Young Scots for Independence

Young Scots for Independence
Chairperson	David Linden
Secretary General	Tom Arthur
Mother party	Scottish National Party
International affiliation	European Free Alliance Youth
Website	snpyouth.org

Young Scots for Independence (YSI) (Sometimes termed SNP Youth) is the youth wing of the Scottish National Party (SNP). It is not to be confused with Federation of Student Nationalists, which is for those in higher education, and whose membership is not restricted by age, unlike the YSI.

The YSI is autonomous from the SNP and as such is entitled to formulate its own policies and devise its own campaigns. The YSI is represented on the SNP National Executive Committee and can send delegates to meetings of the SNP Annual National Conference.

Objectives

Its objectives are:

1. independence for Scotland;
2. the furtherance of all Scottish interests;
3. to increase support for the aims and policies of the SNP amongst the youth of Scotland;
4. to provide a political and social forum for the youth of Scotland;
5. to further the interests of the youth of Scotland;
6. to campaign against the continued presence of nuclear weapons in Scotland and the wider world.

History

The YSI is a youth organisation set up to campaign for Scottish independence through the Scottish National Party (SNP). It is independent of, though affiliated to, the SNP. Formed in the 1970s as the Young Scottish Nationalists the organisation changed its name to YSI in 1996 when the YSN underwent a complete reorganisation.

Many YSI activists have since risen to prominence in the SNP, including Nicola Sturgeon the Deputy First Minister of Scotland, former party leader John Swinney, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth and Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning.

Text referendum

On 8 April 2006, the YSI launched a "text referendum" at the SNP Conference in Dundee, which asks people to vote via text message "Scot yes" or Scot no" on the question "should Scotland be independent?".

A text referendum on nuclear weapons was also launched, which asks people to vote on whether they believe the Westminster Government should spend £25 billion on a new generation of nuclear missiles to be stored on the River Clyde - 30 miles from Glasgow.

Speaking at the launch, the then YSI National Convenor Aileen Campbell said: "I am really excited about this referendum. It will allow us to truly engage with young people across Scotland and give them an opportunity to express their views using modern every day technology. The Electoral Commission wants parties to take proactive steps to engage with young voters and not just use them as publicity stunts. So we are taking the initiative and are asking the young people of Scotland to make their views known about Scotland's constitutional future!"

National Tour

The YSI, recently completed a National Tour of Scotland as part of the campaign for the Scottish General Elections. They visited target constituencies and telephone canvassed the rest. This meant that they campaigned in every constituency in Scotland. This played a part in the SNP victory, with every area that was physically visited being won in the election.

National Executive Committee of Office Bearers

• National Convener: David Linden
• National Vice Convener: Kenneth Murray
• National Treasurer: Michael Dixon
• National Secretary: Tom Arthur
• Director of Campaigns:Victor Rhynas
• Director of Communications and Events:Daniel Paris
• Political Education Officer:Angela Crawley

Branches

The YSI is split up into branches where there is a concentration of active members in a geographical area. Individual members who are not part of branches can, and do, become involved though participating on a more national scale.

The current branches are:

• Cumbernauld & Kilsyth
• Forth Valley
• Glasgow
• Highlands (including Moray)
• Lanarkshire
• Lewis and Harris
• Lothians
• Young Asian Scots for Independence

External links

• YSI website
• Alison Thewliss's Blog
• Marco Biagi's Blog
• YSI's Youtube Channel