INDY-supporting Yessers in Inverness have set a date for the opening of their new shop in what used to be the constituency office of former LibDem MP and one-time chief secretary to the Treasury Sir Danny Alexander.

The waterside building at No 45 Huntly Street will be officially opened on August 5 by The National columnist Lesley Riddoch.

Artist Morag Frame inherited the premises from her mother and will now share it with the Inveryess2 group’s YesHub sitting alongside her own gallery.

Prominent campaigner Kay Frew Harris told The National: “It will be a joint opening for both the gallery and the YesHub. We’ve painted the room and have carpet tiles arriving, also flags, craft materials and maps and books to go on display.

“We’ll have the opening at the shop with up to 40 people, because that’s as much as it will hold. We’ll go from there to a hall where Lesley will give a talk. Morag been really great and is putting in a fire so we’ll have a wood-burning fire and it’ll be a really good hub. We have one window of the shop and Morag has the other and we intend to compete for the best display.

“Volunteers have painted the room and we have had donations of chairs, tables, computer, shelving, a hoover, and so on. We need a printer, but I’m sure after opening that will be easy.”

Alexander had leased the office when he was MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey until he lost the seat to the SNP’s Drew Hendry in 2015. Hendry held the constituency in last year’s General Election with almost 40 per cent of the vote.

Frew Harris said support for independence was still strong in the Highland capital, although people were aware that next time, the approach would have to be different from 2014.

Theresa May loves to say now is not the time, but now is the time,” she said. “It’s unbelievable what’s happened. We’ve never seen a political climate like this in our lives. But we think the way we’ve got to get more support for independence is through more talking and debating, more events – we’ve got a Scottish quiz night coming up – and we think the shop has to be open to everybody, regardless of what you vote.

“We have people from the Green Party, Radical Independence and others who simply support the cause.

“It’s to talk about independence for Scotland and to be ready for when a campaign proper begins. We’ve got a big group and we have regular meetings every month. We have nearly 300 people on the mailing list and there are a lot of strong supporters on it.

“So we have a good following, a big database, and we also realise that this time the approach is going to be different. It’s got to be more serious, with less music and flags.”