Pages tagged with "Campaign News"

Planting trees to offset your carbon footprint is easier than you might think and it’s just one of the ways we can all make our own contribution to combatting climate change. You can find Believe in Scotland’s Corporate Grove here.

Back in November, Scotland, specifically Glasgow, hosted COP26. At the end of the conference some progress was announced to great fanfare. However, in our opinion the underwhelming progress announced amounted smoke and mirrors rather than the radical change we require. 

We sincerely hope that an independent Scotland will lead the way in showing the world how to address environmental wellbeing. Indeed, according to a new report on energy production in 2022 Scotland generated 98% of its energy needs from renewable energy sources. 32,031.2 GWh - approximately 24% of the UK’s renewable energy total despite possessing only 8% of the UK’s population.

As we campaign, we are very much aware of our carbon footprint. In 2021 Business for Scotland and Believe in Scotland distributed almost 2 million items of campaign materials throughout Scotland. That included 850,000 leaflets, 60,000 copies of a 24-page newspaper and 1million copies of an 8-page newspaper, as well as tens of thousands of campaign materials such as books and badges. To top it all off hundreds and sometimes thousands of mugs, postcards, and canvasses were also purchased several hundred billboards (although those were mostly electronic). 

Unable to use recycled paper across the board, all of our paper materials including our Scotland the Brief books have been registered with carbon offsetting schemes. Our 1,060,000 newspapers were also printed on 100% recycled paper, but we want to go further - further than just carbon neutral, we want our campaign to be significantly CARBON POSITIVE - so we have set up the Believe in Scotland Grove. 

Every month we will plant new trees to make our campaigning activity carbon positive. We also want to make sure that the trees planted were actually in Scotland, so we have decided to support Trees for Life to plant and pay for new trees and helping to reforest Scotland's amazing natural landscape.

We believe this will assist in helping to alleviate the impact of climate change on the planet and grow new habitats for rare insects, animals, and plant life boosting Scotland’s biodiversity. If you would like to help us, or to offset some of your own carbon footprint, go to our Corporate Grove, and click “Add to the Grove” and donate a tree for just £6.00 to Believe in Scotland's Grove as a one-off, or by setting up a regular direct debit.

You can calculate your own carbon footprint using various online calculators - WWF provide just one of them and you can offset your carbon by adding trees to our Grove. Trees for Life calculates 6 trees offset 1 tonne of CO2. So 1 Tree = 0.16 tonnes CO2.

Your tree(s) will help to rewild the Caledonian Forest, a rich habitat found only in the Scottish Highlands. It will be a sapling grown from locally collected seed and will be one of a number of species planted such as Scots Pine, Willow, Birch, Rowan, Hazel, Alder, Holly, Aspen and Bird Cherry. The Believe in Scotland grove will be planted at one of Trees for Life’s remote sites in the Scottish Highlands. Trees for Life plants in remote areas best suited to the return of the Caledonian Forest such as on their conservation estate, Dundreggan, situated near Loch Ness, and Glen Affric National Nature Reserve.  Believe in Scotland is also seeking to sponsor peat bog restoration projects which can be up-to 10 times more efficient at carbon capture than planting trees. 

Believe in Scotland is a campaign to create a better, fairer greener, healthier, and happier Scotland. We wish to replace the outdated tired old ideas of left and right tribalism in politics with an enlightened Wellbeing led socioeconomic approach to policy and we believe this requires the full powers of independence for Scotland.

You can also become a Believe in Scotland member and support our campaign - Join us.

The Scottish parliament is under attack from Westminster.

 In 2014 Scotland was promised it would become an equal partner in the Union if it rejected independence.

Instead we were dragged out of Europe against our will and are now seeing essential powers being stripped from our parliament.

Brexit was a clear message from Westminster to Scotland. It proved that Scotland could not trust Westminster politicians’ promises to respect Scotland’s wishes and that we could always be outvoted as long as we remain in the UK.

Brexit has been an unmitigated disaster and Scotland’s exporters have been hit harder than the rest of the UK. Our exports to Europe have been slashed, by more than 80% in some sectors. Scotland's economic output slumped by 5% in the third quarter of 2021, more than double the British drop of 2.1%. 

