TOP level meetings are taking place between senior SNP figures to get the party “match fit” ahead of a “new phase” of preparations for indyref2, The National can reveal.
Michael Russell, president of the SNP (NEC), met with MPs in London on Tuesday night to discuss the way forward for independence.
Tommy Sheppard, the SNP's spokesperson on the constitution, attended the meeting.
He told the National while he could not divulge exactly what issues were discussed at the meeting he could say it was “indicative of a ramping up” of momentum ahead of a second referendum.
He said: “We were brainstorming ideas and making sure we’re match fit for the campaign ahead.”
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It is important for the party MPs to be involved at high-level discussions around indyref2 because they are the ones with the “experience and knowledge of how the British state works having sat in the belly of the beat”, said Sheppard.
He added: “We can help contribute to the policy formation of how Scotland becomes independent and what that looks like.
“But secondly, we have a specific role to play in arguing the merits of the case right at the heart of the British state itself.”
People in the independence movement can be “reassured” leaders “know there is a lot of work to do” and are getting on with the job of pushing for and winning a second poll, Sheppard added.
He said: “It’s a step along the way, it’s a part of the process.
“There will be a lot more of these discussions as the year progresses.”
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Though he acknowledged most political players will currently be concerned with the upcoming local elections in May, Sheppard thinks “we’ll begin to run through the gears” afterwards.
He predicts the Scottish Tories will pitch the council elections as an unofficial referendum on the SNP, running as the “say no to a second referendum” party.
But he said: “That ship has sailed, we had a vote on that and they lost it”.
Arguing SNP representatives had a role to play in selling independence to not just Scots but English people as well, Sheppard said: "An independent Scotland will want to have the best of relations with what then would be an independent England."
He added: “[We are] encouraging people in England and their representatives to lose their fear of the proposition – they shouldn’t be scared of this.
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“It’s in all our interests to see liberal, progressive forces in government in England and we should start the process of arguing with them now that far from being a setback to their agendas, Scottish independence can actually help them.”
Independence will result in “root and branch reform” of every part of the British state, according to Sheppard.
“You can’t have independence in Scotland without having major consequences for the rest of Britain,” he said.
“People need to get their head around that now and seize the opportunity to see that as a progressive development.”
It comes as the Scottish Government ramps up its plans to deliver a second referendum on the question of independence.
Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to hold another vote on leaving the Union by the end of next year.
Last month the First Minister said a timetable outlining her government’s plans to allow Scots another say on the matter – after being taken out of Europe despite voting against Brexit – would be released soon.
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