Sturgeon's gambit Referendum pledge creates division and confusion

It's good to finally have a date to work towards," said Laura Moodie, as she contemplated the announcement this week by the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, that the Scottish government intends to hold a second independence referendum on 19 October 2023. "It helps to galvanise effort and shift opinion."

- Libby Brooks

Moodie is based in Dumfries and Galloway, which recorded the third-highest no vote in 2014, and this weekend her local chapter of Women for Independence, one of the most prominent grassroots organisations to emerge from the first campaign, will attend their first in-person national convention since the pandemic.

Moodie's group is one of many to revive as the Scottish National party and the wider yes movement prepare for a summer of campaigning, with the pressure on to maintain momentum from Tuesday's announcement.

SNP sources say the coming months will revolve around the party's first in-person conference in early October. After the pandemic pushed most campaigning online, Moodie said: "We need to persuade people to wear out some shoe leather and, especially in a rural area like this, think about clever ways to equip people to campaign from their own doorsteps".