INDEPENDENCE-supporting lost souls with no ideological home after Scotland’s political awakening during the independence referendum now have a new place to express their ideas and meet others of a similar mind.
The national yes registry – nationalyesregistry.scot – has been set up to mobilise the entire grass-roots Yes movement following the remarkable political awakening of 2014.
However, its supporters caution that it is not a replacement for the previously unsuccessful Yes Scotland, which shut up shop immediately after the referendum, but a movement that will build on existing support for independence.
Among the groups participating in the project are Bella Caledonia, Veterans for Scottish Independence and Lochaber Women for Indy, as well as local Yes groups the length and breadth of Scotland.
The general idea is to provide a forum to explore and exchange ideas, stimulate discussion and develop the next phase of the movement. An app is being developed and should be released next month.
Jason Baird is the project lead and has been travelling the country publicising it to any groups who have expressed an interest.
He told The National: “During the original referendum lots of people didn’t know how to get to a Yes group, never mind start participating, because it was usually friends who got together and met in a pub or club.
“This will make the various groups more visible. It will put people who are interested in getting involved with the Yes movement directly in contact with existing groups.
“When an individual joins a group they will be able to meet up with each other physically, because it’s a local group, but they can carry on their discussions in a forum using the app.
“So if somebody has an idea or picks up something from a newspaper or social media, they can put it on their local forum and look for suggestions or discussion on how it can be adapted for their own community, or come up with some campaigning ideas.
“People will have the ability to continually dip in and out of it when they’re free.”
He said the app will distribute forum posts to all local members and if someone wants to pursue a particular line, a resource function will enable them to do that without a hierarchy or headquarters structure.
“They can find the resource they need through the app, like an indy-supporting printer, or a chip shop or newsagent that’s willing to display a poster,” said Baird.
“That’s how it will work on a local level, but exactly the same set-up applies nationally.
“If a group has a good idea or example of good practice and thinks it can work elsewhere, they can come together in their local forum and it can then go to the national forum. The person that had the initial idea can set up a ‘virtual’ national committee room and contact the groups that showed an interest and take it forward from there.”
He added that the registry project, coupled with the app, could bring an element of unity to the cause.
“With the Yes movement there was lots of disagreement about how things should go, but we call came together on the things we agreed upon. It was all about agreement and that’s the way this will work.”
Baird stressed that there was no policy agenda, just an effective networking of the groups to enable them to find allies across the country.
Should an official Yes campaign emerge in the coming months, Baird said he would view the registry project as the “Edinburgh Fringe” to the “official Festival”.
“Ahead of a new referendum, the political parties will put forward their proposals for a future Scotland and there will be an official Yes headquarters,” he said.
“They will be like the official Edinburgh Festival and we’ll be like the Fringe – we’ll set our own agenda and do our own thing, but we will interact. The closer we get to a referendum, the more you will see everybody pulling in the same direction. It’s a great unifier.”
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