GRASSROOTS activists will gather in November to help chart a fresh course for the independence movement as new questions arise over the timing of a second referendum.
Up to 2000 Yes supporters are expected to attend a one-day conference in Edinburgh being organised by campaign group the Scottish Independence Convention (SIC).
The event is entitled Build: Bridges to Indy and will focus on how voters who may be interested in independence, but who voted No in 2014, could be won over ahead of a new referendum.
Away from constitutional politics, there will also be discussion over wider issues affecting Scotland such as combating inequality and the drive to build a prosperous and inclusive economy.
Speakers will include National columnist Lesley Riddoch, SIC co-convener Elaine C Smith and Robin McAlpine, director of the pro- independence think tank, the Common Weal. The event is being held at the Usher Hall on November 4.
The conference announcement came as Nicola Sturgeon indicated the prospect of waiting to hold a new referendum until after the next Holyrood election in 2021. Asked in a New Statesman interview earlier this week whether her position was “roughly the same” as the one she set out in June when she indicated a shorter pause in the timetable, she replied: “The honest answer to that is I do not know. Is it different to what I said previously? Yes.
“Previously, rightly or wrongly, I was of the view we should decide now, that at this point of time, give or take, depending on exactly when it [Brexit] became clear, we should do this.
“I am now saying, OK, people are not ready to decide now that we will do that, so we have to come back to that and decide, when things are clearer, whether we want to do it and what timescale we want to do it in.”
Responding to the First Minister’s comments, Smith suggested she was not against an extended time frame for a second vote on independence. “Given Brexit and the chaos surrounding it, it seems only natural that people are looking for some stability, direction and security before wanting another vote,” Smith said. “It would be foolish to force another referendum until we know we can win.
“However it’s our job in the indy movement to make sure that those hundreds of thousands of people who believe in independence are kept informed and supported and that we are ready to step up whenever a vote takes place.
“The campaign for an independent Scotland must continue. When the people decide it’s time, then we in the movement have to be ready.”
About 1000 people took part in a SIC conference in Glasgow in January where speakers included SNP MPs Tommy Sheppard, Mhairi Black and Richard Walker, consultant editor of The National and a vice-convener of SIC. The event sold out, prompting the organisers to seek a bigger venue for the November conference.
Last night, Walker referred to the need to persuade more people to support independence and referred to the risk posed by Brexit to devolution.
“It’s imperative that the independence movement comes together to build bridges which can help people to come to Yes,” he said.
“In the last few months we have seen the chaos unleashed by the Westminster Government’s inability to find a way through the post-European referendum landscape.
“This, on top of a transparent attempt to undermine the Scottish Parliament and deny it 111 powers it should by right assume from Europe, is making more and more people realise that independence is the only way to safeguard Scotland’s interests.”
Waklker added: “As a movement we need to be both welcoming and campaigning and the Scottish Ind-ependence Convention’s second Build conference will be an inspirational event, equipping us with arguments to persuade those reconsidering the independence option.
“It will also aim to refresh and reinvigorate those who have continued to campaign for independence since 2014 and before.”
The latest polls put support for independence at 46 per cent and 43 per cent, around the same level as the 45 per cent result in September 2014.
The full programme for the conference will be released in the coming weeks. It is also expected to include entertainment throughout the day. Event passes are now on sale on the Usher Hall website for £15, with concession prices of £8.
Tickets here: http://www.usherhall.co.uk/whats-on/build-bridges-indy
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