THE merchandise stall at the SNP conference has the usual array of stickers, mugs, rosettes and pin badges which delegates snap up every year.
On Tuesday morning, as the gathering is entering its final day, the verdict on how sales have gone is “a bit up and down”.
It’s hardly surprising – in the run-up to conference, the party has seen some turbulent months, not to mention a heavy defeat in by-election and the defection of an SNP MP to the Tories in the days before.
It’s led to headlines of the gathering being “diminished” and talk of the party being “doomed” – but what has the mood really been like at this year’s conference?
One delegate tells how she was a “bit down” before attending the event in Aberdeen, after losing Rutherglen and Hamilton West to Labour. But in coming to conference she says has experienced renewed energy and positiveness.
“It’s been upbeat,” she says.
That’s echoed by another delegate, who says there’s lots of enthusiasm to get started on stepping up the independence campaign – but also recognition of a need to improve communications.
“We need to communicate better as a movement and party, so I think there’s a lot of conversations around that,” she says.
“It’s now about mobilising each arm of the movement and getting things moving.”
There’s no doubt conference has been a quieter affair than in 2022, which took place in amid the buzz of anticipation of a decision by the Supreme Court on whether Holyrood had powers to hold a referendum.
Party figures say that’s not just down to the political scene in Scotland, but the escalating Israel-Hamas war on everyone’s minds.
The conference opened with an emergency resolution which featured an emotional speech by Humza Yousaf's wife Nadia El-Nakla, whose parents are trapped in Gaza.
It was followed by days of debate over the way forward on issues in Scotland including on the strategy for independence, the NHS, energy, rural issues and disability support.
Rosemary Ugbah (above), who is at the SNP BAME network stall, says: “Conference is important as at the end of the day we are trying to make policies, we are trying to get it better for Scotland – most importantly the big picture we are trying to get independence.
“So this is where we have a lot of discussions, it is time for us to make our future plans and one of the key reasons why we are here.”
She adds: “Good ideas come out from conference – we vote on resolutions and try and get things moving.”
So to what extent has that succeeded this year?
Simon Barrow, who is secretary of the SNP's Trade Union Group but speaking in personal capacity, says: “I think everybody was uncertain as to what to expect, I think some people were expecting a bit of stooshie, other people were hoping we would all hug each other and there would be lots of unity.
“There has been some honest disagreement, but I think overall the atmosphere has been pretty positive.”
He adds: “But underneath that a lot of people are aware that there isn’t a magic solution to the situation the SNP is in at the moment, and that though we have a strategy moving forward, which I think is more about immediate tactics, the long-term game is still very much an open one and quite a struggle.”
“Even though that is the case the party is going to face massive challenges, both in terms of the General Election and potentially the Scottish Parliament in 2026.
“But also in continuing to shift opinion on the issue of independence, as we are nowhere near over the line at the moment.
“I think a lot of people in recent years have thought we might be in the end game, and it’s a difficult adjustment to realise that that actually may not be the situation we are in at all.”
Barrow says the scale of the vote in favour using a majority of seats in the General Election as a basis for the independence showed that people were “wanting to get behind a plan” – and even if many think it is not ideal, it did offer a way forward.
“A lot of it is about tactics and how we take the next steps, rather than how we know how the whole game is going to play out,” he says.
“To an extent, politics is a game of chess and when you are in the middle of the game, you don’t always know what the end moves are going to be.
“I think some people perhaps came here wanting to specify what the end moves will be – but that isn’t possible at the moment, so we need to think how to move forward practically.”
The main debates have been taking place in a smaller room in Aberdeen’s TECA venue than the previous year, but Kilian Riley, national secretary of Out for Independence, says this has meant it has felt more like “having a conversation” than watching an event.
“It’s felt like everyone is here working together constructively towards a common goal and there’s been good debate and conversation which is great,” he says.
“In past years lots of things have just been clapped through and everyone is just agreeing, it has been nice to see disagreement about things – but agreeable disagreement.”
Riley says he was initially not fully behind idea of using a majority of seats at Westminster for the independence strategy, but having heard the “pluses” he was now ready to campaign on it.
“I am very much in favour of a referendum is the only way, but Westminster isn’t going to give us another referendum so we need to follow other directions,” he adds.
Meanwhile it’s the first conference for Jacob Ross (above), from the Leith Walk branch in Edinburgh - he says he has been “really impressed”.
“It was Nicola Sturgeon’s closing speech last conference which inspired me to join the party,” he says.
“Everyone has been really kind and welcoming – people have said it is maybe a bit quieter but obviously I have nothing to compare it to.”
Ross says he has enjoyed listening to debates on subjects and found the independence strategy discussion interesting but “maybe a bit too long”.
He adds: “I think younger people want independence now.
“I have supported it since 2014, when I was 11. It might sound a bit rich coming from me being 20 - considering I know people who have been in the SNP since they were teenagers and they are are 60 or 70 - but it has felt like a long time coming.”
