Thousands of independence supporters on Saturday marched through the streets of Glasgow.
The march was the first of eight planned for this year by the grassroots organization All Under One Banner (AUOB) in what is likely to be a crucial year for the Scottish independence movement.
It came the day after the former Labor Cabinet minister and lawmaker Ben Bradshaw declared that he was “100 percent certain” that Scotland would choose to leave the UK in the event of a second referendum on independence, which Scottish National Party (SNP) leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is pushing for later this year.
Bradshaw told the German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel that “the political class in England — and this includes my own party — must very quickly recognize the Scots’ right to self-determination.”
His remarks were tweeted approvingly by Sturgeon.
AUOB, which says it is not aligned with any political party, is to organize events across the country: In Peebles, Elgin, Kirkcaldy, Stirling, Edinburgh and again in Glasgow, with the next march planned for Arbroath in April to mark the 700th anniversary of the signing of Scotland’s declaration of independence.
Saturday’s march departed from Kelvingrove Park at 11:30am and headed to Glasgow Green, where it ended.
On Thursday, organizers were forced to cancel a rally planned for the Green after forecasts of high winds resulted in safety concerns.
AUOB organizer Gary Kelly said that before the weather warnings were in place, he had applied to Glasgow City Council with an estimate that about 100,000 would attend the march.
He said the program of marches this year reflected a growing momentum for a second independence referendum.
“After the general election, where the SNP got 44 percent of the vote in Scotland, how many more mandates do they need?” Kelly said.
During the general election campaign, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said if his party won it would consider granting the powers to hold a second referendum if there was a pro-independence majority after next year’s Scottish parliamentary elections.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has consistently said he would refuse to do likewise regardless of electoral circumstances.
Sturgeon at the end of last year wrote to Johnson requesting the transfer of the necessary Section 30 powers to hold a second referendum, and also called for the Scottish Parliament to be given permanent powers to hold subsequent referendums on independence from the UK.
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