BROADCASTER and campaigner Lesley Riddoch has called for there to be a “blooming big demonstration” outside Holyrood on the day of the Supreme Court’s indyref2 decision.
With the case set to be heard in London on October 11 and 12, the columnist called on the independence movement to be bold amid concerns that to the wider world, “we don’t look like we give a toss” .
Riddoch was offering her “rebellious tuppence-worth” at a Yes Falkirk event as she issued her call for campaigners to make their work more visible and focus on making the Scottish independence campaign inescapable for the world and Westminster to address.
On a livestreamed panel organised by Yes Falkirk, she joined Greens MSP Gillian Mackay, The Scots Independent editor Grant Thoms, and Neil MacLeod from Christians for Independence.
The journalist warned that political observers in Europe have stressed that they aren’t “seeing anything” from Scotland right now despite the drive towards independence.
Riddoch said she chaired a Europe for Scotland event earlier this year, where she was “hurt” by what she heard.
“The Italian guy said ‘Look, I’m willing to knock my pan in when it comes to the time for Scotland’ or Italian words to that effect, ‘but are you?” she explained.
“Now that fricking hurt but he said: ‘We’re not seeing anything.’”
She went on: “If we’re not going to get out when a challenge is put to us politically then to everyone else, we are looking like a bunch of door mice.”
The next big challenge is from the Supreme Court – which is set to decide whether Holyrood can legally hold indyref2 without a Section 30 order from Westminster. It may take months for a decision to be made public.
“The day that there is a decision made about that process, what does it look like if there’s nothing happening?” she asked the audience. “There has to be a blooming big demonstration outside Holyrood.”
“I’m going to be there, I’ll organise something. If I get arrested outside my own parliament for breaching rules if I demonstrate about a big issue … then that’s fine. I don’t mind.”
Riddoch added that she’d been spreading this message to Yes groups across Scotland in recent days, and called on Yessers to organise a WhatsApp group to allow activists to mobilise quickly on the day of the court’s decision.
She reminded Yes campaigners that their role in pushing for independence is different to the Scottish Government’s.
“[The Government has] got a day job; it’s got formal requirements; it’s got things to do. The movement does not. Yet, we’re waiting to hear when we should be out protesting and when we should be out acting,” she stressed.
Other representatives in attendance at the Yes event included MPs Ronnie Cowan, John McNally and Douglas Chapman, as well as councillors Stacie Devine, Bryan Davies, Gary Blouse.