Northern Ireland fared better because under its Brexit deal it retained access to the EU single market. Westminster refused to listen to the Scottish government case for similar access, just as it refused to listen to our requests for a softer Brexit and a place at the negotiating table.

The UK Conservative government is now stripping back the powers given to the Scottish parliament under devolution. It has passed the Internal Market Act to seize control of money once distributed throughout Scotland by the EU. It now spends that money on projects which should be controlled by the Scottish government but wont even consult with Holyrood on where the cash should go.

That same power grabbing Act allows Westminster set standards on crucial issues such as hormone-injected food and single-use plastics, undermining the Scottish parliament. Scotland will never have the powers it needs to protect its people from Westminster’s greed, incompetence and arrogance until it regains its independence.

Believe in Scotland is the community for people who live in Scotland and who believe that Scotland’s future should be decided by the people of Scotland. We are also Scotland’s most active, most effective, and most successful independence campaigning group.

We support independence not for the sake of a political principle but for the people, as a means to an end: to build of a better Scotland.

We believe that independence offers Scotland the opportunity to be a better nation. A nation that more closely matches the values, hopes and aspirations of the people of Scotland.

As a sovereign independent people, we can truly protect Scotland’s NHS and our nations wellbeing. Independence offers us the chance to create a society and an economy that are more resilient, fairer, equal, ambitious, internationally connected, environmentally sustainable and successful.

That’s why we believe in Scotland, in an independent Scotland

If you believe in Scotland, then pledge your support for our grassroots-led campaign for Scottish independence and we will send you key messages, exclusive content and campaign information. We've teamed up with The National newspaper to make a special offer to pledgers, so you will recive a code for a FREE 2 month subscription to The National.

And every supporter will also receive a FREE PDF copy of the mini version of our book Scotland the Brief by email. Scotland the Brief has now sold more than 41,000 hard copies and has been described as a game-changer in terms of how people view Scotland's economy and independence.

Believe in Scotland's hugely successful Autumn of Indy action comes to an end this weekend with a week of digital campaigning. Please join is as we would like as many independence supporters as possible to join in and share our campaign messages on social media.

What is the Autumn of Indy Action?

On September 18th our autumn campaign kicked off with 112 local Yes groups manning stalls in high streets across Scotland (See Crieff above). Continued with the newspaper that hit 1 million homes throughout Scotland and now we want to reach hundreds of thousands this week with a positive indy message online. Before our Autumn of action, a Panelbase poll put independence at 48% and recently a poll for STV had Yes at 55% - different polling companies but still good news - so we keep on pushing to move other polls up as well.

Having already helped the grassroots Yes movement and the SNP kickstart their indyref2 campaigns with our Day of indy action and the one million copy newspaper, Believe in Scotland’s new online campaigning push has two main goals.

The first is to reach undecided voters and soft No and Yes voters with key positive messages about the need for independence to escape the dangers to Scotland’s NHS and to devolution itself posed by the Westminster government.

The second is to kickstart a new, more positive online Yes campaigning atmosphere and help people rise above the Yes movement’s minor differences and focus on the goal of educating and informing on the benefits of independence.

‘We may be as little as 17 months away from indyref2 and we need to get the whole Yes movement on a positive footing and campaigning now - that is what the Autumn of independence campaign has been all about”. - Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp

Some of the planned activities

This week we will be unveiling two new campaigns, leaflet and billboard designs and will allow our Facebook followers to vote to choose which designs are used, a quiz on the impact of Brexit aimed at separating out the damage of Brexit from that caused by the health crises. A major poll of Yesers and a frank video discussion with Michael Russell the SNP president and head of their independence unit to be premiered on Facebook on Saturday the 18th and much more.

I #BelieveinScotland because

First, we want independence supporters to share why they support independence on Twitter and Facebook. Just take a minute to share from the heart by typing “I #BelieveinScotland because” and finish the sentence or short paragraph with your personal indy motivation. At the end of the week, we will publish a blog with some of the best ones for people to read and be inspired by. As long as you use the hashtag #BelieveinScotland our social media team will pick them up and retweet or share.

