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Believe in Scotland calls on Scotland's First Minister to personally take on Independence portfolio

Believe in Scotland welcomes John Swinney’s Election to the position of First Minister.

Following the decision to axe the Minister for Independence position, Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp the founder of Believe in Scotland says:

"We call on John Swinney to state officially that he personally is now the Minister for Independence going forward. Furthermore, we believe that every Government Minister and SNP spokespeople should be briefed to make the case for independence at every opportunity and with more consistency than the SNP have managed since 2014."

Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp’s Speech (Text) at the Glasgow Believe in Scotland Independence March and Rally.

On Saturday April 20th thousands of independence supporters marched from Kelvin Way to George Square. They marched to send the message that no matter the difficulties facing the political arms of the movement, the grassroots core independence cause will not stop until Scotland regains its independence.

Lots of members of the 31,000 strong Believe in Scotland Facebook Group have asked for a copy of the transcript of the speech by our founder Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp.

As the EU’s offer of youth visas is rebuffed by UK parties, Scots count the deepening cost of Brexit

Many Scots were excited by the EU’s surprise offer of a youth visa to let 18- 30s from the UK live and work across 27 member countries for up to four years. Only to have their hopes dashed when both main UK parties immediately snubbed the offer.

BiS responds to Alba's statement on Believe in Scotland's March and Rally.

In short.

Believe in Scotland are disappointed that Alba will not be amongst the speakers at our march and rally on Saturday April 20th. Alba were invited in good faith and would be participating if they had just said yes to speaking in a timely fashion. However, Alba’s framing of the situation as Believe in Scotland allowing the Scottish Green Party to block or exclude Alba from the event is just not accurate.

There is no one to blame for Alba not being represented at the Believe in Scotland rally other than The Alba Party itself. The fact of the matter is that BiS offered Alba the chance to speak before approaching any other parties and we made it clear that accepting quickly would have meant that the Scottish Green Party would rule themselves out. This was indeed a major opportunity for the Alba party, we presented them with an open goal but they didn't take it.

The 2024 Big Indy Movement Survey - Thoughts on the Grassroots Campaign

During February and March, Believe in Scotland ran its annual big Indy Movement Poll and a massive 4,623 of you responded.

Over the next couple of weeks we will share the result and our analysis in 4 short reports. In this one we will concentrate on what the respondents thought of the grassroots campaign and how involved they are.

First let’s be clear, this is an online poll where respondents select themselves and so it tells us what dedicated Indy supporters are thinking and not what Scotland is thinking. However, as an exercise in taking the pulse of the movement, that's a useful group to survey.

Divergence in child poverty trajectory between Scotland and England ignored by the media

Twenty years ago, Scotland had higher rates of child poverty than England - now they are significantly lower. Scotland is on a completely different trajectory to the other nations of the UK.

And yet media coverage of the situation ignores this, the media talks about ‘the UK’ when they mean ‘England’ - while the Scottish-based media blasts that ‘targets risk being missed’ - instead of looking at the bigger picture, and reporting on the different trajectories of the four countries.

Five ways the Safety of Rwanda Bill shambles shows why it's time to stop Westminster making law for Scotland

Many Scots this week will be asking themselves for how long their country will have to be represented by the shambolic and increasingly lawless UK. The Safety of Rwanda Bill, which tells British judges they must say Rwanda is safe – whatever the evidence – plumbs new depths.

All ten amendments to it were voted down by the House of Commons last time. Today, The Safety of Rwanda Bill, which mandates that judges must declare Rwanda as safe regardless of the evidence, returns to the House of Commons. It is likely to become law within the next week or so.

The House of Lords to sit in judgement over Scots’ democratic rights

A House of Lords Committee is asking for submissions for a report on the state of the Union between Scotland and England. The report will be issued to mark 25 years of the Scottish Parliament, with the call for evidence ending on the 8th of April.

The fact that a House of Lords committee of elderly Unionists thinks it has the legitimacy to sit in judgement over the democratic rights of Scots will anger many.

Sunak fails to mention how the Conservative Party has failed Scotland over energy

Rishi Sunak in Aberdeen today at the Scottish Conservative Conference argued that the UK Government should be trusted with Scotland’s energy – oil, gas, and renewables. But he didn’t talk about how the UK has played ducks and drakes with Scotland’s natural resources. They have failed Scotland in the past – so why should Scotland trust the Conservatives with Scotland’s energy future?