THE Yes DIY movement is probably the most co-operative political grouping ever seen in Scotland, and the insistence of all involved on a fair and equable treatment of all Scots is the proof that this is civic nationalism at its best.
Had the movement as it is now existed on the current scale in early 2014, the result of the independence referendum might well have been different. The hope must be that when the second referendum is called – and it will be – there will already be in existence a network of groups and organisations full of activists ready to campaign for Yes.
It is sadly a criticism of Yessers that there was never a good hard look at what went wrong, an inquiry into why Yes lost, in 2014. That’s sad because that criticism is wrong – there was a great deal of soul-searching and examination of tactics and organisation by those who participated in what was, after all, a campaign that took the Yes vote from around 28% to 45%.
Such crucial self-examination is one reason why the SNP, for example, has changed tack and now sees the importance of working with the wider Yes movement, and has given the job of doing so principally to Keith Brown who is doing a terrific job.
The Scottish Independence Convention is currently organising its own professional approach to campaigning and that has to be welcomed.
Yet we at the Yes DIY hub feel there is something we can do to help the movement at this crucial time.
We are not running an awards programme – though we would if it were sought – but we want to publicise the best practice of groups across the Yes movement.
We are not looking for vast screeds about what your group is doing, but over the next few weeks we would like to hear from activists as to what groups and individuals are doing, for instance, to engage with the most important category of voters for the movement – the “mebbes”.
Here’s a small example from one Yes group: “Yes Forfar/Blether-In, organised a Christmas collection
for the Angus Foodbank and the Angus Toy Appeal on Saturday December, 8.
“The roll-out of Universal Credit has made this coming Christmas period even more difficult for many and we hope our collection will go a little way towards helping families in Angus.
“We were so happy at the wonderful response to our collection and thank everyone for their donations.”
Thanks to Irene Golden for that fine example of what we are looking for – reports on things you did in 2018 which others could adapt for their own local group.
Please send your 2018 best stories to community@thenational.scot as soon as you like, thanks.
Take a leaf out of Iain’s book to help spread the word
IT’S great to know that The National is appreciated by Yessers, but as the only daily and Sunday newspaper to support Scottish independence we are aware that there are some individuals out there who don’t want this newspaper to be available.
We have heard too many stories of people seeing The National buried behind pro-Union newspapers – let’s face it, that’s every other one – to dismiss these reports as the product of paranoia.
So maybe it’s time to fight back ... One of our supporters is Iain Kilgallon who goes into his local branch of Morrisons and moves their 20 or so copies of The National to a more prominent position on the newspaper rack.
Why not ask your local newsagent to do the same? It really does help. Iain has another idea: “I have been converting people over to your paper for the last few weeks and telling everyone they need to show their support by buying the paper every day.
“I just wanted to suggest something. I notice none of the cafes round here have your paper in their ‘free reading’ but everything else seems to be.
“Would it be worthwhile sending complimentary copies to cafes around the country or asking for help to distribute these as I would happily buy an extra couple of copies every morning if it helps get your hard work into as many places as possible.”
A great idea, Iain. So come on readers, ask your local cafe owner and public library for The National.
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
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