Here are a few examples already posted to Facebook:

I #BelieveinScotland because I want to see a fairer, more equitable, and greener Scotland, free of the corruption and nepotism of Westminster. I lived and worked in Norway for many years, and have seen first-hand the benefits of a progressive, social government. Scotland could easily be that prosperous, embracing country. - Liam Anton

“I believe in Scotland as having lived and worked all over the UK, I find the way of life we have in Scotland is more acceptable to me.

P1 -P3 schoolchildren free meals, free prescriptions, free bus travel for pensioners. Baby box for every newborn, extra child payment for qualifying families. Free childcare for qualifying families. Free tuition fees. These are just some of the benefits of a caring society from a government working within a budget handed out from Westminster despite Scotlands contribution to the UK being massively higher. We have the means and the talents to decide our destiny and build a strong socially just nation with opportunity for all not just the selected few. — thinking about my future. - Anne Smith

I #BelieveinScotland because I came to Edinburgh in 1986, I am a first-generation brown immigrant who came to England in 1966/7. When I moved here, It, started my own business, took up golf and whisky. I basically love it here. My paternal grandfather spent 4.5 years in jail in India. He was a follower of Gandhi and the @Quit India movement. He would have been very amused to see the Scots so unsure of themselves that they actually voted against their own self determination, I was bought up to believe that self determination was a basic right.. I believe we have a generation of people here in Scotland, who can find the way forward to adulthood for this nation. I believe that Scottish nationalism is inclusive.

I believe our place is with Europe not the Old Etonian cabal that sits in Westminster. Independence is just adulthood. Scotland ticks all the boxes for me. I believe in a kind of radical humanism that is based on the idea that with the right education, communication and perspective human beings can sort most of their problems. - Sanjoy Das

Twitter ones will have to be shorter but you get the idea.

The Ipsos MORI poll which yesterday showed support for Yes increase to 55% contained other good news for independence supporters.

There was, for instance, a detailed breakdown of how strong support for Yes was in a range of different age groups. Every group except the oldest – over 55 – showed a majority likely to vote for independence.

Support was strongest in the youngest age groups. Among those aged between 16 and 24 and those aged 25-34, 71% agreed that Scotland should be an independent country, while only 29% did not. Support for Yes in the 35-44 age range was at 63%, with 37% against independence.

In the 45-54 age range 58% supported independence and 42% did not. Independence support slipped to 49% in the 55-64 age range and to 34% among those aged 65 and over.

The poll also destroyed the Unionist argument that the Scottish people do not care about independence. It was ranked as the second most important issue facing Scotland after health issues and the NHS.

Independence supporting parties showed an increase in voter support in both constituency seats and in the regional lists. The SNP registered 52% support in constituencies (up 2 compared with Ipsos Mori’s last poll of 30 April – 3 May)  and 43% in the regional list vote – up 4.

The Scottish Green party registered 3% support in constituencies – up 1 compared to the last poll– and 12% in the regional list (no change)

All the Unionist parties saw their support fall. The Conservatives to 19% in constituencies (down 1) and to 20% in the regional list (down 3); Scottish Labour to 17% in the constituencies (down 5) and to 15% in the regional list (down 3);  the Scottish Liberal Democrats to 5% (down 1) in the constituencies and to 6% in the regional list (down 2). The independence-supporting Alba Party, which has only stood candidates in the regional list, saw its support slip by 1 to 1%.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is Scotland’s least favourite party leader,  with 4 in 5 Scots (80%) saying they are dissatisfied with the way he is doing his job.

Nicola Sturgeon remains the highest rated party leader, with almost three in five respondents (58%) saying they are satisfied with the job she's doing.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is Scotland’s least favourite party leader,  with 4 in 5 Scots (80%) saying they are dissatisfied with the way he is doing his job. This is the worst result ever recorded by Ipsos MORI – Johnson’s previous lowest rating was in October 2020, when 76% were dissatisfied with his performance. Almost 3 in 5 (58%) of those who voted Conservative at the 2019 general election say they are dissatisfied.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross is the least popular of the Scottish party leaders. Just over  half (51%) of Scots say are dissatisfied with his performance as Conservative leader. Only 24% are satisfied, while 25% don’t know enough to rate him.

