Independence Campaign 2025 Annual Review
Grassroots Strength
There are 143 local and national grassroots campaign groups affiliated to Believe in Scotland and together we have distributed more than 5 million pieces of physical campaign material for independence.
Every year we publish our Believe in Scotland Annual Independence Campaign review - our last campaign ended in September 2024 and our next one started on October 1st and we won't stop or miss a day till the people of Scotland demand and get their independence.
Our Campaigning
This year has been one of our biggest yet. From our ten-year anniversary event at the Scottish Parliament to grassroots events in town halls and Yes hubs, from billboards to a rapidly expanding level of social media engagement and hand delivering hundreds of thousands of leaflets through doors, BiS has led the fight to keep independence front and centre.
Is our movement stronger, broader, and more active than ever? No - frankly, politics and frustration have gotten in the way. BUT, we are addressing that with our plan to bring the Yes movement together in a new fully inclusive Scottish Independence Congress so we can Reset our campaign, Rebuild our momentum and Reunite the movement behind a campaign that will win Scotland's independence.
There are many options and opinions on how we will deliver independence, but one thing is for sure - there is no way to deliver Scotland's independence until the people of Scotland are convinced that independence is best for the wellbeing and prosperity of Scotland. That's why we campaign. That's why we reach outside of the Yes movement as the core focus of our activities.
What Were The Big Hits of 2024/25
10th Anniversary of the Independence Referendum
- On September 18th 2024, grassroots Yes groups across the nation marked the tenth anniversary of indyref with a range of activity throughout Scotland. There were local rallies across Scotland in Stirling, Aberdeen and Inverness, and flag displays in Dundee, Oban and Kingussie, with indoor events in the evening in Orkney and Dumfries.
- Posters were placed in people's windows right across Scotland sending the message that we are “Still Yes” - a message that is non-party-political, friendly and iconic, alongside billboards around the nation carrying that clear and confident message.
- The day culminated with a Believe in Scotland rally and online broadcast from Holyrood, generating significant media coverage and reminding Scotland that the cause of independence is alive and unstoppable.
Creating Scotland - Cultural Events
We brought Scottish culture and independence together through events celebrating Scottish music, comedy, literature and poetry in our new, highly successful series of Creating Scotland events in Glasgow and Dundee. Scotland's journey to independence can't just be a politically focused one - it's a cultural and values-led path that we are following, one that focuses on identity and Scotland's rightful place in the world.
Our celebration of Robert Burns in Glasgow was a great success and was live broadcast to thousands online. All of our events and rallies will continue to mix politics and Scottish culture, expanding the reach of our key messages.
📸 Image: Creating Scotland Glasgow event
Supplying Campaign Material
Over the last 12 months, Believe in Scotland has continued to design and supply the grassroots Yes movement with campaign materials. Various leaflets, banners, posters, books and more were delivered to Yes groups across the country, ensuring activists had the tools to campaign locally and visibly.
The Highlights:
Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway Regionally Focused Pamphlets
In 2024 we set out to create the first of our regionally focused independence campaign pamphlets. Teaming up with local Yes Groups, we distributed targeted regional materials that made the case for Scottish independence specifically in those areas where support needed a boost.
The first two pamphlets were produced for the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway regions. These have been a great success, addressing local concerns around economy, farming, transport, and border-specific issues. In the last 12 months, groups in those regions have continued using these pamphlets to campaign effectively.
Banners for Local Yes Groups and Activists
We teamed up with Midas Scotland, The Scottish Independence Foundation and Indy Poster Boy to offer free banners for activists and groups to display across Scotland.
Supporting Women for Independence Relaunch
We designed and printed a powerful leaflet to help relaunch the highly successful indyref campaign group Women for Independence, giving an added voice to women at the heart of our campaign.
Women for Independence relaunch leaflet
The i-Switch Energy Campaign
Launched in September 2025, i-Switch shows how independence could free Scotland from the UK’s broken energy market and end the Scottish Energy Bill rip-off. It highlights the unfair standing charges scandal, where Scottish customers pay more than those in England for the energy we produce.
This forms part of a wider Scotland’s Energy campaign, with hundreds of thousands of leaflets delivered, explainer videos produced, and digital tools created to help citizens directly pressure politicians via our website. The campaign is already energising activists and being very well received by the public on our national campaign days.
Independence Campaign Days and National Days of Action
Yes groups across the country campaign at their own discretion throughout the year using Believe in Scotland materials. However, there are two types of campaigning activities where Believe in Scotland aims to give local Yes groups a boost.
Indy Campaign Days
Indy Campaign Days are where we work with one specific local Yes group to get a buzz of activity going in their area. Over the last 12 months, we continued our targeted independence campaign days focused on the Borders Region and Dumfries and Galloway. Dozens of activists joined us for campaign days in Selkirk, Hawick, and Moffat, among other places, and last September we set up stalls in town centres and delivered thousands of leaflets through Galashiels.
