This week's Behind the Headlines comes from our grassroots reporter Laura Pollock, following a week of discussion, action, and energy for Yes… Sign up to receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every Friday here.
This week, the newsroom's reporting has been bookmarked by two major campaign weekends for Yes.
During a debrief of last weekend’s SNP independence convention in Dundee, political reporter Abbi Garton-Crosbie asked me: “What do you think is the most important thing to have come out of this weekend for grassroots?”
I struggled to answer, and she quickly moved on. It wasn’t that there was no answer – in fact, I had struggled to pinpoint just one single answer.
There were quite a lot of small steps taken by the SNP that grassroots would appreciate.
A bit more movement on the regional assemblies. Leadership shown by Humza Yousaf when managing the heckler interruption. And overall, a sense of honesty when it comes to how much work needs to be done – it's not a yellow brick road to the General Election in 2024.
After thinking it over, I asked Abbi to ask me again. She did, and you can hear my answer word for word on the podcast’s special episode.
I said the most important thing was hearing Believe in Scotland and Yes for EU’s Edinburgh march being endorsed by the First Minister.
Believe in Scotland, Yes for EU, the National Yes Network, Independence Live, and many others have played a key role keeping the Yes campaign alive in different ways.
Believe in Scotland is the producer of resources used by Yes groups. Often, their materials are the sole resources on a street stall.
It provides arguments, training, materials, events, and energy for Yes activists to continue campaigning in a coherent and co-ordinated fashion.
Believe in Scotland was one of the first groups I met with when I first started this job, so to see their efforts - alongside their affiliated groups - recognised proportionally by the SNP leadership was heartwarming.
Tomorrow, we are offering readers a special edition paper focusing on these people - Scottish independence activists.
This goes alongside the Day of Action Believe in Scotland is co-ordinating.
On Saturday, Yes activists will be out up and down the country kicking off a summer of independence campaigning.
As the platform for the independence movement, I wanted to represent the spirit of Scotland for the campaign launch, with not just our regular voices – however wonderful they are.
So, I reached out to the steering committee of Believe in Scotland, folk who represent regions of local groups, to contribute. It was inspired by one man in Tweeddale who had written down a few points when I visited the group in June. He spoke about the region, his background, and why not Scotland and I thought: “I want to read every word you’ve written”.
His piece will be alongside everyone else’s online and in Saturday’s newspaper edition.
Voices from Orkney to the Borders will discuss the issues in their region and what a campaign needs to address. Aberdeen will share how they get young people involved, Mid Scotland will discuss stall engagement, Dundee tells us the tips to help debunk arguments of the No campaign, and Dumfries and Galloway share what materials work best.
Edinburgh, Ayrshire, Highlands and Islands, Fife, and more are also all contributing to the conversation.
The supplement will be a resource for groups to use on stalls and deliver to undecided voters. It is a show of force. A show to the public of the effort by activists on the ground. It is a show of unity.
We will also be offering a year of The National’s coverage from just £24. From Friday until Monday, our special offer will run over the weekend we showcase Scotland’s activist efforts.
Your subscription will ensure projects like these can continue to support the Yes campaign, especially in the run up to the General Election.
Our coverage of the SNP’s Independence Convention and the All Under One Banner march through Stirling, both on Saturday, June 24 was a team effort, and your support played a massive role.
So, we hope you enjoy the supplement, join your local group this Saturday and consider supporting our efforts – as the summer campaign heats up …
