NOW Scotland, the new national membership organisation for the Yes movement, is under way and you will not be surprised to learn that Yes DIY is calling on the whole movement to support it.
People obviously have questions about the organisation which has a website and social media presence and is now open for members to join.
In brief, Now Scotland is open to everyone who supports independence for Scotland. It is not a political party and its steering committee says it has no intention of becoming one.
Instead, it will act as a non-party forum, bringing pro-independence groups and individuals together, building up from the grassroots rather than being a top-down organisation.
There is a steering committee of 15 people – eight women and seven men – and the organisation will host its first online assembly on March 6.
Explaining how he sees it, Craig Murray, the former diplomat and pro-independence blogger, said: “There is a real need for a campaigning organisation for Scottish independence which people can join and whose sole focus is attaining independence early, as a matter of urgency.
“Now Scotland, of which I am an elected committee member, is being launched to fill that gap. It is not a political party, will not stand candidates and all who support Scottish independence as an overriding political priority are welcome. It is aimed to be the mass membership organisation to which everybody in the wider Yes movement can belong.
“It is intended that it will improve on 2014’s Yes Scotland by going into the campaign with a membership, funds and a democratic structure.
“Now Scotland grew out of a series of assemblies last year organised by AUOB, and the aim is to take the kind of energy and unity generated by AUOB and extend it from marching and into other areas of campaigning. But like AUOB, it is the agency and energy of the people which will drive the activity. Now Scotland is not, and will not become, top down.
“All of us who believe in the independence of Scotland need to look beyond what divides us – and it would be dishonest to fail to note divisions have been deepening.
“We need to concentrate on what unites us, move forward to independence on an irresistible popular wave, and then set about building that better country of our own.”
Fellow committee member Mairianna Clyde, a historian and community councillor, said: “I think the people have lacked a voice in Scotland for a long, long time. I mean a real voice and I think it’s time our voice was heard.
“I feel that Scotland stands at a very dangerous point in terms of its future.
“The current Conservative Government clearly wishes to override any democracy we have in the form of devolution.
“I’m very worried about the Internal Market Act, the Withdrawal Agreement and the powers the UK Government is assuming – quite draconian powers which will override the powers of the existing Scottish Government which we fought for such a long time to gain.
“And that is why we must galvanise to secure independence and acquire the powers of an independent nation so we can build our economy and our social model in the way that suits us and the way that we would vote.
“We must have democracy in Scotland and we do not have democracy in Scotland.”
“I think we feel frustrated, and we feel anxious, but we also feel determined. We’ve not gone away and I think the movement is stronger than ever, but also feeling frustrated by the lack of action.”
Veteran campaigner Peter A Bell has warned Now Scotland in his blog of the danger of internal splits and splits with the Yes movement, and called on Yessers to come support the new organisation.
He wrote: “Target the Union. Campaign against the Union and for the establishment of the Scottish Parliament as the sole democratically legitimate agent of Scotland’s people.
“There you have the basics of a single-issue campaign. The thing you want people to move from. And the thing you want them to move to.
“It is too early to tell whether Now Scotland can be the single-issue campaigning organisation that develops enough clout to first overcome the inertia of our own political leaders and then play a part in overcoming the opposition to restoring Scotland’s independence. Only time will tell. And we don’t have a lot of that!
“I do know that it is a worthwhile effort and an effort worthy of the Yes movement. I urge all of you to support this effort.”
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