The 55% support for Yes registered in the poll is five percentage points higher than support in the Ipsos MORI poll in early May and is the highest figure for Yes in a year.

The poll was carried out in November, during Believe in Scotland's  ongoing Autumn for Independence Action. Events have so far included a successful Day of Action and the production - in partnership with the SNP and The National newspaper - of an 8-page independence newspaper putting the case for wellbeing through independence, which was delivered to a million homes across Scotland.

Socialism and Capitalism are dead, they are last centuries outdated ideas. Each has failed because of growing political tribalism, left and right grew so far apart in the 80s that the political elites realised they could rule from the centre-ground. Empty slogans took over, New Labour, Caring Capitalism - they failed because populism is an empty promise. Populism couldn't deliver results because all they were selling in elections was what the people wanted to hear and not what they needed to hear. All their solutions were soundbite sticking plasters and the problems became insurmountable.

It started in the 90s and ended with the financial crash, it's just that people haven't realised it yet but our political system is broken, it's salesmen becoming more and more desperate caricatures of leaders, our economic approach is not just fit for the challenges of this century, it's creating the challenges of this century. We need to press the reset button, to build environmental sustainability into our political model, to make our economy and our society more resilient in the face of financial, health and environmental crises.

Such a task cannot be attempted with the pitiful and reducing powers of devolution. Independence gives us the opportunity to rethink Scotland, to redesign our politics and our socioeconomic approach. If we do that then we create a compelling independence vision that all generations and political allegiances can rally to. How do we begin that task? By identifying the values we share, the problems we face and solutions rooted in our values rather than in political short term-ism, a path to a greener, fairer, wealthier, healthier and happier thriving independent Scotland begins to appear.

We don't yet have all the answers this is just the first step.

"We have the chance to press reset, to choose a fresh, better and more ambitious approach to how we manage Scotland’s economy and society"

BELIEVE in Scotland studied several nations around the world that are adopting a wellbeing socioeconomic approach: Norway, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, New Zealand and even Wales.

None has yet fully developed its thinking into a holistic approach but all had ideas worthy of adopting and adapting to Scotland’s needs. From those international examples we created a wellbeing policy framework, polled 1000 voters living in Scotland and found there was majority support – mostly more than 75 per cent – for each of the value positions of a wellbeing approach. You can download the full report on the poll here Public Attitudes Toward Wellbeing Economics in Scotland.

You might expect Labour, Green and SNP voters to agree with the values of wellbeing. However, there was majority support with Lib-Dem and Conservative voters, albeit to a lesser degree. Surprisingly, Conservative voters even came out top on one of the key values.

Are socialism and capitalism last century’s ideas?

Is a wellbeing economic approach the only way to build a resilient, fairer and more successful society and save the planet? A significant majority of Scots want to live in a country with a social/economic/environmental policy framework based on these shared values and ambitions of the Scottish people.

Equality, quality of life, fairness, happiness and health are all economic outcomes that should be given equal weight to economic growth.

The focus of the economy should be to serve the needs of the people and society more than the needs of big business and finance.

To be able to live with dignity while experiencing wellbeing and security should be a basic human right and not something that comes only with wealth.

>You cannot have a thriving economy without a thriving society and you cannot have a thriving society without a thriving economy.

Austerity has failed, slowed economic growth, harmed people and society, and made the country more susceptible to economic and health crises.

Post coronavirus, our economic policies need to be re-engineered to generate higher levels of equality in health, wealth, wellbeing and access to opportunity.

If we build society and our economy more successfully after coronavirus, we can create a new economic approach that will allow both our economy and our society to thrive and be more resilient in economic crises.

The nature of work is changing and we need to invest more heavily in innovation, encouraging better business practices and preparing for the future of work.

Education is an investment in our children and young people and should be free and open to everyone.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy.
Greater government investment in creativity and innovation is needed to help them grow and create better quality jobs.

