I AM almost 80 and have been an independence supporter since the age of 14. I have watched, with resignation, SNP hopefuls lose their deposits. I rejoiced when Winnie Ewing sowed early seeds of hope. I have canvassed and cajoled, raised money for Yes and stood in the cold and wet in last-ditch attempts to persuade doubters.

And I wept bitter tears the morning after the 2014 referendum. I had really dared to hope that independence was finally possible in my lifetime.

Recently I had begun to hope again. With Nicola Sturgeon behaving like the elder statesperson amid a chaos of bumblers, with other Scottish Cabinet members showing a strong control of their briefs and the ability to communicate them effectively (if and when they get the chance), with one newspaper on our side and a string of polls predicting victory, I felt we could just possibly succeed when this wretched pandemic receded.

Alas, we Scots are beginning to show our fatal flaw, the one that dogs us in just about every area of life. The magnificent ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, coupled with the resilience to go on hoping that next time it will be different! And it has been the case since way back in history.

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As a tribal nation with many warring clans we had no lack of loyalty to the clan. No lack of bravery to fight for its survival. But a lack of vision to see the bigger picture. In the face of an equally dedicated and clever opponent we could, too easily, be diverted from the primary goal to infighting between ourselves, inflated egos that wanted to be chief with a consequent lack of a cohesive strategy. This was true at the time of the Union and it remains true today. Yet, what do we now want? Independence! When do we want it? Now!

Well if that is the case, we need to stop talking about trivial divisions which could so easily become chasms which divide the movement and leave undecided voters disenchanted with politics and therefore less willing to come out and vote. We need to ask our politicians to rein in their egos and refrain from criticisms unless they are constructive. But most of all we need a strategy.

By all means we must continue to march, knock doors, hold assemblies, raise funds, hold meetings and write letters to The National. All of these are good, tried and tested methods of raising awareness and thanks must go to all of those who give their time and energy to do so. But for much of the time we are, sadly, mainly engaging only with those already committed to independence. We are talking predominantly to each other.

However, for this next campaign, which is likely to be the hardest one yet, preaching to the converted will not be enough. We need to be able to convince the unconvinced. To do that we must be seen to be totally prepared, totally knowledgeable, more aware of what people really want from independence and to have a common strategy which makes sense to those whose heart may say Yes, but whose head says No. Here are some of my suggestions.

1. We know that people who are not fully committed to independence worry most about the currency and the economy. And, particularly in the light of UK Government spend during Covid, it is important that people are aware that it is only the lack of independent borrowing powers that stops the Scottish Government from showing similar or better targeted largesse. It is imperative, that those in charge of currency and economic policy have a completely clear strategy on both. It’s equally imperative that this strategy is communicated to every grass roots person already committed to independence.

For they, in turn, must be able communicate this strategy clearly to the undecided. Unlike 2014, people are no longer prepared to be fobbed off with platitudes like “it will all be fine”, “plenty of time to discuss that after independence” etc. What people want now is facts, and well thought out strategies that sound as if they will work.

2. Condense these believable facts into short, easily understood messages that can be targeted at young people and middle-aged women in particular on all the popular social media. This will also help to counteract the fake news already out there. Any tech-savvy young person in local branches would no doubt relish being tasked with doing this.

3. Compile a list of all the benefits we have compared to England and make sure these are highlighted in social media and billboards. Again, young people are likely to be the best ambassadors here. They know about influencing in ways that we oldies could only dream of.

4. Currently we allow lies to be peddled by the opposition in the popular press. These are then amplified on social media and the broadcast media parrot them as though they are facts. The mainstream media will not suddenly change and start supporting independence but if all those people who write such effective letters to The National were to regularly bombard the mainstream papers with letters highlighting specific benefits or debunking fake news they might at least get some traction in the letters pages. Some of these letters could be picked up on by less biased journalists and worked up into articles. It would only take a couple of people from each SNP or Yes branch to generate the volume required. Even the BBC might then feel a need to comment and begin to report impartially (though here “a hae ma doots”). Such letters could also demonstrate the desire for a referendum, reinforce the idea that it is a democratic right and debunk once and for all the demonstrable nonsense of referendums being “once-in-a-generation” events.

