AS the first day of the SNP conference got underway, the resounding message from party members was that it’s good to be back to meeting in person again after the pandemic.
“You don’t get the same atmosphere on Zoom, and you don’t get to sample the fudge,” one delegate joked.
The conference, being held in Aberdeen’s Event Complex, will see SNP members gather this weekend to hear speeches and debates in person for the first time since 2019.
Shona Stuart, who was in attendance at the SNP disabled members’ group stall, joined the party after the independence referendum of 2014 and has attended most conferences since.
She said: “It’s nice to be back and actually get to properly see people – you can meet new people a lot better. It has been a nice atmosphere – I always find conference is a great thing to go to and meet other people who think as you do.
“You get to meet more people who share quite a few of the same opinions, and it helps you feel you are not by yourself with your opinions.”
Another delegate Victoria Hanlon said she was enjoying soaking in the atmosphere and “being back in public”.
“It’s a good atmosphere, I think there is a buzz because people are back,” she said.
At the SNP trade union group stall, Barry Jarvis said he hoped the cost of living crisis would be the “golden thread” linking the discussions.
“That is the most important thing, along with independence, obviously,” he said. “It’s about what we are doing in order to help people live their lives day to day, we are seeing more and more people that are going further and further into poverty and losing more money.”
Jarvis said as a housing office, things are as “bad as anyone can remember” – with one housing association even reporting tenants who are worried about paying bills asking for the gas to be turned off.
“It has gone beyond heating or eating – now it is people saying we can’t afford to do either,” he added.
The meeting comes at a crucial time for the independence movement, with the Supreme Court case due to get underway on Tuesday, the day after conference closes.
Jarvis said he believed there is a possibility of judges ruling in favour of Holyrood holding a referendum on the “technicality” of it being a non-binding referendum.
He said: “The Scotland Act prevents us from enacting things which are outwith devolved powers, but the actual carrying out of that plebiscite isn’t reserved. It is almost the technicality to get it through, so I think it is a possibility, depending on other issues coming into play.”
But his colleague Alexandra MacRae disagreed, saying: “I fear [the judges] will be thinking we better not be too critical of the [UK] Government because the more we criticise government policy, the more the Government will eat into the powers of the judiciary.
“So I am not sanguine as to whether we get a good result, but my personal view is a safer route to independence is by using the next Westminster elections as a plebiscite and standing in that election – if you vote for us, you are voting for independence. What we do after that and how we execute it – I think we have to think carefully about where we go from there.”
Another delegate Jon Clarke, who is attending his “third or fourth conference”, said he had enjoyed the debates so far, particularly on land reform.
“The whole tone of the conference is good as we are trying to speak to the outside world and not to speak to ourselves in a silo, get our message across to people who don’t normally listen to us, and that’s what party conferences should be about,” he said.
“We are slowly moving towards independence – it is always going to be contested whether it is the currency, whether it is the border, whether it is the monarch. All these things are going to be thrown up. But this gives an opportunity to talk about the other aspects – and look at how we can do things better. A fairer, healthier, more equal Scotland back in Europe is something we all strive for.”
When it comes to whether Liz Truss will boost support for independence, he said: “I think it’s a bit like a football match – we need to concentrate on our own game.”
