Yes Scotland
 |
|
| Formation | 25 May 2012 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | Late-2014 |
| Type | Company limited by guarantee |
| Registration no. | SC422720 |
| Focus | Scottish independence referendum, 2014 |
| Headquarters | 136 Hope Street, Glasgow, G2 2TG |
|
Key people
|
Blair Jenkins, Chief Executive |
| Website | yesscotland |
Yes Scotland was the organisation representing the parties, organisations, and individuals campaigning for a Yes vote in the Scottish independence referendum, 2014. It was launched on 25 May 2012.
Yes Scotland's chief executive was Blair Jenkins, and Dennis Canavan was the chair of its advisory board. Stephen Noon, a long term employee and policy writer of the SNP, was Yes Scotland's chief strategist. Its principal opponent in the independence campaign was the Better Together campaign.
By the formal start of the referendum campaign period in May 2014, it had become the "biggest grassroots movement in Scottish political history", said Jenkins. The campaign did not win independence, but "transformed politics in Scotland", suggested The Herald.
It was launched in Edinburgh on 25 May 2012. The launch featured actors Alan Cumming and Brian Cox.
Yes Scotland officially opened its campaign staff headquarters on 19 November 2012 in Hope Street, Glasgow. The headquarters were open to the public. By February 2013, Yes Scotland employed 17 people full-time.
In March 2013, a number of Yes Scotland activists promoted the movement at bedroom tax protests throughout Scotland.
Yes Scotland first disclosed its finances in April 2013, revealing it had taken over £1.6m in donations.
In July 2013, the Sunday Herald reported that there were "persistent rumours" of funding problems within Yes Scotland, and suggested that these were related to Jacqueline Caldwell and Susan Stewart leaving the campaign organisation. The organisation "shared out" the women's responsibilities between other employees instead of replacing them.
Throughout 2013, Yes Scotland launched specially targeted campaign groups like Veterans for Independence,Farming for Yes, and Crofters for Yes.
In August 2013, the Telegraph reported that Police Scotland were opening a hacking inquiry in response to a complaint received from the campaign about internal emails that appeared to have been accessed illegitimately and leaked to the media.
At the end of 2014, chief executive Blair Jenkins sent a message to supporters to join the Scottish National Party, the Scottish Greens or the Scottish Socialist Party to ensure that campaigners "keep the spirit alive".
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Wikipedia