AROUND 5000 independence supporters marched through Glasgow on Saturday, proving the Yes movement remains strong amidst the rise of the far right and economic uncertainty.
Organised by All Under One Banner, one of Scotland’s biggest independence campaigns, the rally left from Kelvin Way and made its way through some of the city’s busiest streets, ending with an event at Glasgow Green.
A pipe band led the march, with impressive displays of Saltires, Palestine flags and pride banners featuring the Lion Rampant following behind.
The atmosphere was intense, with many participants feeling a sense of urgency as far-right ideologies become more mainstream and Scotland faces greater levels of poverty and unemployment — particularly in the wake of the Grangemouth oil refinery closure.
Iain Ferguson (below), 71, said: “I think independence has always been important, but Britain is becoming an increasingly racist, vicious society.
“A lot of people placed their hopes in Starmer’s Labour government, but actually, they’re every bit as bad as the Tories.
“Now more than ever, with the disability cuts and the rise of Reform, we want to create a different kind of Scotland.”
Helen Wilson (below), 70, said the loss of Grangemouth was particularly worrying when it comes to the question of independence.
She added: “John Swinney is a very nice, polite man, but he’s too polite.
“He needs to rise up, he needs to speak out and get to Grangemouth — he was in New York for Tartan Week when he should have been down there, raising money to buy it back.
“Grangemouth should belong to us.”
YesBikers for Scottish Independence led the end of the procession from High Street, through Saltmarket and to Glasgow Green.
Participants were spread out on the grass in the sun, some with picnics, waiting for speeches from a number of pro-independence figureheads as well as performers like Amanda Brown and The Ronains.
Corran Cobban, 18, and her brother Clyde, 16, have been attending independence rallies since they were children.
Corran told The National: “Independence is always going to be important, but the political landscape has changed a lot.
“I think a lot of people’s opinions were shifted because of the EU referendum so I think we are owed another opportunity to show that we do want to be independent.
“It seems to be more of a background issue for Scottish politicians at the moment, and I think it needs to be pushed to the forefront and promoted more.”
Eddy Graham (below), 54, called the need for independence a “two plus two equals four, no brainer” issue.
He added: “Why have we got such bleeding high energy bills when Scotland’s such an energy rich country? Why is there so much poverty? Why are there so many social problems?
“These could all be solved, and Scotland could so easily be like Scandinavian countries, or even like Ireland where I’m originally from — a wealthy European country, member of the EU and everything that comes with that with a much more fair, balanced distribution of income.”
SNP MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden Rona Mackay (below) was the first speaker of the afternoon.
Speaking to The National, Mackay called the rise of Nigel Farage and the far-right “worse than anybody could have imagined”.
She added that the independence movement was “clever enough not to fall for that,” but they should remain “united enough to fight it anyway”.
Kenny MacAskill, leader of the Alba Party, spoke out earlier on Saturday, calling for the First Minister to host an independence summit and urged other pro-independence parties to put “country before party”.
In a conversation with The National, MacAskill furthered Mackay’s sentiments: “Turnout is up, the sun is out and the movement is coming back together.
“We’ve been seeing a lot of rallies where the crowds have been going down but I think we’ve turned the tide now and I think that’s important because a year from now we’ve got the Holyrood elections.
“We’ve got to make that a plebiscite election, we’ve got to maximise the votes for independence and we’ve got to take our chance now because what’s coming down the line now from south of the border is frightening.”
In his speech, MacAskill (below) thanked independence campaigners across the country, like All Under One Banner and Hope Over Fear for “keeping the dream alive”.
He said: “This movement is back because the need is great and the time is now.”
MacAskill called the closure of Grangemouth “simply scandalous”, adding that Scottish people deserve access not just to renewable resources, but also to the jobs “that should be there”.
He added: “There is going to be no second referendum — the British government, Tory and Labour have made that clear, and Farage echoes it.
“The Supreme Court has ruled out the opportunity for us to use it, but that doesn’t mean we do nothing.
“What it does mean, is we use the strategy Alex [Salmond] bequeathed us and we take our destiny into our own hands.”
