WHILE it is fine and dandy for SNP members to extol following the party line in public, often through gritted teeth, and strive not to give the usual media suspects “SNP members in revolt” headlines, there is a way to put pressure on the members we have elected to positions within the party, whether they be First Ministers or branch treasurers.
Mike Russell has been appointed to lead the SNP independence campaign. This is the same Mike Russell who stated, back in March, there should be no reason that an independence referendum could not be held in autumn 2021. Mr Russell may claim this does not constitute a “promise” per se, but it has raised expectations among members that it was as good as.
READ MORE: Michael Russell appointed political director at SNP's independence unit
We, the SNP membership, are now being promised some form of “summer conference” at which motions can be put. This being the case, may I propose as many SNP branches as possible consider putting the following motion or similar form of motion to the conference committee:
“The ******* Branch considers the delay of an independence referendum beyond the SNP President’s promise, prior to the May 2021 Holyrood elections, of a referendum in autumn 2021, is deleterious to both the future of the nation of Scotland and the SNP as a political party.”
I am asking my own branch to consider such a motion to be put to the proposed summer conference.
Peter Thomson
Kircudbright
THE point is to get nationwide campaigning going at the “molecular” level – changing people’s minds one by one with calm, informed arguments and written material.
The dire warnings about rushing ahead blindly have largely been straw men. Get it moving via hundreds of local groups, build the wave, and the process and date will emerge from that.
No more prevarication – get on the road, be it six months, a year or even a bit more.
Alasdair Jamison
via thenational.scot
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel