SNP party members are to be asked to back moves to establish paid regional organisers to help with the fight for a Yes vote in the next referendum on Scottish independence.
A constitutional resolution to be debated on Sunday at the SNP conference in Glasgow would, if passed, see party HQ and local party branches split the cost of paying for the workers.
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The regional co-ordinators would be paid £35k a year, and be expected to work from home.
The job description has not been finalised yet but one SNP source told The National the organisers would be “pivotal” in indyref2.
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“We plan to employ a team of regional campaign managers to help expand and train our volunteer teams for elections. They will be driving our ongoing voter contact programme and co-ordinate our ‘get out the vote’ operation. They will be pivotal in helping us win the next referendum.”
Independence is set to dominate this year’s conference.
Party members had hoped to know by now what Nicola Sturgeon’s thoughts are on the timing of a second independence referendum, but earlier this week the First Minister warned that Brexit chaos means she may have to wait until November or even December to update the country on her plans.
The conference, which kicks off tomorrow and lasts until Tuesday, comes 24 hours after thousands of indy supporters filled the streets of Edinburgh at the All Under One Banner march.
Earlier this week senior SNP figures called for “urgency” from Sturgeon.
Alex Neil. Photograph: Gordon Terris
Former health secretary Alex Neil warned a second vote on leaving the UK must take place “as quickly as possible”. Neil said: “The quicker we get independence the better, if you look at the condition of the Scottish economy and the challenges coming down the road with artificial intelligence and all the rest of it.”
The comments were made on Alex Salmond’s programme on the Moscow-controlled Russia Today channel.
In his introduction Salmond added to the pressure, saying the SNP were grappling with “two referenda... whether to support another one on Europe, while promoting another one on Scottish independence.
“All of this while support for independence remains at a very high level and, crucially, the activist base, as measured by the turnout at rallies, seems much more mobilised even than in 2014.”
Speaking ahead of the conference, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “As soon as Scotland has all the powers of an independent country in our hands, the sooner we can use those to build a better, wealthier country where no one is left behind.”
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