THE coronavirus pandemic has brought to the fore a number of burning issues that have long been conveniently ignored by our political Establishment. 

Politicians who once praised the impact of zero-hours contracts have had to acknowledge the pitfalls of precarious work. 

So have those who waxed lyrical about the potential for labour market “flexicurity” in an independent Scotland.

And the housing crisis, left unaddressed by Tory and SNP governments alike, is now under the microscope too, with private renters still facing the threat of eviction if they fall behind with payments.

Meanwhile, there is a growing realisation that health and safety might be a necessity, not red tape.

Scotland, and indeed the whole of the UK, could look like a very different place in six months’ time. 

It is likely that many businesses will struggle to revive themselves once we come out of lockdown. 

Indeed, the Fraser of Allander Institute believes Scotland’s economy could contract by 25 per cent as a result of this crisis.

It is in this context that any resumption of the debate on Scotland’s constitutional future will take place.

We campaigned for democratic reform and the creation of a Scottish Parliament because it would be a power for real economic and social change. 

Because it would be a vehicle for social justice. And we will make the case and campaign for change in this decade because many of those hopes and ambitions remain unrealised.

So when we emerge from the immediate danger of Covid-19, we will be advocating a vision for a Scotland that is not, like the SNP’s so-called Sustainable Growth Commission, a blueprint for a decade of austerity. 

Our vision will be for the investment and industrial renaissance Scotland has long needed, but will now need more than ever before. 

Remaining in and reforming the UK, we will seek to develop a new post-Brexit, post-Covid settlement. 

To create the revival and resilience we need to weather the aftermath of this crisis, and prevent any future major incidents having the same catastrophic effects, we must urgently bring power closer to the people. 

We cannot allow a Tory government in London to tell us that it’s back to business as usual after this crisis — and nor can we allow SNP ministers in Edinburgh to unleash vast public spending cuts in a separate Scotland.

Scotland remains divided — and the independence debate is not going away. But the grave situation in which we now find ourselves means we are faced with a more fundamental debate. 

Do we reshape our economy so that it serves the people, in line with the measures governments across the world have taken in recent weeks under the pressure of crisis and discontent? 

Do we rebuild our NHS so capacity for emergencies like this one is never again seen just as inefficiency on a balance sheet? 

Do we seek to revive our industrial base, so that we are never again in a situation where we cannot access vital equipment because global supply chains are compromised?

Or do we allow Scotland, and the world, to creep back to the managed decline to which we have become too familiar? 

Do we continue down the path of Scotland’s wealth being increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, and power increasingly in the City of London?

By offering a way forward which proposes change, our conviction is based on a rejection of the status quo. 

But we also reject the SNP’s “clear-sighted prospectus” for more of the same — deep cuts to public services — in a separate Scotland. 

At a UK level we want to see the establishment of a constitutional convention, the abolition of the House of Lords and its replacement with a senate of the nations and regions.

As well as more powers for the Scottish government and our councils, we want to see the establishment on a statutory footing of action-focused joint governmental and parliamentary councils, to address shared interests and common needs. 

There should be a legal requirement for the councils to be consulted when decisions by the Westminster government impact on devolved areas of competence.

We would also seek joint frameworks and common minimum standards in human rights, employment rights, consumer protection, social security, access to public services and  environmental rights across the UK. 

The Scottish Parliament should have the right to enhance, but not reduce, these rights.

And the Scottish government should be given the power to negotiate and enter international treaties and programmes in areas of devolved competence. 

There is also the question of our fiscal settlement, which must be renegotiated from the bad deal entered into by SNP ministers. 

Scotland cannot afford to be financially penalised for tackling poverty and inequality through social security reforms, or financially penalised for relative economic underperformance. 

Although the Scottish Parliament now has limited borrowing powers, these should be extended and augmented with a new power to raise capital by issuing bonds, for both capital and revenue spending. 

The coronavirus crisis has highlighted just how much those powers are needed if we are to see economic interventions which are not wholly dependent on the Treasury.

Over the last two decades the Scottish economy has continued to lag behind the performance of the UK as a whole. 

As a result many of the chronic long-term economic and so social challenges remain unmet. 

There has been no industrial renaissance because there has been no industrial strategy. 

There has been an insufficient response to the present and future challenges we face through Brexit, climate change, automation, advances in artificial intelligence, and the fourth industrial revolution. 

We want to re-establish the vision of a people’s Parliament, making full use of powers to tackle poverty and inequality, to spread democracy and redistribute power and wealth. 

We must build a new consensus to plan the economy for the future wellbeing of the people and the planet, and to do this with the enduring values of co-operation and solidarity. 

If not now, then when?

Richard Leonard is leader of Scottish Labour.