YES supporters need to “understand why people were fearful” of voting for independence back in 2014, the SNP’s Westminster leader has said.

Ian Blackford was speaking to The National to mark the sixth anniversary of the referendum.

We asked him and a number of other leading politicians about their abiding memories of the 2014 vote and what lessons Yes supporters should take from that referendum as we head towards a possible indyref2.

Here's what they told us.

Ian Blackford MP

"On the run up to the independence referendum we had 56 public meetings in Skye and Lochalsh and my overriding memory of that time was the sense of engagement - regardless of people's starting point. We had a Yes shop in the centre of Portree and every day we had people coming in with a real thirst for knowledge, particularly high school students. There was a real sense of excitement. People were passionate about their country, but some were frightened too. 

"In learning lessons, we need to understand why people were fearful, though I do think a lot of people are coming from a different place compared to 2014. People are more concerned about being in the UK outside of Europe, and with a UK government which has no regard for devolution. As we look ahead to the next indyref, we need to engage with people regardless of where they were before, and have that debate, and talk about the type of independent country we know Scotland can and will be."

Colin Fox, the Scottish Socialist Party's national spokesman, was on the advisory board of Yes Scotland. He said independence supporters needed to “understand why we lost and resolve to win next time.”

"My abiding memories of the Yes campaign lie in the hundreds of packed meetings I addressed all across Britain. The energy in those debates and the electric atmosphere made politics itself the biggest 'spectator sport' in the country for a while. To political 'animals' like me it was a joy to see the masses so engaged in the debate and so exercised by so many debates and details.

"There should have been 100,000 PhDs awarded to extraordinary 'ordinary people' over those two years such was the intensity of the scrutiny and examination of political ideas, philosophies and economic theories across our land.

"The lessons for Yes? We need to understand why we lost and resolve to win next time. For me, we lost the central argument over the economy. That's like losing Scott Brown or Lionel Messi from your midfield. And the truth is we still haven't won it.

"We won't win Indyref2 without that 'key player' in our team. And I'm not in favour of having a second vote until we put a far more coherent and inspiring economic case in front of the electorate capable of transforming the Scotland of today into a modern, democratic, self-confident nation."

SNP MP Deirdre Brock said the “pounds and the pennies are important but they’re not everything.” She added: “We need Scotland to believe in itself as a country, not just as a balance sheet. We need to respect every voice in the nation – those who disagree with us as much as those on our side.

“We need every door knocked, letters in every newspaper, meetings in every community centre and village hall (‘mon the vaccine!), conversations with every relative and friend, the whole lot. We need information, hope, belief, vision and dreams. We need to build that better country in our ambition so we can build it in reality.”

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, who was also on the board of Yes Scotland, agreed: “I think initially our campaign was too top down and next time round we should let the grass roots Yessers flourish from the start as they did so gloriously throughout the summer of 2014, and have kept going since.”

Her advisory board, colleague, and now Green MSP Ross Greer said: “Given the total collapse of the No campaign’s strongest arguments from 2014 and the way our country has been treated since then by increasingly extreme Tory governments, it’s no wonder that most people now want to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands.”

The SNP's Martin Docherty-Hughes said the 2014 vote "took the nation within a hairs breath of liberty."

He added: "The 2014 referendum remind us that, we the people of Scotland are free and able to determine our governance and destiny; and now not only rest of the UK but the world knows now more than ever that we have the confidence and ability to once again take our place in the family of nations, standing up for the rule of law and along with so many other nations committing ourselves to the health and wellbeing of all."

Outgoing MSP Linda Fabiani said the lesson she took from the last referendum was that the "establishment will pull out all the stops to thwart a Yes vote, and afterwards roll back on any promises made."

Dave Thompson, the interim convenor of the Alliance For Indepdence party said the memory of the "over the top celebrations of Labour, with the LibDems and Tories, in the counting hall" on referendum night 2014 was one of his abiding memories.

"I vowed then to wipe the smiles off their faces at the final IndyRef," he said.

Thompson added: "The biggest lesson to learn from 2014 was that we have to be 100% prepared with all our ducks in a row."

SNP MP Hannah Bardell said the no vote on the night was "devastating".

She added: "I think the major difference is we now have the experience of as a nation voting no, having promised made then seeing them broken. 

"The devastation and disappointment is something we must remind people of whilst articulating a more detailed vision of why an independent Scotland can and will look like.

"We have learned much and have built huge networks and capacity. I think sometimes we in the Yes movement forget how far we’ve come and how incredible the work is and the impact it has and will have. The Yes movement and the people in it are such a huge gift and asset."