All Under One Banner (AUOB) is a

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

created on 12 October 2014 with the objective of staging public processions for

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

at regular intervals. Neil Mackay, AUOB founder, argued that a strategy of marches for independence across

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

was needed to attract more attention to the independence movement after the

2014 Scottish independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...

that saw a majority vote to remain in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

In the aftermath of the 2016 EU membership referendum (which saw the majority of voters in the UK as a whole vote to leave the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

whilst most in Scotland voted to remain), large numbers of people took part in an event on 30 July 2016 at the 6th AUOB March. The following 3 June 2017 saw 25,000 demonstrators. After 2017 there was not another All Under One Banner march until the 5 May 2018, again at Glasgow, with a police estimate of 35,000 protesters. Following this demo AUOB embarked on a national tour: 2 June at

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

(around 1.100 attended); 23 June in

Bannockburn Bannockburn () is an area immediately south of the centre of Stirling in Scotland. It is part of the City of Stirling. It is named after the Bannock Burn, a stream running through the town before flowing into the River Forth. History Land in ...

(8,000)); 28 July in

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

(5,000–7,500 according to the police, 14,000 according to the organisers); 18 August

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

(16,000) with the final march of 2018 taking place in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on the 6 October where an estimated 100,000 marched in protest against the outcome of the 2014 vote. The largest march in Scotland was held on 4 May 2019 in Glasgow, attracting up to 90,000 protesters according to some estimates. Police Scotland estimated the attendance at the rally following the march to be 35,000 protestors. On 6 May, AOUB activist Manny Singh was arrested and charged with failing to follow the timing restrictions for the event. All Under One Banner protested in Glasgow against the

coronation of Charles III The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...

Controversies

Allegations of misappropriated funds

In July 2019, AUOB co-founder, Neil Mackay stepped down after claims of misappropriated bucket cash donations were made by a fellow co-founder Manny Singh (who was also suspended at the time as Operations Director). Mackay resigned later in the month.

Accusations of racism

In July 2019, co-founder, Manny Singh was sacked as Operations Director by the National Executive of All Under One Banner, due to an alleged breach of Section 65 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 for not sticking to the original route for a protest march and timing of the march despite Glasgow City Council's licensing committee ordering changes. Manny described the ruling by the National Executive as a Kangaroo Court. In August 2020, he described the movement was being damaged by anti-English racists who 'joked about colour of his skin'. A spokesperson for AUOB said “All Under One Banner acts in support of Scotland becoming an independent country and does so without any prejudice, be that in respect of race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, nationality or ethnicity. The allegations are untrue.”

Planned marches during the COVID-19 pandemic

In October 2020, AUOB were criticised for planning to hold a march in Dundee during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic by

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland () is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the Executive (government), executive branch of the devolved government and is th ...

Nicola Sturgeon and Dundee City Council leader John Alexander. The rally was eventually called off.

Death of Alistair Darling

In November 2023, in reaction to the death of

Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (28 November 1953 – 30 November 2023) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party ...

, who led the Better Together campaign opposed to Scottish independence, the official AUOB Twitter account tweeted; "The darling lapdog of London rule who fronted the 2014 campaign to keep the people of Scotland in poverty. Good riddance to this treacherous man." The tweet was deleted following intense criticism. A

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party (UK), Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and Unionism in the United Kingdom, unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Sco ...

spokesman said: "This is a disgusting tweet from an organisation which has regularly hosted senior SNP figures at its marches. Not only should All Under One Banner delete and apologise for this vile message but the SNP should sever ties with these ghouls permanently."

AUOB Cymru

AUOB Cymru is a

Welsh independence Welsh independence () is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the killing of Llywelyn the ...

organisation, inspired by AUOB in Scotland. Their first march was held in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

on 11 May 2019, attracting thousands of participants.

References

External links

* {{Celtic nationalism Political organisations based in Scotland Scottish independence Scottish nationalist organisations Protest marches in the United Kingdom Scottish republicanism