Nearly 6,000 pro-independence supporters rallied together in Glasgow’s George Square today in a bid to keep the referendum movement going forward.
The organiser of the Hope Over Fear movement said it planned to keep up the momentum behind the Yes campaign in the last weeks up to the referendum on September 18.
It was led by former socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan, who warned the Westminster Government to “not get too comfortable” with the independence outcome.Sheridan said: “Don’t get too comfortable, your time is up, it’s now inevitable that freedom will be Scotland’s.
“We will have another referendum if not on 2020, then before 2020.
“It is definitely my agenda.
Mr Sheridan, who is co-convenor of Solidarity Scotland, told the crowd: “Some of you who are old enough will remember the last titanic battle with the British establishment which was taken to the brink, the 1984 to 85 miners’ strike.
“I remember the South Wales miners marching back to work in March of 1985 with a banner that is applicable to us here today.
“That banner read: this is the end. The end of the beginning.
“This is the end of the beginning.”
He urged the crowd to raise the profile of the Hope Over Fear movement and called for more rallies to be held in Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife, and across the rest of Scotland.
The independence referendum saw 55 per cent of Scots vote in favour of remaining part of the Union.
The rally is an attempt to keep the pressure on politicians at Holyrood and Westminster for more constitutional changes and amendments to social justice.
It also saw Scots actor Martin Compston speak to the crowd where he promised the British Government that the people would not be lied to.
He said: “Today is about keeping the momentum going because we started this incredible democratic revolution and found a political voice and this is about keeping it going.
“We did lose the vote, but 45 per cent wanted a complete change and the 55 per cent, I believe a majority of them wanted substantial changes, and that’s what we were guaranteed.
“We’re going to be back in the Square again and again and again until we get it, and we don’t want any worthless petitions.
“There were promises and guarantees made and we want them delivered.
“If you look at the numbers, the youth massively wanted independence, we lost it in the older vote, and one day the youth will be the majority.
“I was devastated, but now I have realised this is just the beginning, and I believe one day independence will be achieved.”
Organisers billed the rally as a family day out mixed with a political agenda.
Former Yes campaigner (Miss) Alice McKee, 43, from Greenock, said she had taken her two daughters with her to show their “continued support” for independence.
Alice said: “We all campaigned in my family. I was out doing flyers and knocking doors and my wee ones gave out leaflets to their friends for them to read about why independence was good for them.
“We were devastated when the result came through, but we knew that it might take more than just one swing at it.
“Today’s meeting is to show our continued support for Scotland’s independence and that we will not go away quietly.”
Delivery driver, Jamie Anderson, 31, from Easterhouse, said he was still “upset by the end result” but that he “still believed in the dream”.
Jamie said: “We won’t go quietly into the dark like they (Westminster) are hoping we will.
“We will keep pushing and pushing for independence because we all still believe in the dream of a Scotland free from Tory rule.
“We shouldn’t have foodbanks in Scotland. This is a country which is proud of itself with people who help each other, which is why we actually have them, but we shouldn’t need them.”
The crowd maintained a festival atmosphere but one unlucky individual was reported to have broken their leg after they fell while trying to scale a statue.
Paramedics were seen taking assisting the man and helping carry him to an ambulance vehicle.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “A male was taken to the Glasgow Royal Infirmary .”