On 6 September 2025, a march in support of Scottish independence was held in Edinburgh, ending with a rally outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.
The march began at Johnstone Terrace and followed the Royal Mile down to Holyrood with around 3,000 people in attendance.
The marchers were primarily people led by All Under One Banner (AUOB), an organisation that holds marches annually to call for Scottish independence.
One organiser of the event told the BBC:
“The message is one of positivity and hope because we know that Scotland would be better as an independent nation.”
The march was additionally in opposition to an anti-immigration rally, organised by Force for Good, taking place simultaneously.
AUOB said they were demonstrating against the use of the Scottish Saltire by anti-refugee groups that do not represent the views of Scotland.
The march occurred days after First Minister John Swinney insisted the UK government agree to a referendum if the SNP won a majority in the Scottish Parliamentary Election next year.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer dismissed the call as “distraction politics”, and predicted that the SNP will not win a majority.
The first independence referendum was held on 18 September 2014 with a divided result of 45 per cent in favour and 55 per cent against.
AUOB and other pro-independence campaigns believe Scots should be given another opportunity to decide in an independence referendum.
This view has been fuelled by the result of the Brexit referendum in 2016, in which Scotland voted to remain in the European Union but was forced to leave with the rest of the UK.
Some students at the University of Edinburgh have called for independence by citing the recent rise in far-right, anti-immigration rhetoric in England as a sign of ideological difference.
Other students feel that Scotland is essentially ignored by Westminster, with one student stating:
“Independence for me is a leap that must be taken to protect Scotland against losing its most fundamental beliefs – Westminster will never prioritise Scotland.”
However, another student explained the union as beneficial for resources, trade links, the country’s international standing, and purely for the concern that Scotland could not survive on its own.
“Scottish and British flags” by The Laird of Oldham is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.