News / Yes Shetland
SHETLAND became the 21st Scottish community to set up an independence campaign under the non-party political Yes Scotland banner.
An invited audience of around 20 people, all of whom had signed up to campaign via its website, gathered for the first time at Lerwick’s Islesburgh community centre on Friday.
Local list MSP Jean Urquhart, who recently left the SNP but adheres to the independence campaign, attended the meeting along with a range of islanders aged 15 to 60.
She said there was general agreement to set up a local Yes Shetland campaign, but no one has yet emerged as a spokesperson.
Yes Scotland’s head of strategy Stephen Noon addressed the meeting on how they aim to build the largest community-based campaign in Scotland’s history for a yes vote in the 2014 independence referendum.
Noon said: “This is the biggest and most important decision that Scotland will ever have to make about the future of our country.
“It is the people’s referendum and the people’s campaign and it will be won at grass-roots level the length and breadth of Scotland.”
Urquhart added: “I think people were genuinely pleased with the meeting and Stephen Noon seemed delighted with the turn out and the questions and the age range.
“Some people said they didn’t want Scotland to be in Europe and some said they wanted an independent republic, but this campaign is not about policy, it’s about making people understand the possibilities of an independent Scotland.”
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