MOST of the recent figures say that there are around 45 per cent of hardline independence supporters who would vote Yes no matter what the cost, and around 30 per cent of committed Unionists who would never vote for independence even if it was proved that it would benefit them financially, socially or any other reason.

This leaves around 25 per cent of what could reasonably called “soft possibles” who might vote either way. Why would they vote for independence? We would have to show them that they would be better off in an independent Scotland rather than the present Union. To do this we need provable figures which are unchallengeable!

Where to get these figures, and how to present them in a simple way that will prove our case to these doubters, is the crux of the matter. Mainstream media will try to undermine these figures, and we need to be able to show that they are deliberately misleading the electorate to safeguard the status quo which they benefit from.

The Tories’ “no second referendum” was a simple message which needed no promises or indeed policies to judge them on, but it proved effective. To convince the “soft possibles” we need a similar strategy. The SNP are fighting three different battles against the Tories, Labour and the LibDems in various constituencies and need different strategies against each opponent. A broader Yes movement would only have the one battle, and could campaign on this one strategy to convince these soft possibles to vote Yes next time.

There are many out there who hate the SNP, or Nicola or Alex Salmond, or have some other supposed reason, and wouldn’t vote for anything which is driven by them. Your readers will likely know of at least one who fits the bill! The Yes movement can incorporate SNP members but shouldn’t be driven by the party. We can’t wait until a second indy referendum is imminent, but need to start now.

Advertisers continually put out subliminal messages to convince people to buy their products. We need to use this method with posters, stickers, pin badges etc to get the message in people’s minds.

Graham Smith
Arbroath

PRIOR to the last General Election Nicola Sturgeon clearly told voters “this is not about independence”, yet when they lost seats the SNP publicly and repeatedly interpreted this as a fall in support for independence. Music to Unionist ears, but logically inconsistent.

The reality is very different. Recent opinion polls place support for independence between 47 and 49 per cent. A vibrant Yes campaign leading up to a second referendum would easily raise support well over the winning line and Scotland could be negotiating independence before the year is out.

You’d never think it to listen to the politicians or the Unionist media, but the Union is hanging by a thread.

Billy Scobie
Alexandria