I’d like to start by saying that Anne & I have been completely bowled over by the dozens of messages of support we have received since the early hours of Friday morning. I will spend today going through and replying to them all. Reading those words have certainly helped mitigate our complete devastation at the result. From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank you all. I’ve spoke at nearly 50 meetings, traveled over 3000 miles, got a few blisters and an irritating cut where your thumb catches a letter box. But most of all we have both met the most incredible people on this journey, all of whom we are certain will remain the nearest and dearest lifelong friends. It is something profound that now binds us. You know who you are. I could have made none of my contribution to the debate without my wonderful wife Anne. Her job has been the hardest. Two under 5s at bedtime on your own is a damn site harder that speaking for an hour about how fantastic Scotland’s economy is. I had great material. We’re both very hopeful Erin (4) will remember ‘Yes’, albeit she told us that she was glad it was a ‘No’ for Scotland because she wanted to vote ‘Yes’ for Spain….that brought I teary laugh from us both I can tell you. To our ‘No’ friends, opponents and colleagues; well done and congratulations. You have won the battle and Scotland said ‘No’ to becoming an Independent country in 2016. We must now unite, as I always knew we would. Together, we are a unique people more than capable of having strong and differing views, at the same time as genuinely loving each other. We are all Scots after all, and we all voted in the direction we thought was best for our country, a country which belongs to us all – Yes & No. Knowing us Scots as I do makes me feel talk of division is slightly exaggerated, to unite does not mean we become homogeneous political creatures and never talk of this issue again; that would betray democracy and not be very Scottish – our differences should continue to be expressed, and I know we will do that respectively and democratically, together. To the Yes generation, all 1.6 million of you, you were absolutely incredible. Never before have so many, with no interest in anything political became so engaged with politics. We are the most politically aware generation in the UK ever, bar none. That must never fizzle out and die; we must never go back into our box of apathy. We must always vote from now on, the spirit of Yes must always continue. Remember, save for the over 65s, Yes was at 54%. As the future comes to pass, the Yes generation will carry the demographics and ultimately the day. The dream will never die. Never forget that it was this Referendum that got you so engaged. We’ve all had that ‘penny drop’ moment when we realised that ‘of course’ Scotland would do better if she controlled her own affairs, none of us traditional Nationalists. We all started to understand how powerful our economy was, how educated and brilliant our people were, and the massive potential if we set our own agenda. It was a surge in our confidence as a nation that led us all to this conclusion. No longer will 1.6m of us believe that we are too poor, too wee or too stupid. The myth of our dependency has been banished forever. ‘Yes’ has defined our politics forever. And it is this realisation that must never die within any of us who voted Yes. It will always be the case that no-one will run Scotland better than Scotland. When Independence is not possible, as is the case for now, we must always push the case for more and more powers to be given to the Scottish Parliament. So, looking to the future, how do we ensure that we never go back into our box? How do we harness this energy? I’ve heard mutterings of new political parties, new movements, new leaders, a new political world. There seems to be an incoherent desperation to channel the spirit of Yes somewhere. But to know where to go, I think we have to revisit & understand the politics of why we actually had this Referendum in the first place, the thing that has got us so energised about politics. In 2011, the SNP were elected with a majority Government in a Scottish Parliament specifically designed to stop one party getting full control. It was this majority which allowed them to pass legislation for the Referendum. With Scotland democratically demanding a Referendum, Westminster had no choice but to agree. It was no mean feat. If it were not for the 2011 vote we would not have had the Referendum, and with it the excitement of our ‘realisation’. The thing is, the 2011 majority victory was achieved with around 800, 000 votes for the SNP on a turnout of 50%............Compare that to the 1.6 million of us have just voted ‘Yes’. Also, consider that the 2 million Scots who voted ‘No’ will naturally split between the 3 other parties at election time. These numbers tell me clearly, that in order to stay out of the box and keep the ‘realisation’ on the agenda forever, we need to make sure we vote at every opportunity and make sure that vote goes to the SNP. We cannot fracture, we must unite behind the power of our collective vote and all vote in one direction. If we continue to elect SNP majority Governments we continually give our Government the mandate to demand more powers from Westminster. For now, as we accept the democratic result, all we can do is hold Westminster to account on the substantial last minute promises for new powers. I absolutely believe, that ‘but for’ those promises, it would have been a ‘Yes’ vote. A 190, 000 vote swing from ‘No’ would have given victory to ‘Yes’. Those voters were completely swayed with the last ditch promises, and to protect democracy we must hold Westminster to account. I am about to join the SNP and do everything I can to secure a candidacy selection for future elections…..…thanks for the many messages offering support to do this. I hope you all come with me. The SNP have had over 5000 new members since the referendum, from a base of 25, 000. I don’t think any of them will be Nationalists in the traditional sense, but ‘Yesers’ like you and us. As I write this I see that their server has crashed with the increased traffic. In a historical context we are only at Base Camp 45…..let’s galvanise behind the SNP as ‘Yesers’ to ensure we have a chance to take the final steps in the next political generation, or sooner. The dream will never die. Let’s commence the next stage quietly, respectfully, yet no less determined.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 13:50:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015