The Point

Last updated: 27 June 2022.

Hope Over Fear - Referendum Anniversary Gathering

 

Steve Arnott interviews Jeff Duncan, one of the principal organisers of the up and coming Hope Over Fear Rally in Glasgow's Freedom Square on Saturday Sept 19th.

From Dundee, Jeff has a background in organising public rallies and marches, including three rallies in Dundee, Edinburgh and London for the Save the Scottish Regiments campaign in 2004/2005 and more recently the successful Scottish Independence march and rallies in 2012 and 2013 which took place in Edinburgh.  

He is a vocal supporter of animal welfare and recently took up allotment gardening. He lives with his partner Kieron and Jake, their dog.  I caught up with him during a relatively quiet moment in cyberspace.

 

Tell us a bit about the Hope Over Fear event coming up, Jeff. What’s the thinking behind it and what should people coming along on the day expect?

 

It is all in the name of the event – we should never fear the future but so many of us do. We fear for our jobs, our lack of job prospects, we fear for our children’s future, we fear for our health service, we fear for the most vulnerable in society being hounded and penalised for being sick, poor or both.  With the Tories in power at a UK level and Labour not able to win General Elections for the foreseeable future we need Hope. 

Only by breaking free from London and becoming an Independent Scotland can we put aside fear and look to the future with hope.  People will hear inspiring speeches on what hope looks like and why we can do radically better for ourselves as an independent nation, singers, bands and much more.  But most importantly it’s what you leave with – a sense of renewed purpose and the beginning of that future built on hope and refusing to allow fear to take its place. We are the key to our future.

 

You were at the heart of organising the two big YES rallies in Edinburgh that were such markers for people and for building confidence and activism in folk during the referendum campaign. Are you hoping this Anniversary gathering can have the same positive effect?

 

 Jeff Duncan, being interviewed by the media.

 

Yes. I am expecting people to leave feeling energised and full of hope.  The one thing that emerged from 2012 was the number of people who had never publically taken part in any kind of activism.  Invariably, everyone I spoke to said actually getting onto the streets and demonstrating their passion for a cause said it ignited self-confidence in their belief of an Independent Scotland and most importantly the building of connections and friendships with like-minded people which endures years later and will continue to do so.

 

There are some people who claim Hope Over Fear is just a Tommy Sheridan vehicle, or a Solidarity front. What’s your view on that and what would you say to people who might be influenced by that kind of negativity?

 

Levelling that accusation at Tommy Sheridan is I think a cheap shot as Tommy Sheridan’s track record on Scottish Independence speaks for itself. People who gleefully engage in such tactics are I think more afraid that Tommy Sheridan can speak freely on all issues, including Independence, and he does not have to toe a party line which in other larger parties is tightly controlled by a small group of party chiefs.

I sense a growing feeling amongst those who lent the SNP there vote in 2015 that they could well become disillusioned if the SNP do not include firm foundations and a plan for a second referendum very soon. With a wide and varied range of people speaking and attending the rally it is clear the Hope Over Fear rally encapsulates many people’s desire and appetite for a second referendum with the next 2-3 years. It’s time to focus on the real goal of attaining Scottish Independence and not the petty party politics of mud slinging. It’s time to come together on the 19^th September regardless of what party you support.

As you’ve said it’s the first anniversary since the referendum. How soon do you think we should have another one?

 

Since the SNP effectively have a complete Westminster mandate to speak on behalf of Scotland and with Holyrood 2016 likely to see similar gains I have no doubt in my mind the SNP should include in there manifesto a second referendum.  Surely the SNP cannot think that overnight they converted so many new members solely based on their other policies!  Of course many, many thousands joined because they expect a second referendum and soon – not a vague acknowledgement and kicking into into the long grass.

 

 What’ll it take, specifically, in your view to win it this time round?

 

In my opinion that YES campaign was far too timid and far too late with their campaign.  Faint hearts and overly polite responses to outright lies, which were constant daily features of the NO campaign, needed to be robustly challenged and by a wide range of speakers representative of the broad church of YES campaigners.

Its one thing to campaign in the positive and another to be almost scared to show passion in your arguments and beliefs for an Independent Scotland.  In short the YES campaign lacked fire in its belly – not from the ordinary folk, and there were hundreds of thousands of them, but from politicians who took too much heed from external advisors on how to position themselves in relation to the media.

 

You were until recently a member of the SNP but you’ve now left and joined Solidarity - which on the face of it is a much smaller pro-indy party. What was you’re thinking behind that?

 

Solidarity really are the only party in Scotland driving forward Scottish Independence and given that its almost a year after the referendum I find that astonishing.  Any party that cannot realise and acknowledge they have in no small part been elected in such large numbers because of the driver of Scottish Independence is either deluding itself or worse paying a great disservice to those people who put an X next to SNP candidates.  I get it of course there was no other choice for pretty much anyone – who were we going to vote for?  Labour, Tory, Lib Dems – not a chance.  The SNP got the full post-referendum dividend but have so far not paid out to the voters.  I put my faith in Solidarity to drive the Independence agenda moving forward into 2016.

 

Are you still on good terms with your old SNP comrades?

 

Well to be honest I wouldn’t know – the day after the March & Rally was pretty much the day the communication ceased! A lot of back slapping on the day from the hierarchy of the SNP but today’s news is tomorrow’s fish n chip papers.  That in itself didn’t not bother me.  However, I think the YES campaign and the SNP’s decision not to have a 2014 Rally in the first week of September was a huge mistake.

A couple of final questions then, Jeff. There’ll be three pro-indy parties competing for the list vote in next May’s Scottish elections – the Greens, Solidarity and the new formation RISE. What’s your pitch to our readers for a vote for Solidarity.

 

Oh great another political party! No seriously, good luck to all parties who support Scottish Independence.  I have engaged with pretty much all levels of all political parties in Scotland and despite the socialist and green credentials of some of them there is at the heart of all them, for me, a deeply uncomfortable feeling of elitist club status.  That is to say your voice as a fully-valued member of that party is not real.  Yes you’re a party member but is your voice being listened to by the party decision makers?  NO is what I concluded, However, I immediately knew that in Solidarity there was true transparency and democracy at work. 

In Solidarity we are people first and getting to the heart of the matter, whether it be Scottish Independence or poverty is actually pretty straight forward – people always come first.  To me that is where Solidarity truly are different.  So if you want to be represented by an MSP at Holyrood how serves it up as it is and doesn’t sugar coat reality of peoples lives then Solidarity are the party for you.

 

And lastly, but most immediately, in a single sentence explain to YES voters why they should come to Hope Over Fear on 19^th September.

 

It’s simple – if Scottish Independence matters to you then you will be there.

Forget your individual party politics for a few hours and show both London and Edinburgh that Scotland’s people will set the agenda for the second referendum. Don’t let anyone, including your own party, prevent you from proudly coming together for the biggest Rally since Calton Hill in 2013.  In fact, its even more important that we all get to Glasgow on the 19^th – a lack of support will send a signal that a second referendum is not important enough an issue anymore - even for YES supporters.  Is that true?  I doubt it.

 

 

                Hope is kindled, Dreams never die.

 

Thanks, Jeff. It’s been a pleasure, and all the best for the rally on the 19^th.

See you there!