News / Politics

Thousands of marchers in Inverness demand indyref2

Sunday, 26 January 2020 4:38 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 26 January 2020 4:44 PM ]

Independence supporters in Inverness displayed both Scottish and EU flags

In the latest show of force, Scottish independence supporters marched in Inverness yesterday, in what has been billed as the first such march in the new year.

According to multiple reports, “thousands” of people marched from Walker Park to the banks of the River Ness.

The latest independence march – like many before it – was organized by local independence supporters, as opposed to organized political groups.

The Inverness march comes against the backdrop of escalating political tensions between London and Edinburgh in the light of the newly-invigorated Tory government’s decision not to allow a fresh Scottish independence referendum later this year.

Johnson versus Sturgeon

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s, decision to refuse a referendum has placed the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Nicola Sturgeon, between a rock and a hard place.

On the one hand, Sturgeon is coming under increasing pressure from activists within her own party and Scottish nationalists more broadly to break the political deadlock, but on the other hand, she is reluctant to abandon her constitutional approach to achieving independence.

Sturgeon, who is also Scotland’s First Minister, is set to reveal new plans for a second Scottish independence (indyref2) on January 29.

SNP versus radicals

Meanwhile, in a separate but related development, the SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, has labelled Johnson a “democracy denier” for his steadfast refusal to allow a referendum.

Speaking to the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland programme, a visibly angry Blackford said the PM had “completely trampled over the devolution settlement” and people in Scotland have the right to be “outraged”.

But Blackford was careful to underline the SNP’s commitment to constitutional politics by saying the party will begin a “broad-based campaign” to prepare public opinion for indyref2.

As the march in Inverness shows, the SNP is coming under tremendous pressure from grassroots independence supporters to break the current political stalemate, lest more radical elements take control of the Scottish independence movement.

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