Dave Thompson MSP

A hustings with two heavy weight speakers from either side of the Independence debate was held in front of a packed hall in Dingwall Baptist church on the evening of Friday the 9th June. With 100 days to go to the referendum proper the secret ballot at the end delivered 63 Yes votes to 25 No votes (a 71.6% margin for Yes). While there were a considerable number of folk who were undecided or who did not vote this is a very encouraging outcome for the Yes Campaign.

The Hustings was chaired by local Independent Councillor Alister MacKinnon with Dave Thompson SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch speaking on behalf Of Yes and Garry Coutts making his personal case for voting NO.

A great deal of effort was made to get as many people in Dingwall and the local community to attend, particularly undecided voters, to hear both sides of the debate presented.

Volunteers distributed around 1000 flyers about the event and there was a substantial advertisement in a local paper.

This had the desired effect with chairs being hurriedly added until there was no more room left at the back of the hall. It is estimated that over 125 folk attended.

It was a lively debate with many questions asked though this did mean the timetable over ran and unfortunately some folk had to leave early.

Despite the spirited nature of the debate it was conducted in a respectful atmosphere with only modest banter at some of the points made by the two speakers.

At the end of the debate, the audience were offered the chance to take part in a secret ballot.

This was collected and counted by the Chairman and resulted in YES with 63 votes and NO with 25 votes. There were 11 Undecided returns and one was spoiled.

Dave Thompson said, “Thank you to Garry for providing spirited opposition, thank you to Alister for chairing and a further thank you to everyone who helped organise tonight’s event and all those who turned out to hear the debate”.

He went on: “I am delighted with the result but what I am most happy about is that over 125 people turned up on a bleak night in Dingwall to hear the debate. This is fantastic news where political engagement is concerned and long may that continue”.

He finished with: “Naturally, I hope this fantastic result is repeated on September 18 as ultimately that is the only vote the counts and is why with less than 100 days to the vote, I would like to urge all YES supporters to make the strong case for YES to all your family and friends”.