Government expenditure on welfare and health is higher due to the inequalities in the current economic system and a wellbeing approach would reduce those costs.

Economic success being among society would result in better growth.

Greater access to personal development opportunities for all will increase social mobility and benefit the economy.

Ending poverty, inequality and unfairness, while increasing minimum wage and job security, will boost the economy.

People need to feel more secure in their livelihoods.
A universal basic income for every adult citizen may provide that security and end in-work and pensioner poverty.

Decision-making should be less centralised to give people a greater democratic voice in local issues.

We need to reduce our economy’s carbon outputs and waste, make transport more sustainable and make recycling and repairing far more prominent.

"Is a wellbeing economic approach the only way to build a more resilient, fairer and more successful society and save the planet?"

Independence is a normal and the many benefits of independence are within Scotland’s grasp and they would work to make life better for all who live within our borders and to forge closer links with friends and allies elsewhere in the world. Scotland’s civic nationalism defines us as a people. It’s inclusive, internationally focused and welcoming.

We simply want the chance to create a nation that reflects our political, economic, environmental and social values and thus enhances our nation’s wellbeing in ways that cannot be achieved if we remain governed by an uncaring and unfit Westminster parliament.

Wellbeing offers an inspirational vision of a future Scotland and if you decide to support independence you become one of the people helping to shape the ideas which guide it.

Let’s take advantage of this incredible opportunity, the chance to shape an emerging independent nation for the benefit of generations to come. All you have to do to change our future is believe in Scotland.

THE massive job of printing one million pro-independence newspapers produced in a joint project by Believe in Scotland, The National newspaper and the SNP has finished … and now the huge task of distributing them begins.

Copies of the eight-page special newspaper will now be delivered by volunteers to a million homes across Scotland.

It’s a mind-boggling operation which brings the most active and effective non-party independence campaigning group in the country together with Scotland’s only independence-backing daily newspaper and the party which won a major victory in the last Scottish elections in May.

The newspaper is targeted specifically at those voters who have not yet made up their minds on the question of Scotland becoming an independent country but remain open to persuasion

The Scottish Greens, who recently entered into a power sharing agreement with the SNP in the Scottish government, also joined in.

The newspaper is targeted specifically at those voters who have not yet made up their minds on the question of Scotland becoming an independent country but remain open to persuasion.

It contains articles by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Believe in Scotland’s Founder Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp, Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, the Scottish Greens Co-leader Lorna Slater, SNP president Michael Russell and more.

Printing finished at 18.45 on Monday night at the National’s printing plant at Cambuslang. Stuart McLean, the print centre manager, described the scale of the task as ‘monumental’. He added: ‘It was the largest print run we have produced in 20 years of printing at the Cambuslang centre … but it ran like a Swiss watch.’

Printing started on Sunday night with two presses each printing 40,000 copies an hour. The publication was printed on recycled paper and its print run was the biggest in Scotland in recent history.

Pressroom shift manager Alan Myles said: “We’re not normally in on a Monday through the day – we’re in the rest of the week, for the weeklies. Usually a Monday is quite quiet.’

Make no mistake this publication fires the starting gun on indyref2

The National’s editor Callum Baird said: “We’re taking our hats off to the print team – they’ve done a fantastic job taking on such a huge operation and the final product looks great.'

In an article published by Believe in Scotland on Sunday Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp said: ‘Make no mistake this publication fires the starting gun on indyref2 but it also starts to redefine the purpose of independence in response to the chaos of Westminster, Brexit and Covid lockdowns.

'The paper also marks a step-change in the key message of the independence movement and starts a conversation with undecided voters about the type of nation we want to build with the full powers of independence.’

Believe in Scotland’s campaigning continues with our Digital Day of Action in early December. Every penny we raise from members of our campaign goes directly on promoting independence. All salaries and administration costs are covered by Business for Scotland.

You can support us by making a monthly donation here. If you can’t afford that you can pledge your support for free here. Every pledger will receive a FREE PDF of our best-selling book ‘Scotland the Brief’ and a code to start a FREE two- month online subscription for The National newspaper.

