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HIS Saturday, Yes Cymru are hosting a march through Swansea, and yesterday a poll showed Yes in Wales is at 32%.

An unbelievable feat considering one poll prior to the independence referendum in 2014 put Welsh indy backing at a mere 5%, compared to almost 80% actively supporting the Union.

32%.

It makes you wonder what Yes could do with a co-ordinated campaign which Yes Cymru puts forward.

One Yesser last week told me ministers are listening to the independence movement at the moment. Not quite taking action, but listening.

Mhairi Black, Stephen Flynn, Jamie Hepburn, Stewart Hosie – they are currently doing tours around SNP branches and Yes groups, mostly to listen. They join prominent Yes figures touring the country who have not stopped listening.

I’ll be heading to a few soon to properly understand the energy and report back – but from what I can gather from conversations outside those rooms is that the First Minister, his Cabinet and beyond colleagues are catching up in a backlog of conversations the SNP should have been having for the last nine years.

I don’t say this for you to wonder what Yes could have done in the last nine years – could we have built the campaign by 20+ per cent? Could a Yes civil war have been avoided? Could a Section 30 order have been in our grasps?

There is now strength is taking immediate action.

Edinburgh Yes Hub is a perfect example. There is NO city in Scotland with a Yes hub in a central location with heavy footfall. So, Edinburgh Yes Hub are going to change this.

They have a meeting on Saturday to raise funds for a shop purchase. It's costing more than a usual hub as they are looking for somewhere in a busy area. There are plenty hubs doing work in villages and towns across Scotland, entirely run by volunteers.

I was speaking to Amanda Burgauer and Craig Dalzell from Common Weal, and they said they were struck by the energy emitting from the Yes movement in rural Scotland.

I felt this when I visited Yes Carrick and AyeFyne. A sense of surprise, and pride in fellow Scots.
Common Weal also plans to get out on tour as an organisation this summer, to soak up this energy and hopefully inspire.

Funds. Money. Independence. It's not always an easy conversation, especially at the moment.

Looking again at Yes Cymru – they are entirely funded by membership fees, donations, and sales from the online shop (which has fantastic merchandise). The registered non-party-political company is run by a board of up to 17 members elected by the members.

When I first read this, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Business for Scotland. A registered company whose non-party-political campaign branch Believe in Scotland is run by a group of 17 regional representatives.

The sparkling recognition of the Scottish body by the First Minister has been in private, but should the SNP publicly endorse the largest non-party-political campaigning organisation and direct SNP members to support local grassroot groups?

Not to do with funds, money, independence. But numbers, boots on the ground, fresh ideas.

As one reader put this week: "The Yes movement is vast in numbers and varied in ideas on how independence should and will be obtained. But they apparently seem to prefer to sit at home behind their computers than manning or supporting their local hubs and street stands. This may well be the fault of the hubs by appearing too set in their ways and seemingly unwelcoming. If it is, then it’s not deliberate, but perhaps being left alone has made them that way."

It could be a big step towards a co-ordinated campaign for Scotland which Yes Cymru puts forward to assist Yes to create hubs in every Scottish city. Something that should've happened.

Events

• Sat 20 at 11am: Edinburgh Yes Hub are hosting a public event. Location: Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2JL. Tickets available here on donation.
• Mon 29 at 11am: Yes Largs street stall alongside Believe in Scotland and Women for Independence. Location: Largs Main Street (weather permitting).
• Mon 29 at 7pm: Aberdeen Independence Movement to host Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp for a talk on and Q&A on the wellbeing economy. Location: Wild Boar, 19 Belmont Street, Aberdeen. Tickets available here on donation.

Future events are listed here.

If you or a group have a grassroots event, let us know at grassroots@thenational.scot and we can send one of our team!