Time for a new independence campaign say Greens
Scottish Green Party co-conveners Maggie Chapman and Patrick Harvie, who will both address the Scottish Independence Convention in Glasgow today, say that now is the time to start campaigning to build the policies and movement necessary to ensure the next referendum is won.
Maggie Chapman said:
"For me and for many others, the 2014 referendum vote was the most significant event in our political lives. By making the case for radical change we captured the imagination of thousands of Scots. Greens brought our distinctive values to this arguing for a more democratic country with real social security through a citizen's income and a reindustrialisation based on renewables that appealed well beyond the traditional supporters of independence.
"As the creaking British state lurches from crisis to crisis, the need for independence becomes clearer and clearer. It is time to start building the independence movement again so that when the next referendum comes we are in a place to convince thousands more Scots that another, and better, Scotland is possible."
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
“Now is the time to put the lessons learned in 2014 into practice. Independence supporters must build a strong case if we’re to convince everyone who voted Yes to do so again, as well as the many No voters who don’t want Scotland to be dragged along with the UK’s self-destructive Brexit process.
“The diversity of political views on the pro-independence side, as is shown by today's convention, is a strength and we should make the most of it. Greens know that supporting independence doesn’t mean backing the SNP on other issues, and we’ll continue to make a distinctive Green case for an independent Scotland that moves beyond fossil fuel economics and shares the wealth of our society more fairly.”