A tight schedule
The Citizens’ Convention will operate through 2025 with initial reports and plans being published from August 2025 onwards. The full report will be published at the end of January 2026, leaving three months to campaign for a potential de facto referendum, with independence polling expected to start well in the lead.
The Citizens’ Convention final report, 'Creating a New Scotland', can be turned into a new prospectus for independence by the movement. Simultaneously, before Holyrood 2026, all the decisions required about an independent Scotland should have been taken (by Scotgov and the independence movement) and there should be a detailed project plan in place, covering nation-building steps that are clearly communicated to the people of Scotland. This would include a plan for negotiating independence and gaining international recognition of Scotland’s statehood (the opposite of the Brexit implementation experience where there was no plan).