Tommy Sheppard is one of four candidates standing in the SNP depute leadership election
VOTING to elect the new SNP depute leader closes on Wednesday and the result will be announced, live, at our annual conference in Glasgow on Thursday morning. Everybody who was a member of the SNP when the election was announced should have received a ballot paper. If not, email HQ at ballot@snp.org or give them a call.
Many members will have already voted but, based on past elections, probably more than half haven’t done so yet. It’s crucial that ordinary members have their say in this important election, and this week I’m going to recap on why I’m asking for your vote.
In this contest, I am standing as the change candidate. As good as the SNP are, I believe that we can, and must, be better if we are to lead and win the next independence referendum campaign. To do that, we need to get active, get organised and reach out – building alliances across the wider Yes movement.
We need to expand rather than stretch the leadership team. The SNP have the best leadership team in Europe and I want to add a fresh perspective to it, not run the risk of diverting others from the great work they are already doing in Westminster or Europe.
Our policy-making processes were designed for a previous age. We need a 21st-century way of enabling members to discuss, propose and influence policy. It’s great that individual members can submit policy ideas through the SNP website, but we can do more together. We can harness the power of the internet to put members who are specialists in policy areas in touch with each other to develop ideas for the mass membership to debate, ideas that will take our party, and the nation forward.
The SNP needs an organisational upgrade. The rule book that worked for 20,000 members simply isn’t fit for purpose for a membership of more than 120,000. Other candidates agree that we need to change a few things but, unlike the others, I don’t think change will happen simply by wishing it so.
We need to divert some of our resources, about 10 per cent, into building a team of regional organisers and regional offices to support local members and branches and deliver on the ground. Some have asked where the money tree is coming from to pay for this. Well let me say this – it’s your money and it’s up to you, the membership, to decide how you want to spend it.
Would you rather it went on leaflets that arrive so late they end up boosting our national recycling figures or on the type of fundamental change needed to step our campaigning up a gear at this crucial time in the history of Scotland?
I think we can’t afford NOT to spend money on this. Our objectives are too important and the cause too crucial to let things drift.
Theresa May has just announced that we’ll be leaving the EU by March 2019 and, if she gets her way, Scotland will be dragged out too.
We need to be match-fit to act and the only way we’ll do that is by investing in organisation.
Our members, whether they’ve been in the SNP for two months or 50 years, are our greatest asset. We need to mobilise the passion and energy that’s out there. Branch meetings should be fun, uplifting and informative. A place where we discuss political ideas with like-minded people and plan political action. I want to engage with the membership. I want our branches to share best practice and help members get active and organised.
I think we need a depute leader with the focus and time to drive this forward over the coming months and years. For me, the role of depute leader is a job in itself. It isn’t just another title, or a reward for work well done elsewhere or in the past. There’s work to be done and I’m prepared to do it.
I’m ready and willing to travel the country, meeting members at branch events, providing leadership and support to the grassroots.
I’m not naive enough to think one person can do it all, or that change will happen overnight. I’m seeking a mandate to begin a process – I don’t have a blueprint – and your voice will be crucial in that process. But it’s time to get started.
The strength of the SNP lies in its members, and the party’s democratic traditions mean that all of you have a say in deciding who the next holder of this important job should be. Make sure you use your vote.
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