THE Yes campaign must shift focus away from breaking up the UK and highlight the positives of forming an “alternative relationship” with the rest of Britain to gain more support, an independence campaigner has insisted.
Michael Sturrock, founder of the NoToYes campaign group, said the independence push must also hone in on what opportunities re-joining the EU can bring, and “get comfortable” with inevitable uncertainty about what self-determination would mean for the future.
Following the publication of the first in a series of papers making a fresh case for independence– which compared the UK to other European countries similar in size to Scotland on a range of factors - questions are being raised about how the Yes campaign can garner the votes it needs to get over the line, with the challenge expected to be harder than in 2014.
Mark Diffley, director of the polling firm The Diffley Partnership, said recently support for each camp was currently “statistically a dead heat”.
The Yes campaign managed to increase support for independence from around 35% to 45% by the time the vote came round in 2014, but Diffley insisted the number of voters who could be convinced to switch sides now has shrunk, with recent polls showing only about 8% of Scots are undecided on the issue.
And Sturrock – who switched from supporting No to Yes following the Brexit vote – said it was important the Yes campaign “shifts the dial” away from separating from the UK in order to attract more backers.
He said: “I think we have to focus on entering the EU and emphasise this is a larger market than it is to be in the rest of the UK. There is a substantial amount of opportunity there.
“I think that, plus having full fiscal control, is a hugely positive thing to present.
“I think speaking about EU citizenship is also important, giving back the right to citizenship that we lost, and looking at what we’ve had to do to mitigate Tory policies, showing we can make different choices.
“We haven’t voted for a Tory government since 1955. We have a consensus on a better and more socially equitable way to run society, so let’s do it.
“I think we’ve dropped letting people present it as a separation thing. Britain is still going to be there, there will still be a trading relationship, there will still be the ability to go and live in the other countries. It’s just an alternative way of administering the government that you want.
“We need to shift the dial away from separation to an alternative partnership [with the UK].”
Sturrock also admitted the Yes movement may have to embrace that becoming independent will be filled with uncertainties.
But given that remaining part of the UK is shrouded in uncertainty anyway, he feels its important the campaign emphasises how we’re at “a fork in the road” and could choose a different path to the “bad” one we are on.
He added: “It’s almost scary there is such a dire prospect as part of the UK and yet that appears still to be preferable to some people than taking a chance with independence. So it’s clear it’s the uncertainty that’s really the clincher.
“I think people are worried about an independent Scotland having debt to start with, having to raise taxes to pay for it potentially and the international competence in Scotland as a place from that moment [independence] on.
“I think there’s a worry that good things that currently exist will go and the uncertainty of what the economic reality will be for everyone will be exacerbated.
“We have to pitch it as is a fork in the road. We are on a bad path at the moment, certainly a worse one than what was the status quo in 2014. It isn’t as it was in 2014, there are real uncertainties staying part of the UK anyway.
“I don’t like negative campaigning but we do need to highlight, on some level, the UK Government is making a colossal mess and what is going to be the state of play in the UK as well if we were to vote No.”
Christopher Clannachan – better known as drag queen Lady Rampant – has also switched from supporting No in 2014 to becoming a Yes campaigner.
Following the Brexit vote and through gaining a masters in EU law in Amsterdam, he said his perspective had shifted since his 18-year-old days when he felt there was a lack of clarity about what an independent Scotland would look like.
The now 25-year-old is now already sensing from the first prospectus paper published that the movement is looking to use more evidence-based arguments, which he insists is vital to convincing people to believe in the idea.
And he urged the Yes campaign to ramp up even more the sense of inclusivity it displayed in 2014.
He said: “It’s clear already we are leading with a lot more evidence-based claims and comparison which is what I really want to see going forward. We can see from the first paper there are a lot of countries happier or wealthier than the UK and I think leading with these sorts of comparisons is really good.
“We don’t have to look to far, only over to Ireland, to see how much of a success that’s been as an independent country.
“I think for me as well, as a drag queen, the Yes campaign has been so inclusive and I think that should be ramped up and highlighted as the type of Scotland we want to see.
“I don’t think the Yes movement should be about arguments at the dinner table. It should generate a calm, collected, positive discussion, which is backed up with evidence and embraces inclusivity.”