For the last month Believe in Scotland have been working in partnership with the SNP and The National to produce an 8-page newspaper that will be distributed to more than 1 million homes across Scotland in November

This is a co-branded initiative with the three main partners coming together to rethink and reposition independence in the minds of the undecided. This week the Scottish Greens also joined the project demonstrating a collaborative approach between the lead Yes campaigning organisations that has never been seen before. The project was championed within the SNP by their new President Michael Russell, who has also taken on the task of heading up their independence unit. Michael is sending a message and his actions clearly demonstrate that the SNP are now reaching out to collaborate with the leaders of the Yes movement and build bridges.

Make no mistake this publication fires the starting gun on indyref2 but it also starts to redefine the purpose of independence in response to the chaos of Westminster, Brexit and Covid lockdowns. The paper also marks a step-change in the key message of the independence movement and starts a conversation with undecided voters about the type of nation we want to build with the full powers of independence. The only way we protect Scotland’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing is through independence.

The 2023 referendum will not be a re-run of indyref1. Firstly, as the UK of 2014 is broken beyond repair and secondly, Scotland will vote Yes this time and our nation will be able to realise its untapped potential.

So now its time to back Believe in Scotland

• At the beginning of 2021 were named 2020 independence campaign of the year then we got bigger and better.
• Our national billboard campaigns hit hundreds of billboards across Scotland with 4 key messages on the UK having 'the worst pensions in the developed world' and just pointing out that Independence is Normal. Those were seen over 2 million times by commuters.
• Our major social media push resulted in more than 200,000 unique followers of our pages on Facebook and our messages regularly reach 250-300,000 people a month.
• Our new Facebook group reached 24,000 members in its first year
• We hit 41,000 sales of our breakthrough publication Scotland the Brief.
• On top of this our online gallery of fact-checked images and banners has been a massive success generating millions of views on social media.
• Autumn of Indy Action kicked off with our Day of Action on September 18th when 112 local Yes groups started to deliver 700,000 items of campaigning materials for our Autumn of Action.
• We distributed 60,000 copies of a 24 page newsprint publication 'Open Minds' through doors and from street stalls.
• We have now teamed up with The SNP, The Scottish Greens, The National, The National Yes Network, the Scottish Independence Foundation and almost every active local Yes group to campaign and keep the independence fire burning.
• We were just getting started though and after a major crowdfunding success in June, we announced our three-stage Autumn of Indy Action. That kicked off with our Day of Action on September 18th, moves into top gear with this 1 million paper initiative and will continue with our Digital Day of Action in early December.

So back us! No other organisation is doing a tenth of Believe in Scotland’s campaigning. Every penny we raise from members of our campaign goes directly on promoting independence. All salaries and admin costs are covered by Business for Scotland.

If you can afford to then please make a monthly donation (most people give £5.00 per month) you can do that here.

Last Saturday more than 1,000 Yes activists reached out to their local communities to put the case for independence in a way that connected with those who have not yet made up their minds on the most important issue facing Scotland.

Hundreds of thousands of voters were engaged through street stalls, mass leaflet drops, social media and our Open Minds newspaper distributed through doors all over Scotland.

Believe in Scotland’s Day of Action for Independence marked a return to active campaigning after long months of lockdown and was a huge success. The Yes movement joined in by staging hundreds of events throughout the country and everyone who took part should feel proud of what was achieved by the first of a planned series of events in an Autumn of Indy Action.

To watch the Yes movement spring into action after such a difficult time in lockdown, with an unprecedented coordinated action involving 112 groups active for the first time in over a year was uplifting. The feedback from those involved has been universally positive; it seems to have been just the shot in the arm the Yes movement required.

Those who took part in our Day of Action deserve admiration and thanks. They certainly don’t deserve snide carping from the sidelines

Those who took part deserve admiration and thanks. They certainly don’t deserve the snide carping from the sidelines we’ve seen on a few platforms since then, particularly in a column by Neil Mackay published by the Herald. Everyone, of course, is entitled to their opinion but there are a number of factual mistakes in Mr Mackay’s column. Let’s take just a few.

