PAPERS produced by the Scottish Government on independence should be distilled into digestible material which local branches can use to spread the word ahead of a planned referendum, a former SNP comms director has said.
Calls for the party to improve its communication with branches are set to be debated at the Aberdeen conference next weekend.
A resolution will be voted on entitled “Communication Strategy for Independence”, which includes a pledge to “produce informative, inspiring and timely information” to branches to enable activists to engage the public in pro-independence conversations.
It also calls for the party to ensure branches are provided with the latest policies, initiatives and materials to present a convincing case.
Kevin Pringle, former SNP communications director, said this should include summarising recently published papers on independence into more “user-friendly” formats, including leaflets, to help Yessers spread a positive case for self-determination in the lead-up to October next year, when the Scottish Government hopes to hold a vote on Scotland’s future.
He argued the success of the 2014 Yes campaign was driven by local activism and urged the SNP to make the most of papers, which he insists have had a “short shelf life” so far.
"Similar sentiments have been expressed probably for as long as the SNP has existed however, the point is particularly important given that we are looking at independence being put to people either in a referendum next year or in a general election within the next couple of years,” said Pringle.
"There is a lot of information available. For me, it’s a question of it being distilled and disseminated for local use.
“The independence papers that have begun to be published by the Scottish Government are important here. Rather than having a short shelf-life in terms of 24 hours of media coverage, they can all be summarised in user-friendly formats, including leaflets, for distribution and other activity by local branches.
"Some successful ideas from the past could be revamped. For example, as long ago as before devolution, the SNP produced a video on the case for independence, focusing on the economy, that branches used as a basis for local public presentations, followed by question-and-answer sessions.
“The 2014 referendum experience was that support for Yes was built conservation-by-conversation, in people’s own communities, so the more accessible activity of this sort, in modern formats, the better."
Two papers arguing the case for an independent Scotland have already been produced by the Scottish Government.
One makes the argument Scotland is being held back by the Union, using examples of similarly-sized countries around the world that outperform the UK on a variety of measures.
The second, renewing democracy through independence, made the case for exiting the Union on the basis that Westminster “is eroding and constraining Scotland's democracy” and argued that devolution was insufficient to tackle this challenge.
Business minister Ivan McKee has said there will be five or six new papers produced in the coming months on other topics.
The motion up at SNP conference on Sunday, October 9, reads: “Now that the First Minister has publicly declared her intention to conduct a second independence referendum during 2023, conference urges the party centre to produce informative, inspiring and timely information to branches to enable activists to engage the public in informed pro-independence conversations.
“Conference acknowledges and applauds the many informed individuals that can effectively communicate the case for independence, but recognises that all activists should be equally informed and enabled to present the case for independence as one voice across the whole of Scotland.
“Conference calls for the party centre to ensure branches are provided with the latest policies, initiatives and materials to present a convincing case in the build-up to the 2023 referendum on Scottish independence.”
