Bannockburn AUOB march was a river of hope leading to independence

It was a river that murmured that Scotland has been sold a lie, a river that buoyed up the knowledge that things don’t have to be like this, that sang that a better Scotland is not only possible, it’s within our grasp. It was a river of hope through the barren fields of unreason. It was a river that said the anger of Scotland at the right-wing coup of the Brexiteers in Westminster will not be dammed and will not be stopped.

GALLERY: The best photos from the Bannockburn independence march

Young and old, born Scots and made Scots, Scots by birth and Scots by adoption, all were united in their determination that this river of saltires will run its natural course, to the open seas of independence.

About 15,000 people came out to participate in the Bannockburn event and to demonstrate their belief in a better Scotland – thousands more than those who had stood with Robert the Bruce on that momentous day 704 years ago.

But this wasn’t a bellicose Scotland. The marchers this weekend represent a peaceful Scotland, equally determined and equally insistent on the right of Scotland to determine and choose its own future.

This is a future which will be achieved through the ballot box and not through a battle. It was a day of acceptance, of openness, and of welcoming everyone who seeks a better Scotland irrespective of where they originally came from.

The massive turnout greatly exceeded the expectations of the organisers. It was a turnout fuelled by popular anger in Scotland at the shameful mistreatment of Scottish concerns by the government in Westminster in the EU Withdrawal Bill debates and its unilateral destruction of the founding principles of the devolution settlement.

Now only the most obdurate, the most blinkered, can still maintain that the palace on the banks of the Thames is a place that respects and listens to the needs and desires of Scotland.

There was a widespread sense amongst those in attendance that there has been a sea-change in the political waters over the past few weeks, one that was signalled and symbolised by the SNP’s walk out of Westminster. Christina McKelvie, the SNP MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse, said: “Something is stirring and it’s full of hope. These are the conversations that I am having all the time with my constituents. People are feeling that they need to be heard and that their voices need to be counted.”

That’s a feeling on which the independence movement is capitalising. The surge in applications for SNP membership since the Westminster walk out has been noted in the press. What has gained less publicity, but which is possibly even more important, is that there has also been a surge in support for local independence groups and local grassroots activism. The momentum in recent months of local indy groups being re-established and existing groups being reinvigorated seems set to continue.

There are voices within the grassroots independence movement who complain that the SNP holds itself apart from the grassroots movement. That was certainly not the case at Bannockburn, just as it wasn’t the case at the previous rallies in Glasgow and Dumfries. Christina McKelvie certainly wasn’t the only SNP politician in attendance. The march itself was led by, amongst others, SNP depute leader Keith Brown MSP; Ivan McKee, the MSP for Glasgow Provan; and Bruce Crawford, the MSP for Perth.

There were plenty of other prominent SNP figures present, but what was striking was that they were not there to direct or take charge of events, they were not there to make speeches or to pass on instructions from the party hierarchy. They were there in their capacity as ordinary Scots committed to a cause that is bigger than any individual and bigger than any single political party.

When asked if it was time for another referendum, Heather Ross of Rutherglen said: “It’s time. It’s way beyond time. This is about Scotland’s future. It’s time that the SNP supported grassroots efforts, so I am delighted to see so many SNP figures here today.”

Ann Mclaughlin, the former SNP MP for Glasgow North East, was there with her partner, the Glasgow councillor Graham Campbell, and with family members. She said: “These rallies are really important because they place grassroots activism at the forefront. It’s the people themselves who will achieve independence, and this rally demonstrates that we’re doing it for ourselves and not waiting to be led.”

Stuart Hosie, MP for Dundee East and former deputy leader of the SNP, said: “There’s a phenomenal turnout. This is not only because of Westminster’s behaviour over the past few weeks, this is a sign of a deeper and more profound demonstration of the rise in support for independence.”

Thousands of ordinary activists went home from Bannockburn feeling refreshed, enthused and re-energised. The people who attended this event are not merely supporters of independence, they are people who are committed enough to the cause of a better Scotland that they’re going to be actively working and campaigning to bring it about.

They represent a grassroots movement and an unstoppable river that has no comparison on the opposing side. The opponents of independence might control the great bulk of the media, but they don’t have the sheer numbers of the grassroots independence movement. That means the independence movement can do something that its opponents cannot; it can tailor the message to the individual, and speak directly to the concerns of undecideds and wavering voters. That’s how independence will come about, in thousands of conversations, in hundreds of thousands of voices talking and persuading.

For every activist who attended the rally, there dozens more who didn’t go but who are equally determined. All of them will take this message to their communities, their families, their circles of friends. Ordinary people in this country are not going to wait for independence. They’re not going to sit passively in the expectation of being led. They’re going to make independence happen. They’re going to do it for themselves. They’re going to create a river that leads to a Scottish sea.