Claim 1: ‘The Day of Action was a damp squib’

This is simply not true.  More than 1,000 people took part from 112 Yes groups across Scotland. They distributed the bulk of the 600,000 individual items of campaigning materials available to them, including 200,000 Scotland.. a Wealthy Nation leaflets, 200,000 UK Pays the Worst Pension in Developed World leaflets, 75,000 Independence and Scotland’s Wellbeing leaflets, 75,000 Scotland's Renewables Potential leaflets, 40,000 Open Minds newspapers, 1,500 car stickers, 3,000 badges, 2,000 Mini Scotland The Brief books, 500 Maxi STB books, 500 mugs, 600 packs of 6 postcards, plus some leaflets and books from other groups.  By any standards the day was a huge success and we have already received orders for tens of thousands of leaflets from groups who have run out.

Claim 2: ‘Some well-intentioned souls set up little stalls in town centres and mostly seemed to talk to other well-intentioned souls with similar political beliefs’

Where is the evidence is for such condescending statements?  Yes groups were reaching out to undecided voters in their own communities. They were opening up conversations on independence. ‘More than 120 little stalls were set up in town centres’ ... this was indeed one of the  actions we encouraged. It was part of a plan to engage voters outside the Yes bubble and provide them with the facts they need to make an informed decision at the next referendum and we did that.

Claim 3: ‘ A few rather dreary images appeared on social media – folk standing in small Saltire-bedecked groups trying to smile bravely in forlorn streets’

This statement is the most detached from reality in the whole article. The facts: #BelieveinScotland hash tag was top trending in Scotland most of the afternoon and evening, alongside the others we also used, #StillYes & #Yesbecause. More than 5,000 tweets used our hashtag on Twitter last weekend. We gathered over 150 images from the hashtag which are in our gallery. This can be accessed here: https://www.believeinscotland.org/nda-gallery/

We reached more then 500,000 people on Facebook during the day - this is just on our own channels. An educated guesstimate would be a reach of more than a million when you add The National's site and those of Yes groups.

We reached 300,000 on Twitter over the day, but when you consider other campaign pages had been retweeting the same posts from activists throughout the day we would suggest that most people in Scotland on Twitter would have seen the trending posts, or hashtag at some point over the day. So Mr Mackay's ridiculous comment doesn't exactly bode well for the state of investigative journalism at the Herald.

Claim 4: ‘Activism within the independence movement today mostly means telling other people you support independence, and managing to deter soft No voters with insults and over the top patriotism’

This was the direct opposite of what was happening during the Day of Action. No one was hurling insults. Instead we were engaging undecided voters in open and informed conversation. We don’t engage with ‘over the top patriotism’.  Indeed the Scottish independence movement is inclusive and the antidote to the over the top neoconservative Brexit Britain patriotism that is destroying the UK. It would, however,  be impossible to encourage people to Believe in Scotland without explaining the many great aspects which make the country worth believing in. A rejection of old-fashioned nationalism is at the top of that list.

Claim 5: 'It’s unfair, though, to pick on ordinary folk doing their best for what they believe in – these campaigners are simply trying, in their clumsy fashion, to keep their spirits up, and further their cause'

Yet picking on ordinary folk is exactly what the column does. Even the words ‘in their clumsy fashion’ are added to undermine the day’s excellent efforts. Mr Mackay and others that make such stock out of supporting the independence cause sell their reputations cheaply if they misrepresent the sterling work of the grassroots independence movement as anything less than worthy and much needed at this juncture in the path to independence.

The column hasn’t a good word to say about anyone or any way of campaigning for independence. It’s dispiriting and dismal and designed to stop any activists doing anything, ever

Claim 6:  ‘Independence is now caught between its flag-waving grassroots, which will win no more support no matter how hard it tries, and a lame and fatigued Sturgeon government which cannot risk stirring the passions needed to take independence over the line’

Mr Mackay’s attack on the SNP takes various forms but can be boiled down to this quote. His column dismisses the Scottish government AND the grass roots. He dismisses the Greens – they have only ‘minority support’ - and indeed other pro-indy politicians. The Scottish government is too cautious, the grass-roots too ‘patriotic’  … the column hasn’t a good word to say about anyone or any way of campaigning for independence. It’s dispiriting and dismal and designed to stop any activists doing anything, ever.  This is doing the work of the Unionist cause - when the author should be pointing out the damage Brexit and the UK government’s incompetence is doing to Scotland.

