A PROMINENT independence group has warned the SNP over the future of the movement, after the party suffered defeat in the General Election.
Believe in Scotland (BiS) is a grassroots campaign which includes 142 local and national Yes groups. Led by Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp, it has organised a number of campaign days and national events.
Reflecting on the election result, the group said the SNP had sent “mixed messages” on independence as part of their campaign which had led to “electoral suicide”.
“In this election the SNP offered the independence movement some nice words in their manifesto but then basically banned the word independence from their campaign, sent mixed messages on whether they would seek to negotiate the end of the union with a majority or ask for a referendum and didn't explain how they were going to deliver independence,” the group said in a statement.
“When a huge chunk of the independence movement are natural Labour voters, many of whom have been voting SNP since 2014, that approach was electoral suicide and we told them that again and again over the last year.”
‘That’s not the SNP’s call to make’
BiS reflected on the comments made by former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon following the election result.
“Unionist politicians are declaring independence is dead and Nicola Sturgeon has said this poor result takes independence ‘off the immediate agenda’,” the group said.
“That's not the SNP’s call to make and if the SNP had agreed to the path to independence that Believe in Scotland called for last year and made it their campaign's focus rather than running a campaign devoid of mentions of independence they could have stopped Labour’s landslide at the border.
“The SNP must be willing to work with Believe in Scotland and finally admit they are part of a wider movement and not the holy keepers of the independence cause.”
The group added that a Labour majority in Scotland could remind the Scottish electorate “that Labour have no answers and frankly don’t give a damn for Scotland’s problems”.
“When we reach Holyrood 2026 the Scottish people will still want change and they will have finally learned that change will never come from Westminster.”
BIS has previously advocated for a constitutional convention similar to the one which delivered devolution in the 1990s.
The group said: “If the pro-indy political parties can put their rivalries aside and join Believe in Scotland in a new style constitutional convention to offer a believable roadmap to improving Scotland's wellbeing through independence, we will be toasting Scottish independence sooner than they think.”
