riches nor honour, but for freedom alone, which no good man gives up except with his life.””" That is a powerful passage for any Scottish nationalist such as me, but it goes far beyond that. It sets out the beginning of democracy and outlines the right of people to depose a leader who is not acting in their interests. No longer would they tolerate a king who made deals and alliances without the consent of the people. We should be thankful that the idea has taken root in many parts of the world. If anything goes to the heart of our culture, it is the idea of democracy. It is believed that the ideas of the declaration had a direct influence on the framers of the American declaration of independence four centuries later. On 20 March 1998, the US senate passed resolution 155, which stated:"““April 6 has a special significance for all Americans, and especially those Americans of Scottish descent, because the Declaration of Arbroath, the Scottish Declaration of Independence, was signed on April 6 1320, and the American Declaration of Independence was modelled on that inspirational document.””" In other words, the Senate of the United States recognised the influence of the declaration of Arbroath, which led directly to perhaps the most famous of all modern political declarations and the subsequent constitution of the United States. The declaration of independence states:"““We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.””" Of course, many nations have adopted the American constitution, or parts of it, in their constitution. The ideas of democracy that were born in the declaration of Arbroath in 1390 flow through to the modern world—to the United States and to the modern democracies that have established their constitution following that country. A resolution of the American Senate established 6 April as Tartan day in the United States, which is a day on which Scotland and all things Scottish are celebrated throughout the country. Heritage is not just about buildings and sites; it is also about ideas and the places where such ideas originated. That is, at least, to some extent recognised by UNESCO, as I mentioned in relation to the conditions it laid down. Arbroath abbey can justifiably claim to have been one of the places where democracy put down its first roots, and it is worthy of recognition by UNESCO for that alone. That brings us on to another important reason why the Government are wrong to consider changing the scheme of UNESCO listings—at least in relation to the more draconian options proposed in the PricewaterhouseCoopers report. Since 1947, the Arbroath Abbey Pageant Society has regularly performed a re-enactment of the signing of the declaration, and an impressive visitor centre has been created at the abbey to explain the history of the building and the declaration. In short, Arbroath abbey has been extensively promoted as an important tourist destination. The advent of Tartan day has increased interest throughout the United States and, indeed, in Canada, which also has a Tartan day. This year—the 250th anniversary of the birth of our national bard Robert Burns— has been designated as the year of homecoming by the Scottish Government. The year of homecoming was officially launched at the weekend, and is designed to encourage Scots expatriates and those of Scots descent from around the world to visit Scotland and, we hope, boost our tourism industry. It is vital that we do so at a time of recession. Tourism is still a huge industry in Scotland, as it is in other parts of the UK. The international interest in the declaration of Arbroath and its effect on democratic thought throughout the centuries will play a pivotal role in encouraging expatriates to visit Scotland, and Arbroath abbey in particular. Following the Cabinet meeting in the midlands, even the Prime Minister acknowledged in a recent speech that tourism would play a vital part in bringing us out of recession. In its report, PWC also recognised that one of the benefits of being listed is that it can increase tourism. In the year of homecoming and at a time when even the Prime Minister is seeking to boost tourism, what message is sent if the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which is responsible for the promotion of tourism, says that we no longer wish to promote our great monuments and buildings as sites of international significance? Is it not the craziest time to embark upon such a policy—if, indeed, there is ever a time to embark upon such a policy? I fully appreciate that the Minister will say that consultation on the matter is ongoing. She will not throw up her hands today, and say, ““Okay, you're right. We'll dump the idea here and now””—although, frankly, she should. However, I hope that she will at least go back to her Department and consider the matter further. I also hope that she will consider the huge damage that the proposed changes to UK UNESCO listings would do to our heritage and tourism industries at the very time when they seek a boost to help in the battle against recession. The preferred option suggested by PWC may work against the claims of sites such as Arbroath abbey, because of the seeming bias against more ecclesiastical sites. As I have tried to explain, Arbroath abbey is much more than that. We need to make that point now before the consultation is complete. We need to continue making that point and push forward the campaign to show Arbroath abbey's status in the history of Scotland and in the history of democracy throughout the world. As I said at the outset, the campaign is broad based and has huge support in my constituency of Angus, and especially in my home town of Arbroath. However, it also has huge support around the world, from expatriate Scots and Caledonian societies and those with an interest in Scotland's history and future. Many of us are waiting to hear what the Minister will say. I ask her not to close her mind to my important points. Such sites are vitally important; they have played a number of roles in history and could do so again in boosting our tourism industry. I hope that none of the changes that she and her Secretary of State will consider making to the system will work against the inclusion of such sites. Whatever option she chooses, I hope that important UK sites will continue to be proposed for UNESCO certification.