Looking back on last week's Believe in Scotland march and why it's important.
Many thousands marched for independence at what many describe as the most successful Believe in Scotland march and rally yet. The atmosphere was positive and friendly but also very definitely determined. There was also a strong sense of unity among all the politically diverse groups that took part. We aimed to put independence back at the top of the nation’s agenda ahead of the Holyrood election and to continue our role of uniting the movement whilst bringing back that 2014 Yes family atmosphere and this march and rally achieved those goals and more.
Supporters from across the country gathered on the Royal Mile by Parliament Square shortly before midday and then marched past the Scottish Parliament and on to Calton Hill, where they heard from a fantastic line-up of speakers.
Alongside the speeches, there was Scots poetry from Taylor Dyson, music from singer-songwriter Kevin Gore and Gaelic singing from Angus Smith and friends, because this is not just a political campaign, but a cultural one too. Celebrating Scotland’s languages, music and creativity is central to building a confident movement and a nation with a sense of itself.
A huge thank you goes to everyone who turned out and made the day such a success. Especially to Yes Bikers, Saor Alba Pipes and Drums, The Aye Notes, and the many Yes groups who showed up in force with their banners. Your presence brought colour, sound and solidarity to the streets of Edinburgh.
The event was covered across mainstream media, with segments on BBC and STV news, as well as reporting across a range of national newspapers, helping to carry the message outwards. It was also live streamed and across all platforms, the videos for the event itself are fast approaching half a million views - you can watch some of the videos on the Believe in Scotland Youtube channel here
Actor Brian Cox gave a rousing and passionate speech calling for Scotland to be free: “I've been ploughing my own furrow for many years now, so I didn't realise how much Scotland meant to me, and it's come to me in my later life. But I feel it's time that we were free. We are not free, and we are the people who will make it free, and it's up to you to do it.
“We've been treated as poor relations for long e-feckin-nough. We really have, and it's time we showed who we are and who we are as a people… It's just amazing to me to see you all here and to know that we all share the passion, and it's not about parties, it is about people who want a free Scotland, and that's what we have to get. So get out there. Get your neighbours and say, Get out voting and make this country, for feck’s sake, free.”
John Swinney was introduced as the first Prime Minister of an independent Scotland. He echoed Cox’s words about being treated as poor relations by saying: “We are in an energy-rich country. Yet our people live in fuel poverty, paying sky-high fuel bills. That's the fault of the United Kingdom, and we must take Scotland's energy wealth into Scotland's hands with independence. And we are at a moment where we must make this happen for the future of our country, for the future of our children and our grandchildren in Scotland today.”
Swinney added “We've come a long way as a movement. We've come so close to winning independence in 2014 and since then, the public have seen the rip off of our energy bills. They've seen Scotland ripped out of the EU against our will. They've seen our name be taken in vain in the international community, and we've had enough.”
Writer and filmmaker Lesley Riddoch recalled the vigil for a Scottish Parliament that began in 1994 after John Major’s general election victory. She said that Scotland is in a process of rejecting Westminster and the British state that began around then.
Lesley said: “I don’t know how many of you remember the cabin and the brazier. But there was a never-ending shift of people day and night for five and a half years, until there was a referendum in 1997. That is the kind of history that we have here. This is our hill, it's our land, it's our history, and it's our future. The process of independence is not a moment... All the Nordic countries demonstrate this. The process of becoming independent is vital, and we've been doing it for the last 20, 30 years.”
Human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar said that Scotland needed to break away from Westminster to improve the life chances of its people. He said, “The Unionists have spent years rubbishing Scotland's economy. But an impartial observer might ask the question, if Scotland is such a basket case, why are they so desperate to keep it as part of the United Kingdom?”
Co-leaders of the Scottish Greens, Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer, appeared jointly and both spoke. Mackay said: “We were lied to in 2014, we were promised so much, and instead, we ended up with Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and a Brexit that Scotland voted against.
“We can't let that happen again. We need to speak to our friends, speak to our neighbours, speak to the people who have changed their minds and build the biggest and strongest movement that we can..It's time to demand better. It's time to stand together, and it's time to stand up for Scotland.”
Greer said: “We know that Scotland can be better than a country where the top 2% have more wealth than half of the population combined. We know that this can be a country that's better than one where one in five children are in poverty, and with the limited powers that our parliament already has, we've shown the people of this country the value of Scottish self-government. It is because of our movement, because this is not just a movement for an independent Scotland, but a fairer Scotland. It's because of this movement that Scotland is, right now, the only country in the UK where child poverty is already falling rather than going up.”
Why this march was important.
This march has helped put independence back on the national agenda. This coming election may well be one of the keys that opens the door to independence again. Believe in Scotland declares that any Yes majority at Holyrood constitutes a rock-solid mandate for a second referendum and as our Path To Independence Plan published in Autumn 2025 sets out That referendum should take place in September 2028.
The two parties of independence that look likely to win Holyrood 26 seats are both campaigning on demanding the right for a referendum, and if the Scottish people return a Yes majority, then that is an undeniable mandate for a referendum. To be clear, if the Scottish people want a referendum, they get a referendum, and when they vote for independence, they get independence.
Within months, we may see Scotland and Wales led by pro-independence parties, whilst Northern Ireland's First Minister is calling for an Irish unification referendum, and England looks set to elect an English nationalist Reform Government. The UK's breaking point will be reached before GE 29, and last Saturday’s march and rally is just the start of Believe in Scotland leading the Scottish independence movement towards that breaking point.
