THOUSANDS of activists are set to pour into both Edinburgh and Glasgow on the day of King Charles’s coronation to demand independence.
Protest group All Under One Banner (AUOB) said it expects up to 10,000 people to participate in a rally on May 6 in Glasgow, including SNP leadership hopefuls Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes, and Ash Regan, who have all accepted an invite to speak.
They will march through the city centre, starting at Kelvingrove Park at 11:30am and ending at Glasgow Green.
AUOB called the march a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protest.
It said: “We demand freedom from the British state. Scotland shall be an independent republic.”
And in Edniburgh, the Radical Independence Campaign is organising a protest on Calton Hill from 3pm.
Our Republic, the Scottish cross-party campaign for a republic, is also involved. The organisation's goal is to replace the monarchy with an elected head of state for Scotland.
The rally will also be used by campaigners to promote the recently released Declaration of Calton Hill, which Our Republic claims has over 2000 signatures including many leading figures from across Scotland's politics and cultural scene.
These include two SNP MPs – Tommy Sheppard and Anne McLaughlin – as well as Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman, playwright and novelist Alan Bissett, folk singer Iona Fyfe and LGBT+ trade union activist Leslie Cunningham.
Sheppard, Chapman and independent Councillor Ross McKenzie are already confirmed to speak at the rally.
Sheppard said: “Choosing Saturday, May 6, to mark this renewal of a democratic claim is something very special and stands in stark contrast to the sort of feudal, medieval, autocratic form of government that the monarchy represents.
“Everyone has a choice to either look back or look forward. And while some people on May 6 will be looking back to some mythical bygone age of fairytale kings and queens, a lot of people in Scotland, and particularly those who regard themselves as democrats, will be looking forward to a society where people are in control of their own destiny and their own resources.”
Folk singer Iona Fyfe added: “In my opinion, Scotland should be a sovereign nation, not under rule of monarchy. We should have a duly elected head of state.
“Coming from Aberdeenshire, I completely understand the draw and intrigue of the royal family, but cannot possibly stand by and support this whilst many families in the region struggle to afford to live.
“The monarchy is outdated and not fit for purpose.”
