INDEPENDENCE supporters will discuss how to start “blockading the British state” at a gathering of Yes campaigners, climate justice activists and trade unionists this week.
The conference in Glasgow, organised by the Radical Independence Campaign (RIC), will feature a workshop discussing tactics used by climate campaigners such as civil disobedience and direct action.
The session is being organised by Climate Camp Scotland – a protest group which made headlines blockading Grangemouth this summer.
It said the independence movement and the climate movement face a similar situation in that “tried and tested ways of organising have run their course and not made a dent into the openly hostile British government”.
“This session by Climate Camp Scotland will offer a short introduction to direct action, discuss some of the different aims, objectives and theories of direct action, and prepares the grounds for the radical flanks of the independence movement to start using disruptive action against the British state,” the group stated.
The conference, called "Break the Impasse: Towards Independence", taking place at the Renfield Centre in Glasgow on Saturday, will also have a series of speakers including Green MSP Maggie Chapman and from prominent grassroots group such as SNP Socialists.
It is the first to be held by the RIC on an in-person basis since 2019 and will open with a discussion on the routes to independence given the UK Government’s refusal to agree to a second referendum.
Green MSP Maggie Chapman said: “In some decades, nothing happens, but in some weeks, decades happen. Since the financial crash in 2008, independence referendum in 2014, oil price crash in 2014, and Brexit referendum in 2016, it feels like we've had a decade of such weeks.
“Our politics is in crisis. But this gives us an opportunity to rethink what we mean by democratic governance and how we revolutionise our economy for people and planet.
“I want to make the most of these opportunities in Scotland and the RIC conference is a space to discuss how we move towards a fairer, greener, and independent Scotland.”
Olaf Stando, of SNP Socialists, said: “The independence movement currently stands at a crucial crossroads, stuck in third gear and facing major choices on the path ahead.
“I first got politicised and involved in pro-independence politics through conversations at an RIC stall. What we currently need more of is that sense of radical hope in a fundamentally better future, the spirit of 2013-2014.
“Of course, we lost the referendum in 2014 and the polls haven’t fundamentally shifted, so right now we need to build up our arguments.”
He added: “We need to offer a bold, radical and convincing case that will show that independence can shift wealth towards ordinary people across Scotland.
“The RIC conference will hopefully be an important stepping stone towards that, and I’m excited to represent SNP Socialists to make our contribution to building that better future.”
Kevin McVey, of Socialists for Independence, said: “The key issue that presents itself to the independence movement is how to convince the majority of Scots that their future lies in an independent state.
“Central to that process is convincing working-class people of our case and that can best be done by advancing socialist policies that can help point the way to a fairer, more equal and just Scotland.”