▶️ Watch the video from our campaign day
Prestwick, Perth and Oban
In Prestwick, we delivered the Women for Independence leaflet. In Perth, we focused on our energy-themed i-Switch leaflet, and in Oban, we highlighted Scotland’s natural wealth.
📸 Image: Prestwick, Scotland
National Days of Action
In June, our National Day of Action gave groups across Scotland the chance to display the new banners they received through our partnership with Midas Scotland and SiF, as well as to spread the word about independence through street stalls, litter picks, leaflet drops and more.
In September, as part of our energy campaign, we held another National Day of Action focused on distributing our new i-Switch leaflet and spreading awareness of Scotland’s energy bill rip-off.
Wellbeing Economy & Citizens' Convention Talks
From Bute to Dumfries, to Carnoustie, Dundee, Dunfermline and dozens more towns - Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp travelled the length and breadth of Scotland delivering talks on building a Wellbeing Economy and creating a Scottish Citizens’ Convention. These talks explored the role such initiatives would play in delivering independence, educating, informing and sparking the big ideas that will shape Scotland’s independent future.
Billboards
The UK Government's cut to the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) was the single largest attack on pensioner wellbeing in living memory. Believe in Scotland campaigned against this cut with a billboard, video and social media campaign, highlighting that Labour's own research claimed that as many as 4,000 pensioners could die as a result of the WFP cut.
Our campaign raised awareness of the issue while also pressing the Scottish Government to mitigate the cut - and they eventually did.
Big Yes Survey
In late summer Believe in Scotland surveyed 7,200+ independence supporters and asked them how they wanted us to campaign and for their opinions of key issues that face the independence movement.
Thank you to everyone that took part, helping us take the temperature of the movement and guide our strategy for the year ahead. More results will follow soon, but you can see how you have asked us to campaign in the year ahead here.
Millions Reached on Social Media
Our online reach ensures independence stays in the national conversation every single day. Across social media, we reached 8 million users which is an increase of over 700% in just two years and with your help, we aim to grow this to 12–16 million in the coming year.
Engagement is key and in the last year, our content inspired almost 500,000 reactions, comments, and shares across social media. Coincidentally this is close to the population size of Edinburgh. With your continued support by reacting, commenting and sharing, we can grow this even further into 2026.
Why Believe in Scotland Matters More Than Ever
We are the largest grassroots independence campaign organisation in Scotland. With 143 affiliated local and national Yes groups, we coordinate, inspire, and resource the movement.
We are not a political party, our ambition is not to win elections, it’s to win our independence. To that end, we are bringing together all the organisations that campaign for independence, grassroots local and national Yes groups, and political parties to join an inclusive Scottish Independence Congress.
Our role is to keep independence groups active in every community, and front of mind with voters, while building a positive, hopeful case that wins new support for our nation’s journey to self-determination.
Thanks to your help, we are making independence about Scotland’s wellbeing and a better future - not about party politics.
The Year Ahead
The next two years are going to be decisive, so we’re scaling up.
Consider this: Next May, The Scottish Parliament will see an SNP-led Yes Majority Government elected, polls currently indicate that Plaid Cymru will win the Welsh elections and one year later we expect a Sinn Féin landslide in Northern Ireland. With England headed to a General Election in thrall to Reform (an English nationalist far-right party), all four UK nations will be headed in separate directions, the constitutional conversation will have changed dramatically and the UK will be in crisis.
Believe in Scotland, the political parties of independence and all the local and national Yes Groups need to be ready to put our shoulders to the wheel and take full advantage of the union’s growing weakness. If the next Scottish Government demands but is unable to force a second referendum then GE29 will have to be Scotland’s de facto referendum and we will choose independence rather than another government that doesn't care for Scotland and Nigel Farage as PM.
What's Next?
Believe in Scotland will be:
- Expanding the i-Switch and Energy Campaign as our key focus.
- Taking the Wellbeing Economy message to every part of Scotland.
- Driving forward our plans for the Scottish Citizens’ Convention.
- Supporting grassroots Yes groups with more materials and nationwide actions.
- Publishing our next book Lessons from Independent Nations.
- Bringing the movement together through an enlarged and inclusive Scottish Independence Congress.
- Running special media campaigns and launching a new video explainer series.
- Commissioning research and booking billboards, high-profile stunts and media.
- Making sure the 12th anniversary of the indyref isn’t about looking back, but looking forward to a defined and deliverable path to independence.
Join Us - Power the Campaign for Independence
None of this happens without you. Every banner printed, every leaflet delivered, every event hosted, every advert placed - it’s all powered by donations from ordinary Scots who believe in independence.
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