YES Tweeddale, located in the Borders, has members from various political parties and from none at all. We attract support from throughout the Peeblesshire area.
For us, three of the main concerns (apart from the cost of living) are how the Border will actually operate, mitigating the negative impact of Brexit on the agricultural community and how we can help folk have a better quality of life.
Indeed, one of our liveliest street stalls was one where people were encouraged to use cards to contrast their experience of the present and the future they hope for themselves and their children/grandchildren.
At another stall, people were offered the opportunity to say who they wanted to lead the country. The results showed that the majority of people around Peebles that day were of the same mind – Scotland should be able to choose its own future, and our tongue-in-cheek questions showed no-one wanted Truss or Sunak and pitiably few Starmer!
Since the end of Covid, and especially since becoming affiliated with Believe In Scotland (BIS), we have been gradually ramping up our activities. We have succeeded in almost doubling our numbers to 60 active members.
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We’ve achieved this through a combination of word of mouth, strong social media activity, inspiring speaker events and regular Saturday street stalls.
What emerges for us is that when Borderers have the facts about many key issues, they can see that Scottish independence is the best way of delivering a future that every Scot would choose.
Getting those facts out there happens not only in conversations at stalls, chapping doors or leafleting, but through our targeted speaker events. These include music from local musicians as well as refreshments to make them very social.
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So far this summer we have hosted Lesley Riddoch, who compared Scotland with Iceland as an example of what might be possible for this country, and Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp, who demonstrated the benefits of a wellbeing economic approach.
After each event, more people signed up to be involved.
There is a hunger for information and action!
Looking ahead, what we need to fire up our campaign is a focus to work towards. Campaigning in a vacuum is really draining for activists.
Since the recent signs of a full-blown campaign by BIS, a few more young folk are getting involved, largely drawn by the wellbeing economic approach, which gives them hope for a different future.
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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.
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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
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