Cultural Independence - The key to Scotland’s Constitutional independence
Scotland’s journey to independence can’t just be about politics. Politics is tribal and it's divisive. The UK government doesn't want Scotland to have another referendum; it wants to force the independence question to be about voting for political parties. That is because they know it's easier to vote for a nation you believe in than to vote for a political party you don’t.
Whisper it, you are allowed to – trust me, you can talk about it without fear. You should shout it from the rooftops: “Independence – it's about identity, it's about values, and it's about culture.”
Political independence follows a nation's culture and values, not its politics, because politics is temporary (you can vote them out). Culture and values run deeper. Before our nation votes Yes, it must first believe in Scotland – and Scotland isn't a set of policy documents or a group of politicians who can give good vox pops. It's a set of values and beliefs; it is forged in the stories we tell about ourselves, in the songs we sing, in our art and creativity, our very language, and shared experiences. If those set us apart from the culture and values of the UK, then independence becomes inevitable.
Independence is nothing less than the opportunity of our lifetimes – an opportunity to build a better, fairer, happier, healthier, greener, more prosperous Scotland. An opportunity to maximize Scotland's wellbeing. Any former Better Together campaigner looking at the independence movement and seeing it being about politics, tactical voting debates, and infighting would hate it if we started to get together and celebrate our culture, our identity and values – if we started to regain that Yes Family feeling and the momentum it gave us in the run-up to 2014.
Join Believe in Scotland as we celebrate Scotland's cultural independence and get the Yes Family back together in Dundee on Sunday, May 11th. Tickets here
For too long, Scotland’s narrative has been framed through a British lens—our folk heroes sidelined, our history diluted, our language oppressed, our voice diminished by institutions whose cultural values are more North British than Scottish. Institutions and individuals that profit from the Union as Scotland's wellbeing suffers. But culture is the battleground where independence can be won long before there are even ballots in sight. If you want a referendum, de-facto or otherwise, understand this: in every successful independence campaign, belief in the nation comes first. Because when a nation reclaims its culture and identity, it reclaims its future.
How Culture Drives Change
Movements don’t succeed by facts alone — they win by capturing hearts, for the heart opens the door to truth and politics slams it shut. Every film, song, play, poem, book, and performance that asserts Scotland’s distinctiveness chips away at the myth that we’re “better together,” because it helps people realise that we never truly have been.
When Ireland fought for freedom, the Gaelic Revival reignited pride in language and tradition, turning cultural resistance into political power. In Catalonia, music, literature, and mass gatherings like the Diada have kept independence alive despite despicable and violent repression. When Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania won their independence, it was called the Singing Revolution and was led by choirs. Václav Havel, who led the Czech Velvet Revolution, was a playwright, author, poet, and dissident. I think 90% of Scotland’s creatives support independence, and we’re not engaging them – just boring people with politics.
Regaining Scotland’s cultural momentum and cultural independence.
History shows it: when a nation’s culture thrives, its politics follows. Scotland’s constitutional independence won’t be granted—it will be taken, once enough of us feel independent. The British state knows this—why else would it fight so hard to control our media and dismiss our culture?
So here’s the truth: Scotland’s independence won’t be won by white papers and debate. It’ll be won by ordinary folk identifying as Scottish, not British; by musicians, writers, filmmakers, poets, and grassroots campaigners who make independence feel culturally inevitable.
Culture doesn’t just reflect change — it creates it. And we are Creating Scotland with our celebration of Scottish culture and independence. The next event is in Dundee on Sunday, May 11th – buy a ticket for yourself and bring an undecided friend.
Let’s do this.
Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp
Believe in Scotland