5. Compile a list of what we cannot do now because of Westminster restrictions. Publicise these widely, again on social media but also on billboards. Small billboards in strategic places like bus shelters are often more effective than, for example, expensive leaflets which are simply binned.

Also, get as many articulate Yes people as we possibly can to talk on radio or TV chat shows and other programmes. This is not the easiest thing to do, but it’s worth remembering that in almost every programme there will be three Unionists to every independenista. This means the cards are already stacked against us so we need to make sure we play our best cards whenever possible.

6. Find the right slogan – short, memorable, and easily understood. “Take back control” worked very well for Brexit. Could we turn it on Westminster and use it to our advantage or devise something equally pithy. Repetition is tedious but it has been proved time and again that it works!

7. Work out which issues worry people most in your own area – eg, drugs, poverty, Trident and defence, education, housing, fishing, agriculture, climate change, pensions. Many areas share common concerns but most areas have issues that are specific to them.

FIND Yes-leaning people in that community who know about the issues and can speak from personal experience. Then listen, really listen, to them. Make sure there is a local forum where their voices can be heard then encourage them to get involved by building on their experience to suggest effective actions the Yes movement and SNP can take to help.

We need to be seen as activists in the true meaning of the word – people who can act to get things done. We all have different strengths or experiences which can be harnessed strategically in different ways towards the same cause – making a better Scotland now, even before independence.

8. Because of the border problems with Northern Ireland and Brexit, many worry that similar problems will cause trade difficulties with England after independence, especially if we are able to rejoin the EU. Here we must rely on government to devise a negotiation strategy that will work. Advance planning is essential and should have started by now.

9. Crucially, we must be honest. The first few years of an independent nation will not be a feast of milk and honey. It will take all of us, working together with our different strengths and abilities to harness the power to tackle the big issues, such as the economy, equality, climate change etc, in a new and independent country. It will not be easy and it will take time. And we need to be honest with people about that. We do, however, have one massive thing going in our favour. Going it alone, with the normal powers available to any independent country, the massive natural resources this country possesses, and the stable and sensible parliaments Holyrood has always been able to muster, we are very unlikely to make such a hash of it as we have landed in with the Westminster status quo.

And never allow the funding of the pandemic to be used as an example of how we are too wee, too poor, too reliant and so on. We managed the communication and logistics of the pandemic better and would have managed and targeted the money better, too, if we had had the necessary independent borrowing powers that all the other small nations already have and we need to emphasise that.

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With the exception of billboarding, most of the above ideas are not expensive to implement. They do take time energy and commitment. But Yes groups, SNP branches and others have already demonstrated that they are ready to give all three. They are clearly willing to go above and beyond to achieve their goal as soon as the starting pistol is fired.

Nicola Sturgeon has proved she can be a trusted and effective leader and communicator, not afraid to admit she is only human and apologise if she gets something wrong. The backroom boys and the experts have not yet demonstrated that there is a clear strategy we can all buy into, though, no doubt there is plenty of work going on behind the scenes. So let’s make “we are in this together” a reality, not just a slogan. We might really be free by ’23.

Let’s do the things that will improve the lives of ordinary people now. That’s what will get us to the sustained 60%-plus Yes support we need to ensure success. With a mandate that size we have the right to file for divorce proceedings immediately on the grounds the relationship has broken down and is no longer viable. We would be on the offensive not the defensive. It would be up to Westminster to prove we were being unreasonable and not to us trying to try to justify the wisdom and benefits of independence – simply that independence is now the sovereign will of the people and must be respected.

Dr Ann McClintock is a retired university lecturer in psychology and communication