Big demonstration not enough to convince swing voters to back independence

It was remarkable that All Under One Banner could bring over 50,000 people on to the streets of Glasgow on a May Day Bank Holiday weekend in support of the independence case. Lesley Riddoch is right to regard it as impressive; she is on less sure ground when she describes it as“significant ”( perspective ,7 May). The march is not an indication that over 200,000 voters (the number that would need to switch to give the Yes side victory in a referendum)are ready to plump for the cause. Who are these people who need to be convinced? They are the workers in the defence industries worried about job security and contracts if Scotland goes for autonomy. They are some of the three quarters of a million people born elsewhere in the United Kingdom and the world, now living north of the Border, who need reassurance about citizenship. They are some of the near one million voters over pension age who need direct assurance that their incomes will not be affected. Not least, they are those who may regard themselves as “haves” rather than “have-nots” who felt that in 2014 the case for independence was too slanted towards those on lower incomes.

A large demonstration does a lot to boost the morale of the converted. It is less effective in terms of winning over those who have yet to be persuaded. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon may well be waiting for favourable opinion poll signals that the public is ready for change. She may even be placing a lot of hope that economist Andrew Wilson’s Growth Commission report will at some point lend gravitas to her case. But that crucial segment of swing voters need to see homework rather than just the footwork shown on Saturday if they are to be convinced that independence will be in their social and economic interests.

BOB TAYLOR

Shiel Court, Glenrothes

With the All Under One Banner march through Glasgow on Saturday and the campaigners stating that they will march at “regular intervals until Scotland is free”, I can’t help but feel that the cause of Scottish nationalism is now reaching its decadent, terminal phase.

Rather than debating, formulating original ideas or treating unionists as opponents rather than enemies, the stunts seem to be getting larger, angrier and more ludicrously exuberant now.

We’ve had Bridges for Indy, a plan to form a human chain to the top of Ben Nevis (hint: you’ll need a lot more than 9000 people), the now evicted Indycamp group outside the Scottish Parliament, the boycotting of food products bearing the “butcher’s apron” and the presence of All Under One Banner,who romp through Glasgow a few times a year.

Being able to mobilise tens of thousands of already engaged people (some zealously so) might be good for a modicum of publicity, but it doesn’t necessarily conflate with political clout or persuasion.

Ultimately, they are hollow gestures for the vast majority of Scots. But with the nationalist cause being bereft of ideas and those that they do have being unpalatable to an electorate, they will continue on autopilot, marching while dreaming the next scheme of distraction.

DAVID BONE

Ailsa Street West Girvan, South Ayrshire