The Fool on the Hill: Who owns 'Yes'?

Dear Humza Yousaf

I'm writing to you as leader of the SNP, because it seems to me that the SNP is making a very serious mistake, a mistake which seems to me to continue a pattern of behaviour which has led the SNP into disrepute and which is damaging to the whole Yes movement.

To start, let's be clear: the SNP is at present a very tarnished brand; and whether or not there has been any actual criminality, it is a brand that has been tarnished by the arrogance, lack of transparency and lack of democratic accountability of its most senior non-elected officers. Those senior officers have, of course, now largely stepped down, and I understand that you are seeking to reform the organisation and turn over a new leaf.

But part of that must be that the SNP must demonstrate to the movement — and to the electorate at large — that it has changed, and at present it is failing to do so. The party needs to show humility; it needs to show that it understands that its role is to be a good citizen within the wider Yes movement, and it needs to rebuild trust. Whereas twenty years ago it could reasonably claim to be 'the party of independence', now it is only one of several parties of independence — and in a not-very-trusted field, it is far from being the most trusted.

This is, of course, at a time when the whole movement is in some disarray, and all its leading organisations have some reputational issues; we all of us have to clean up our acts, it's not the SNP alone.

However, at a meeting of my local Yes group this week, SNP members were appealing for support for a new leafleting campaign. The leaflet bears branding of something called 'Yes Scot', clearly intended to make voters believe that it is from the broad, cross party, 'Yes Scotland' organisation. In fact, in turns out that 'Yes Scot' is simply a front for the SNP itself.

This is dishonest, mischievous, and deeply damaging to the whole movement. It undermines trust. It risks tarring the whole movement with the SNP's (deserved) current unpopularity. 'Yes', and 'Yes Scotland' are not brands which can belong to any single political party, if the movement for Scottish independence is to succeed.

Your party should immediately

1. withdraw this leaflet;
2. hand over the 'Yes.scot' website to a broader organisation within the movement, perhaps the Scottish Independence Convention;
3. hand over control of all 'YesScot' social media accounts to the same organisation;
4. cease to use 'Yes Scot' branding on its own material, except in contexts where it is clear this branding belongs to the wider movement.

I trust that you will take early action on this.

Yours sincerely

Simon Brooke

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