YOU’LL have heard it many times, especially during the referendum, from Labour politicians and sometimes from gloating anti-independence commentators.

Scotland, they told us repeatedly, is no more left wing than the rest of the UK, brandishing social attitudes surveys to prove their point. “Wha’s like us?” they asked. “Well, the rest of the UK actually,” they answered.

The point was always open to debate because of inconsistencies in methodology and lack of like-for-like data. But what is beyond any dispute is the vast gap within Scotland, as wide as the Great Glen, between Yes voters and No voters when it comes to supporting progressive social change.

This was underlined in the YouGov poll this week. It asked two questions. One, should we increase taxes to improve public services. And two, should we should increase taxes to raise benefits.

On the first of these questions, Yes voters said yes to improving public services by a 35-point margin. No voters said no by a nine-point margin. On the second question, Yes voters narrowly supported higher taxes to raise benefits. Granted, the margin was just one point. But No voters opposed the proposition by a massive 51 points.

When you compare these findings with every social attitude that has asked similar questions across the UK, two things emerge. First, Yes supporters are overwhelmingly more left wing than the UK average. And No voters are significantly more right wing.

But before running off to harangue all No voters as if they’re all members of the Nigel Farage fan club, let’s look at the exceptions. A significant minority of No voters – 19 per cent – want to raise taxes to lift the living standards of those on benefits. And a substantial minority – 40 per cent – are prepared to pay more tax to boost public services.

We may want to ponder these facts, because to ensure a Yes vote the next time round, we need to target the most likely potential converts.

Understandably, the great political preoccupation of Scotland this year has been the timing of indyref2. But I’d suggest that a bigger priority right now for the independence movement is to develop a clear strategy for victory. The YouGov poll published last week still shows a narrow majority in favour of the Union – 52 to 48 per cent.

At one level, we can be optimistic. The tide is still flowing towards Yes. But it’s flowing a bit more slowly than some of us might have might have hoped. Since the referendum, we’ve had the Tories winning an unexpected overall majority in the General Election, yet still a narrow majority want to stay in the Union.

Nicola Sturgeon is right to ca’ canny on the timing of the next referendum. Even a narrow majority in the polls would not be enough. We need decisive evidence that a sizeable majority are ready to move to full independence.

But how do we get there? Who will carry us across the finishing line? The comfortable, conservative (with a small c) classes, to whom a strategy of not frightening the horses might appeal? Or the outward looking, adventurous, progressive folk who want a better country for everyone, and who look beyond their own individual self-interest?

What frustrated me during the last referendum was the lack of opportunity for the wider movement to influence the strategy of the SNP and the official Yes campaign. We still need that conversation.

I’M lucky to be able to use this column to throw in my tuppence-worth. And I strongly believe that the people on the No side who will be won over are those whose politics are on the left. In other words, that 40 per cent who support higher taxes to build stronger public services, and especially that 19 per cent who want to raise benefits from their pitifully low level.

These are the folk we need to reach out to and persuade. They could turn the knife-edge divide into a comfortable majority for independence.

These are mainly Labour voters. Right now, many might be inclined to stick with the party because of Corbyn, whose spectacular election to the leadership gave hope to the Labour left for the first time in 30 years. But all the signs are pointing to it ending in grief. Jeremy Corbyn will be well aware of the adage that those sitting opposite you in the House of Commons are your opponents, while those sitting behind are your enemies.

According to the bookies’ odds, George Osborne is four times more likely to be the next UK Prime Minister than Jeremy Corbyn, while Boris Johnson is twice as likely as the Labour leader to move into Number 10.

However long it takes, the tide of history is turning against Unionism. But in the meantime, how do we persuade that wavering left-of-centre minority? How do we move support for independence beyond the committed? How do we win over those not convinced by the SNP’s left-wing credentials or performance in Government?

Some people seem to imagine that we can bring people to our side by rallying the converted and bedecking our cars, bodies and social media profiles with 45 badges. The loudest sirens for independence might be popular with the most ardent nationalists. But do they really help move the cause forward?

Even worse are the folk who seem to think that haranguing, insulting, and denouncing people will somehow make them see the light. In my experience, setting out to humiliate or shame people into submission is the most inept way of trying to win them over.

Yes, we need passion to maintain the momentum. But we also need to conduct ourselves with patience and dignity, presenting the case strongly but calmly, powerfully but plausibly.

Piling on the pressure for an early referendum doesn’t get us any closer to independence. Agreeing how we’ll win over new forces is the next step, before we do anything else.

I’ve no doubt there’s enough energy and commitment in the Yes movement to throw the whole kitchen sink at indyref2. But before we do, we need to make sure the sink is watertight.