Believe in Scotland will continue to work positively and tirelessly to bring Scotland’s its independence. It will motivate the Yes movement to do likewise and organise events aimed at inspiring activists and persuading undecided voters. It will work with the Yes family to deliver the messages that will take the vote over the line. It will always reject the philosophy that it is better to criticise than to actively get involved.

Believe in Scotland’s founder Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp said: ‘Neil MacKay’s column was an unwarranted, ill-informed and unprofessional  attack on a superb Day of Action. It contained many assertions for which there is no evidence and that could easily be disproved if the journalist had done any research. As a result it came to conclusions that were simply wrong. We remain determined to put forward the right arguments to convince those who do not yet support independence and we’re delighted to have the support of the Yes movement in doing so.’

‘It’s great to see something happening again, something which shows support for independence,’ said some visitors to the Pensioners for independence street stall at Ayr’s Wallace Tower on Saturday.

The stall was just one of more than 110 activities taking place all over the country during Believe in Scotland’s Day of Action for independence, which signalled a return to active campaigning by the Yes movement after social distancing restrictions called a halt 18 months ago.

All over Scotland during the Day of Action Yes activists set up stalls, sold home baking, flew saltires up mountains, distributed 150,000 leaflets, gave away copies of our Open Minds on Independence supplement

The Ayr activists had a powerful message for pensioners, distributing Believe in Scotland leaflets explaining that the UK pension is the worst in the developed world and calling for the Scottish government to increase it to £200 a week in an independent Scotland.

All over Scotland during the Day of action Yes activists set up stalls, sold home baking, flew saltires up mountains, distributed 150,000 leaflets, gave away copies of an Open Minds on Independence supplement produced by Believe in Scotland in conjunction with the National newspaper…

Yes for EU flew Saltires and European flags and placed a giant yes sign at the Scottish parliament. Other groups flew Saltires from bridges. Yes Bikers took the message on an amazing 400-mile round trip throughout Scotland. Women for Independence members took part too.

It was a fantastic opportunity for all parts of the Yes movement to unite in campaigning now that a second independence referendum has been confirmed by the Scottish government before the end of 2023.

The Day of Action was an internet sensation too. Hundreds of pictures were posted on social media, all using the hashtag #BelieveInScotland, which was trending in twitter throughout the day

At least 112 yes groups took part in the big day, with more than more than 1,000 activists participating.

The Day of Action was an internet sensation too. Hundreds of pictures were posted on social media, all using the hashtag #BelieveInScotland, which was trending in twitter throughout the day. Supporters also took part by posting on social media why they believed in Scotland.

Altogether it was an amazing response to the Believe in Scotland Day of Action for Independence which marked the start of an Autumn of Action for Indy.

A series of initiatives will focus on opening minds to the idea that independence is normal. The autumn activities will aim to convert those not yet convinced that independence is the best option for Scotland’s future.

Believe in Scotland founder Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp said that the Yes movement needed a shot in the arm after lockdown and it was time to get together after months of Zoom meetings and call an end to recent in-fighting.

He said:  “We needed to focus on being independent ambassadors – to get out of the Yes bubble and engage the undecided, and we took the first step back into the light.

‘The Day of Action was just the first part of a much larger campaign to reinvigorate the movement and swell the ranks of Yes supporters. The second independence referendum will be upon us before we know it and it’s vital that we are prepared to mount a positive, compelling case over the months ahead.

‘Believe in Scotland has a huge role to play in preparing and promoting that case. Look out for information on more exciting events in the weeks to come.

‘In the meantime we’d like to thank everyone who took part in the Day of Action and helped to make it even more successful than we expected. It’s great to know we have the movement behind us.'