The Democracy for Scotland campaign began after the Scottish referendum held in 1979 failed to achieve the number of votes required to give Scotland devolved powers. The campaign began in 1992 and went on until a further referendum was held in Scotland in 1997. The campaign was based around a vigil which was erected in Edinburgh’s Calton Hill across the road from the Scottish office. The vigil was manned by strong supporters of Scottish independence. The Democracy for Scotland campaign was a non- party political movement that was run by volunteers. When the vigil first started the volunteers were forced to sleep outdoors no matter what the weather was; however, Rock promoters ‘Regular Music’ helped to fund a Portakabin allowing the volunteers to have a permanent residence. The campaign employed many tactics to gain support including the uses of marches and rallies. A key example of this is the march for Scottish democracy held in Edinburgh on 12th December 1992 which was attended by approximately 30,000 people. The campaign then went on to organise further events such as the ‘destiny marches’ which occurred across the country. The campaign also collaborated with various other groups such as the Recall committee, which called for the recall of the Scottish parliament. The campaign ended with a yes vote in the 1997 referendum which led to the opening of the Scottish Assembly.

The material consists of a variety of material relating to the Democracy for Scotland Campaign. The papers cover the various tactics and strategies employed by the campaign as well as highlighting the many groups they were also involved in. A large portion of the material covers the various committees that the group was involved in and the achievements they made. An interesting part of this collection is the diaries found in files 6 and 7. Some of the diaries contain handwritten notes by volunteers and workers who manned the vigil on Calton Hill.