A LACK of detail on the SNP’s upcoming Independence Convention is causing unease in some quarters of the party as the event draws closer without a specific plan.
One MP told The National that the party ought to have held off announcing the event until the SNP’s ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), had sketched out a plan for the convention.
The event was announced following an NEC meeting on Saturday – but details remain uncertain.
It is not yet known who will speak at the event, how it will be structured or whether the media will be allowed to attend.
Despite some critics calling it a rebrand of the party’s scrapped special conference on independence – called off in the wake of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation – it is not clear whether the event will bear any resemblance to those plans.
A party source pointed out the special conference was intended for party members to discuss two options for the party’s future independence strategy.
The event could see party members debate a number of motions – or put forward amendments to one motion agreed by the NEC.
This raises the possibility the discussion could be much broader than that intended for the special conference, which essentially gave SNP members a binary choice: Either fighting the next General Election as a de facto referendum or as a de facto referendum on giving Holyrood the power to hold indyref2.
It is understood party figures are hashing out the details of the event – though specifics are hard to come by.
Many SNP figures approached by The National for detail on the event said they only knew what had been reported in the media – the date and the venue.
An SNP spokesperson said: "We've been inundated with interest and enthusiasm about the independence convention from party members. More details about the event will be forthcoming in due course."
