A STRIKING Scottish independence campaign which has been “mothballed” during the pandemic is being jolted back into action for a big push ahead of the May election - and they’re asking for you to get involved.
A Million Reasons is asking for Yes supporters to submit a photograph showing their motivation for backing Scottish independence.
The campaign already has a mosaic of hundreds of people with their reasons for wanting an independent Scotland, including recognisable Yessers such as SNP MPs Mhairi Black and Tommy Sheppard.
However, it has stopped uploading submissions through the pandemic.
A Million Reasons’ co-founders, Dr Richard Saville-Smith, Gillian K Ferguson, and Hazel Raee, told The National: “This election is absolutely crucial for Scottish independence so we really felt the need to jolt our campaign awake.
GET INVOLVED IN THE CAMPAIGN AT AMILLIONREASONS.SCOT
“We’ve been mothballed for so long during the pandemic but really felt this urgency to share the heartfelt reasons why people from all walks of life support independence, to stress the importance of listening to people’s own personal words.”
They went on: “The pandemic necessarily demands a new way of campaigning and the ‘Million Reasons’ campaign is ideally suited: you can campaign digitally by sharing Reasons on social media and also print and display Reasons anywhere you can.
“Not just another party leaflet, every one of our ‘Reasons’ is unique: real people, in all their diversity, saying in their own words why they support Scottish independence. We think this gives each one an authentic, genuine, direct quality.”
The campaigners plan to get on the road once the pandemic restrictions allow, joining Yes group meetings, festivals, or conferences to gather even more Reasons.
They are asking for people to explain why they support independence in their “own, unedited, unfiltered words”, adding: “It’s a people’s campaign - we’re just providing the machinery.”
Photos uploaded to amillionreasons.scot will be shared across social media with the aim of creating a viral campaign ahead of polling day on May 6.
GET INVOLVED IN THE CAMPAIGN AT AMILLIONREASONS.SCOT
Asked about their personal reasons for supporting independence the co-founders, who call themselves “The Three Craws”, told The National they had plenty.
Saville-Smith said it was frustrating seeing Scottish politicians “reason, debate, [and] shout” at Westminster with no powers to institute change, while Ferguson said Scotland needs the powers of a normal country to bring in “socially progressive policies”.
She said that the idea of Scotland being “dictated to by politicians in Westminster we didn’t vote for is patently ludicrous and breathtakingly undemocratic”.
Raee added: “The people of Scotland should live in a country governed by a party focused on creating and maintaining a well-being economy, where everyone is of equal value.”
The co-founders added: “The campaign was forced into hibernation by the pandemic but now it is very much wide awake again - and will only end when Scotland’s independence has been achieved.”
Photos can be uploaded to amillionreasons.scot, where the hundreds of previous submissions can also be viewed.
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