SPEAKERS at the upcoming All Under One Banner demonstration in Dumfries have emphasised the necessity of such marches to keep morale high within the Scottish independence movement.
Taking place on June 11 under the demand "Dissolve the Union", the procession will culminate in a rally featuring a range of local activists and discussion of issues with particular relevance to the community, including poverty and political representation amongst pensioners. A collection is also being organised by First Base Foodbank, whose representative Mark Harper will be amongst the speakers.
Also speaking will be SNP MSP Emma Harper (below), who told The National: “When we last had a pro-indy rally in Dumfries in 2018, over 10,000 people from across Scotland assembled and marched through the Town in support of Scotland taking our place on the world stage as a normal, independent, European nation.
“The UK system of democracy is broken beyond repair. We have a UK Government intent on hard-right policies which punish the most vulnerable people in our society and a prime minister who lies to Parliament and then changes the UK ministerial code to save his own political skin.
"We have a House of Lords where 773 unelected peers are paid £350 per day when they endeavour to show up for a minimum required 20 minutes, while the rest of the country struggles to pay their household bills and put meals on the table. And because of the UK’s archaic two-party political pendulum, this isn’t going to change.
“Scotland can, and must, have the opportunity to decide our own future and, quite frankly, Boris Johnson, nor any anyone else, has any right to deny democracy for the people of Scotland.”
Lynn Macdonald of the All Under One Banner national committee commented: “The role of marches is to keep a high profile for the cause of independence - to keep it in the minds of politicians and the public alike.
“They provide a forum for the movement to network and exchange ideas and information, not least it keeps the morale high of hard-working activists and independence supporters in the face of continued delays in announcing an actual campaign.”
Chick McKenna of Dumfries and Galloway Pensioners for Independence, who will also be in attendance, added: “A visible presence on the streets is a very useful way of showing that there is support for the movement, particularly so down here in South West Scotland where we endure the collective ignorance, sycophancy and lack of concern displayed by the Tory incumbents in both Holyrood and Westminster.”
