COMEDIAN Elaine C Smith urged Yes supporters to “get the band back together” in a fresh independence push.
The indy figurehead is the convenor of the Scottish Independence Convention Working Group, a “cross-party and no-party” group formed years before Yes Scotland.
Now the convention is to relaunch two years to the day of the historic vote on September 18, 2014.
As many as 500 people are set to gather at St Luke’s in Glasgow to “get started again” – while up to 20,000 more march on nearby Glasgow Green for a grassroots Yes rally.
Satellite events will take place in Edinburgh, Inverness and Oban at the same time.
Meanwhile, the convention relaunch will pave the way for a “major conference” in January aimed at pushing the movement forward.
Quoting the Blues Brothers musical in a message to supporters, Smith said: “In the spirit of ‘let’s get the band back together again’, The Scottish Independence Convention Working Group is planning two events we hope you’ll want to get involved with.
“We need all that energy, artistic endeavour, hard work and good old political discussion to get started again (though it has never really gone away) and we need to establish a gathering place for all the groups, individuals, artists and ideas that made the Yes movement so vital in the journey towards self-determination and independence.”
Smith, who shot to fame in the much-loved comedy Rab C Nesbitt, will MC the September event, which will also feature author Alan Bissett among a range of speakers, performers and musical acts.
Details of the January conference are yet to be finalised, but convention member Shona McAlpine told The National next month’s more social event is a stepping stone to serious policy debate.
She said: “Next month is about saying ‘let’s have a drink together before we get our boots back on’.
“It’s the SNP’s job to get on with the business of government, it’s the Greens’ job to play their part – it’s our job in the movement to come up answers to questions we never had before, like currency and the economy, and we have welfare changes and Brexit to face.”
She went on: “We are about looking forward, not looking back.
“We have all had our mourning period and gone through other political events. It’s time to start looking at the next step.”
The comments come as independence supporters await the start of the delayed “summer push” by the SNP, which was promised before Holyrood returns from recess at the beginning of next month.
Common Weal think tank director Robin McAlpine, also a member of the convention – founded in 2005 and supplanted by Yes Scotland in 2011 – said it will “attempt to unite the whole movement”, adding: “Everyone involved wants this to be a staging post to the next phase of the campaign for independence and there is a lot of good will towards the hope that we can find a shared and collectively inspired way forward.”
Meanwhile, the organisers of the Yes Movement Rally, which runs from 2-8pm at Glasgow Green, told The National they expect as many as 10,000 to take part, with many more holding simultaneous rallies in at least three other locations.
The event is organised by the team who brought 15,000 people together on the eve of the referendum. TV news teams from South Korea and Canada are expected to cover the event, with Edinburgh East MP Tommy Sheppard among the speakers.
Organiser Matthew Hudson said: “People who voted No have now seen what has happened and would vote Yes. We are expecting 10,000-20,000 people.
“Already 5,000 have said they are coming and that will grow. We want to have a huge impact.”
David McNeill, who set up the 2014 event in only 24 hours, said the day had been “explosive”, adding: “This rally is important, not for Yessers but for No voters.
“This is about reaching out with open and loving arms and no political party bias.”
Other events are also expected, with Hope Over Fear set to hold a separate rally on September 17.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here