SNP Youth co-convener Rhiannon Spear shares her experiences from abroad, and says Scotland must nurture intellectual thinking ahead of a second independence referendum
IN the future, 18 September will be just another day in an independent Scotland, but right now we need to decide on how we are going to get there. Instead of looking back at what once was – it is now time to get excited about what is possible in a free and independent nation.
This year I have spent a great deal of time with people from other unrepresented nations. Specifically; Catalonia, Basque and Veneto. The Young Scots for Independence – the youth wing of the SNP – recently organised a visit to Barcelona for its national day on 11 September.
I am sure you have seen pictures of this event in the past, with streets lined with thousands of people wearing yellow and red t-shirts to create the Catalan flag. Here, I have never felt more like a part of this international movement of small nations struggling for self governance.
What we have seen in each instance are nations building infrastructure, organisations and momentum around the independence debate with the resources they currently have, in the knowledge that they have to bide their time.
While we were there we visited the Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC), which was responsible for organising the celebrations around the national day. The ANC would be the equivalent of Yes Scotland, however it is a permanent organisation with paid membership and a growing band of volunteers and collaborators.
We were also grateful to receive a tour of parliament with Gerard Gómez MP. While we were there we learned more about their situation, and I think that we were all taken aback by just how similar their climate is to Scotland's.
Right now, the only huge difference between us is that they are not allowed to legally hold a binding referendum of their own.
We were also joined by Michele Bodo, the leader of the new left pro-independence party in Veneto, Sanca Veneta, which I thoroughly recommend you check out. It is on the cusp of having a referendum on devolution and independence, but its pro-indy movement is divided greatly on ideology and, as a result, fundraising and investment can be problematic.
To combat this, it is investing in its arguments, buckling down and sorting out the big issues that it will face during the debate. It cares deeply about being prepared for the robust conversations that are headed its way, and will aim to win a referendum on reasoned arguments alone.
What we have seen in each instance are nations building infrastructure, organisations and momentum around the independence debate with the resources they currently have, in the knowledge that they have to bide their time.
This got me wondering: what solid infrastructure and organisations are we currently building to see us through, should this debate last longer than we anticipate? While we have momentum behind us – we should be capitalising on this and investing for the future.
While also investing in campaign infrastructure, we should be thinking about intellectual investments; building centres for research and study about autonomy, local accountable governments and what independence will look like. We should be nurturing the grassroots think tanks that were a product of our first debate.
This got me wondering: what solid infrastructure and organisations are we currently building to see us through, should this debate last longer than we anticipate?
We are in an extraordinary position, whereby we are allowed to have this discussion and have it confidently in the knowledge that there will be another referendum at some point in our future.
Let’s not squander that on restlessness, let’s not talk any more of when, but of how. Let’s organise, be patient and let’s get it right.
Pictures courtesy of Rhiannon Spear
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