ON Wednesday evening, the Believe in Scotland family gathered outside Holyrood to mark the tenth anniversary of the independence referendum. It wasn’t a celebration, nor was it a wake for a referendum that we lost, but rather we hope it signalled the start of a new, more creative grassroots-led campaign that will put independence where it needs to be: back at the top of the national agenda.

Wednesday evening at Holyrood was the culmination of a series of events by grassroots Yes groups running across Scotland, with a rally and online broadcast from Holyrood on what was a warm and bright evening.

Independence supporters from the Edinburgh area and a wee bit further afield joined us at Holyrood, while others attended local rallies across Scotland in Stirling, Aberdeen and Inverness, with flag displays in Dundee, Oban and Kingussie and indoor events in the evening in Orkney and Dumfries.

We commissioned billboards, mostly in Edinburgh, in the run-up to the rally complementing the day’s action. You will still see the “Still Yes” billboard on the Glasgow Clydeside Expressway for a few more days – and more short, punchy campaigns are on their way.

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We also teamed up with The National to give readers a poster for their windows right across Scotland, sending the message that we are “Still Yes” – non-party-political, friendly and a throwback to an iconic image from the indyref.

So, all in all very positive and there were probably a few thousand people actively involved in the day’s activity across the country. But frankly, it should have been tens of thousands, generating true nationwide engagement and a return to the positivity of the independence movement of 2014 – but this just won’t be possible till the infighting and division that is rife within the wider movement ends.

To that end, this was a rally and broadcast without any political figures and it worked. All speakers were from the grassroots and all played a significant role in the 2014 campaign. They were broadcaster and author Lesley Riddoch; Richard Walker, the founder of this newspaper; Andrew Barr, one of the co-founders of the National Collective, and myself, founder of Business for Scotland, the largest spender and most active registered campaign group in 2014. There were also inspiring musical performances from singers Aileen Carr and Graham Brown.

Believe in Scotland has been writing to the few major groups who do not currently work with us, asking to meet and discuss how we can work together. On Wednesday night, I stated that “On behalf of Believe in Scotland, I hold out the hand of friendship and co-operation to all those involved in campaigning for independence. Regardless of political allegiance, past events, differences or ideals as we have the same goal.”

Most of the differences we have are based upon misunderstandings and social media posts by social media bullshitters who post ill-informed opinions on people’s motivations and beliefs to chase likes and imagined relevance even at the cost of Yes movement loyalty.

I propose we campaign together now, as we did in 2014, to stand under one commitment, Independence for Scotland, to secure a majority of votes in Holyrood 2026 as the settled will of the people for Scotland to become independent – and if people are not big enough to put aside their differences real or imagined, then get out of the way.

Let’s face it, Believe in Scotland has been fighting a rearguard action to keep independence on the agenda and stop it from falling while the political arm of our movement has been embroiled in infighting and scandal. We need to get our movement on the front foot and grow support again.

So, to all of those who seek to change minds through campaigning and not just chase social media likes from the converted, and to all those who actually campaigned for a Yes vote a decade ago and the decade since, and for all of those who campaigned for decades before, I salute you, for you are the real heroes of the independence movement.

And for those reading this that are new to our cause, the warmest of welcomes – our movement needs you the most.

We have begun refocusing our campaign away from politics and policy debates and on to our shared values as a people, our culture and creativity, to make campaigning fun for us and engaging for the undecided. However, our movement as a whole seems addicted to divisive party politics that tears our movement apart and bores the electorate.

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No nation ever gained its independence when their independence movement was so totally divided and refused to accept the need to come together in common cause, and I hope that people are now willing to accept the required change of focus and direction.

Looking at polling history, independence support has only really surged once and been maintained, and that was when our differences were subdued by unity in 2014 – I don’t mean “Yes Scotland”, it was the grassroots and people sharing their hopes and dreams, their aspirations for a better, fairer, greener and more prosperous and equal nation that people bought into.

OK, so what can you do next? Join your local Yes group and get active. Don’t wait for the politicians to lead – politicians don’t make waves, they ride them, so help us make waves. On Saturday in Hawick, Believe in Scotland activists from across Scotland will man stalls in the town centre and deliver a bespoke eight-page leaflet to every house explaining the benefits of independence to the Borders community – join us, and you will see that the campaigning arm of the Yes movement is united in purpose.