SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is due to meet the Scottish Independence Convention (SIC) early next month, as part of her plans to engage with the “wider independence movement”.
The SIC confirmed the meeting to The National yesterday, but neither they nor the SNP were willing to say much about the get together. Campaign sources said the meeting was to discuss how best to “move forward the case for independence in the current political landscape”. The Convention also has plans to meet the co-convenors of the Scottish Greens.
The SIC had initially invited SNP chief executive Peter Murrell to meet with them, after Sturgeon announced plans in June to delay asking the UK Government for a Section 30 order, the legislation necessary to hold a legally valid referendum.
The First Minister said in Holyrood at the time she would wait until the terms of Brexit were clear before making any further announcement.
The SNP leader also used that statement to call for the arguments for independence to be strengthened.
She said: “Many of us already believe independence is the right and the best answer to the many, complex challenges we face as a country – and also the best way to seize and fully realise our many opportunities.
“The challenge for all of us who believe that Scotland should be independent is to get on with the hard work of making and winning that case – on all of its merits – and in a way that is relevant to the changes, challenges, hopes and opportunities we face now and in the years ahead.”
The First Minister then acknowledged the need to work across parties and beyond party politics. “We will engage openly and inclusively with, and work as part of, the wider independence movement,” she said.
“We will seek to support, engage and grow that movement, and build the case that having decisions made by us – not for us – offers the best future for our country.”
The SIC was relaunched last year, holding its first conference in five years, bringing together representatives from the SNP, Scottish Greens, and the SSP, and organisations like Labour for Independence, Women for Independence, Radical Independence Campaign, Business for Scotland and Common Weal.
The convention’s co-convenors are Elaine C Smith and National columnist Pat Kane, and the vice-convenors are fellow National columnist Lesley Riddoch and National consulting editor Richard Walker.
The SIC, who rely on donations and the work of volunteers recently tweeted that they were “working on research and events at the moment”.
The National understands there are plans for another conference later on in the year.
Immediately after Sturgeon made her statement in the Scottish Parliament, the SNP launched the website mobilise.scot, asking supporters to “help the movement grow” and to “send us your ideas”. A previous website, Scot.ref, was taken down after the General Election, having raised about £500,000 in donations.
The SNP has said that money is “ring fenced” for an independence referendum and won’t be used for elections or other party business.
A spokesman for the SIC said: “We believe it is important that we offer activities, advice, research and a forum for discussion for the Yes movement in the months ahead. To do that we must build broad consensus across the movement including the pro-independence parties before we make any of our plans public.”
A spokesman for the SNP said: “We are part of the convention so there’s regular contact.”
Meanwhile, former First Minister Alex Salmond used an interview with the Press and Journal to say he thought the future was still “rosy” for independence. “The SNP lost seats because of the timing, when Nicola first announced a second independence referendum she did so in the faith that an election certainly wouldn’t be held this year,” he told the paper.
“It’s hugely easy to explain the necessity of independence, which is only going to steadily grow stronger in the wake of Brexit.
“Scotland needs an insurance policy, but sometimes people can’t see what’s right in front of their nose, a lot of people are going to be bumping their noses in the months to come.
“I still think the future for independence looks rosy and the time for independence will come.”
Recently, former minister Alex Neil said the SNP had focussed too much on referendum processes rather than making the case for independence, and called on the party to engage more with the wider movement.
“One of the things that we need to put right is that we’ve put the process before the substantive case,” the MSP argued.
“The referendum’s a technique and independence is a strategic objective, so let’s stick to the strategic objective and let’s use that technique.”
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