Independence Forum Scotland and Yes United For Independence joined forces on Saturday 14 March to organise a Spring Conference on Scotland’s Future, which took place at the iconic Òran Mòr in Glasgow on Saturday 14 March 2026.  Its aims were simple:

• To re-energise the YES movement.
• To plant seeds that will yield fruit in coming months and years.
• To make contact with as wide a demographic as possible.
• In short, to ‘put the band back together’ and recapture the spirit of 2014.

The day was divided into two sections.  The first was a daytime event, ‘The Art of Statehood’, along the lines of last year’s three IFS Conventions.  We utilised World Café format to discuss various aspects of three topics – Energy, the Economy and Europe – and the opportunities of Scottish independence with regard to them all.

We also had key contributions from Lesley Riddoch, who opened the event with an exploration of the lessons an independent Scotland might draw from the Nordic countries, and Phil Boswell, who began the afternoon for us by picking up n some of the themes our World Cafe participants had discussed in the morning session.

The daytime event finished on a high note with a truly exceptional speech from Jim Sillars, former MP, author and Yes United Trustee, whose inspiring, challenging and motivating words brought the audience to its feet.

All of these speeches, together with other parts of the daytime event, were captured by Independence Live, and have been posted to the Yes United YouTube channel. Here are links to each of them:

• Lesley Riddoch’s opening speech
• Phil Boswell’s keynote speech
• Jim Sillars’ closing speech

In the evening, we held a special music and poetry event organised in partnership with Artists For Scottish Independence. The roster included musical performers Eddi Reader & John Douglas, The Countess of Fife, Bobby Bluebell, Mellow Party, Tommy Mackay, King of Birds and Sulidae, and there were spoken word contributions from author Alan Bissett and poets Linda Jackson, Allan Gaw, Jen Dunn, Donna Matthew and Graham Fulton.

It was a splendid evening’s entertainment, with a strong pro-indy message, that will linger in the memory of those who attended and took part for a very long time.  Here’s a link to Independence Live’s film of it.  The action begins about 7 minutes and 20 seconds in!

What Next?

There will be another event later in the year.  Watch this space for more information.

What is the Convention all about?

The purposes of the Convention are –

• To bring people together from all over Scotland, free from party politics, to discuss matters of critical importance to the nation.
• To identify the huge opportunities awaiting Scotland as we proceed towards self-determination.
• To reach consensus on how we may deal with them to our advantage in an independent Scotland.
• To identify perceived obstacles to independence and how they can be circumvented.

Our Mission Statement, endorsed at the inaugural meeting of the Convention on 1 March 2025, is as follows:

“Our aim is to provide a public forum which unites the whole of society with regular discussion and open debate, free from party politics, on matters of critical importance to the nation, and with a clear focus on Scotland’s future and the achievement of meaningful self-determination.”

Previous Convention Meetings

Autumn Convenion 2025

The third gathering of the Convention took place on 8 November 2025 at Adelaide Place, Glasgow.  The programme was as follows:

• Pàdraig MacAoidh (Peter Mackay), Scotland’s Makar, gave a talk on ‘What’s It Like To Be a Scot Today?’
• Jim Osborne of the Scottish Currency Group gave a presentation on ‘Pension Provision in an Independent Scotland’
• Professor Aileen McHarg of the University of Durham gave a talk on ‘Independence – The Constitutional Position’
• Greg McCarra of the Scottish Independence Foundation spoke about ‘Scotland’s Right To Decide Her Future’. 
• Peter A Bell spoke about ‘A Manifesto For Independence: A Scottish UDI’.
• Craig Murray of Liberation Scotland spoke about ‘Independence: The International Dimension’.
• There was a panel discussion on routes to independence, chaired by Laura Webster, Editor of The National.  Taking part were Professor Aileen McHarg, Substack blogger Leah Gunn Barrett, former MSP Alex Neil and senior lawyer Ewan Kennedy.
• Simon Forrest of Yes United For Independence summarised the afternoon discussions on the routes to independence.

A full recording of the Autumn Convention is available on YouTube here.

You can also read an account of the day, which was published in The National, here.

Summer Convention 2025

The second gathering of the Convention took place on Saturday 14 June 2025 at the Salutation Hotel, Perth.  The programme was as follows:

• Stuart McHardy and Roger Emmerson held a discussion on the topic ‘Wha’s Like Us? A Look at Scottishness, Scotland and Independence’.
• John Hutchison, IFS Secretary, gave an update on ‘Scotland’s Future – Our Land’, with a report on the recent Community Land Scotland AGM and the progress of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.
• John Proctor, Chair of Energy Scotland, gave an update on “Scotland’s Energy Future”, with some calls for action by the Scottish and UK Governments.
• Geoff Bush summarised the Spring Convention discussions on “Scotland’s Democratic Future”, with some calls for action by the Scottish Government.
• There was an afternoon session on the topic of “Poverty and the Wellbeing Economy”, with contributions by Eva Comrie, lawyer and activist, William Thomson of Scotonomics, Craig Dalzell of Common Weal, Annie Miller of Basic Income Network Scotland, Dave Thompson of Christians For Independence and Jim Osborne of the Scottish Currency Group.

You can read a fuller account of the day here.

Spring Convention 2025

The first of a series of one day events on Scotland’s Future took place on Saturday 1 March 2025 at Greyfriars Charteris Centre in Edinburgh. The programme was as follows:

• Alastair McIntosh gave an opening address on “The Roots and Vision of a Nation”
• Ailsa Raeburn, Community Land Scotland and Laurie Macfarlane, Future Economy Scotland led a session on “Scotland’s Future – Our Land”
• Robin McAlpine, Common Weal gave a presentation on Doing Things Differently – “How Can the People Influence Risk-Averse Politicians?”
• John Proctor and colleagues from Energy Scotland led a discussion session on – “Scotland’s Energy Future”.
• John Brown and colleagues from Constitution for Scotland, Liberation Scotland and Campaign Group Respect Scottish Sovereignty led a discussion on – “Scotland’s Democratic Future”