Scottish Independence Referendum: Ten years on

Where were you on the 18th of September in 2014?

For most Scots over 16 years of age, there is a strong chance you were in a polling station at some point throughout the day, ticking either yes or no on the question of independence.

Alex Salmond was Scotland's First Minister a decade ago, recalling: "I was meant to be on a helicopter tour of Scotland, but the helicopter couldn't take off because of the weather.

"So we said: 'Oh well, we'll just go to Linlithgow and then on to Stirling.'

"We got there and thousands of people had turned up, out of nowhere. It was the most extraordinary event.

"I got to Stirling, I had thousands of folk greeting me. Dennis Canavan, leader of the Yes campaign and former Labour MP, led another contingent of thousands up the High Street. It was like two armies meeting.

"It was wonderful. We have to return to that mood of hope and expectation that Scotland is moving and going places."

Sturgeon: 'Raw and regretful'

In the wake of the 55% no vote, Salmond resigned, leaving Nicola Sturgeon to take over the reins of the SNP - which would become the most potent political force in Scotland for the next eight years.

But the SNP's membership has fallen by nearly 10,000 according to recent accounts as the party navigates the Operation Branchfrom scandal, leading to Sturgeon's resignation.

From the backbenches, she still feels "raw" about losing the independence referendum, and "regrets" not being able to deliver another one.

She told KISSTORY: "I loved that campaign. I visited every part of the country of the country, spoke to thousands of people in public meetings.

"I remember doing a public meeting on the Shetland ferry one night.

"But it was the worst of times because of the outcome. It was not what I fervently wanted it to be.

"The disappointment of that still feels quite raw, even 10 years on.

"I regret not being able to deliver another referendum, I would dearly have loved to have done that, not for some sort of personal achievement, but because it was right for Scotland to have a choice.

"We have been dragged out of the European Union against our will, the UK that the majority voted to stay part of has fundamentally changed.

"There will be others who say if they'd been in my position they'd have found some magical way of breaching that wall of democracy denial - but I'm not sure that is the case."

She added that independence campaigners need to keep making their arguments with "patience".

"Exercise that patience, build the case, win the arguement.

"You can't be certain about anything in life, but I'm certain as I can be that Scotland will become an independent country well within my lifetime.

"But the argument has to be made and won in a robust, solid and compelling way.

"That's the big challenge - and opportunity - the next SNP leaders have before them and I believe they will grasp it, and I believe they will win.

Davidson: 'We can't be complacent'

Former leader of the Scottish Conservative party, Ruth Davidson, argues Sturgeon was wrong to demand another referenfum in the immediate aftermath of Brexit.

She said: "Nicola Sturgeon came out as final votes were being counted and said 'this is a material change in circumstances, we now need to go to another indyref' - but people were still trying to process the Brexit result.

"If she had said maybe six months later, rather than six minutes later, had said Scotland has a different choice, I think she might've found a different result.

"Her speed in running to another independence referendum allows people like me who had been staunch remainers to say 'look, my vote to remain was not a vote for independence, and don't you dare treat it as that.'

"If that had been played differently, I think it could've been a very, very tough few months for those of us who continue to want the UK to pool and share resources.

But Davidson told KISSTORY unionists also cannot take things for granted.

"If politics in the last ten years has taught us anything, then it is that there are absolutely no absolutes.

"If you think you know something, something like a pandemic will come along and turn everything on its head.

"We can't be complacent about the fact that we won the argument back in 2014 - it's an argument that we have to make and remake."

Sarwar: 'Scotland's best days lie ahead of us'

For Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, it is time to "look to the future, not the past".

He said: "I think lots of people want to use the anniversary of the referendum to talk about what happened then and what it meant for the result then.

"I actually think more about what's happened since then and what needs to happen in the future.

"The sad reality is that after the referendum, we had two governments that were more focused on picking fights rather than actually getting on and delivering for people.

"That's not to say that Scotland doesn't have huge opportunity.

"I believe it does. I genuinely believe that Scotland's best days do lie ahead of us.

"But that's going to require everybody, whether they were yes or no in 2014, to work together to deliver that better future."

When asked whether our new Labour Government would ever allow another referendum to take place, Sarwar added: "We've been really clear we don't support independence. We don't support a referendum.

"I think people would rightly expect a new government that's only been in place for around nine or 10 weeks to be given the time and the chance to demonstrate that it can make the UK work for every part of the country, including for people here in Scotland."

Salmond: 'I thought the movement was in good hands'

If a year is a long time in politics - ten years is a lifetime.

For Alex Salmond, that has meant becoming the leader of a whole new nationalist party, Alba, since 2021.

He said there has been no urgency from his successors at the SNP.

"We need people who don't just say they're in favour of independence but people who mean it," he said.

"Unless the parliamentarians have faith, then the people won't maintain faith in the parliamentarians. And Alba has a key role in this.

"Alba has to get something like 15% of the vote on the second vote, put in about 20 MSPs, be part of an independence majority, be that hard edge of people who actually believe in independence.

"People who've achieved something in Scottish society, not just politicians, people who've actually done something.

"The folk of Scotland, after the last 10 years of the Scottish parliament, want an indication that there are adults coming back into the room.

"We don't want people voting against independence because they're fed up with half-built ferries or bottle schemes or any of the nonsense that MSPs have been indulging in over the last few years.

"We want people to vote for independence because they understand that Scotland as a nation has a right of self-determination.

"If we mobilise the resources of this country and make sure that people benefit, then we can create something special in this land.

"I thought the independence movement was in good hands. I was wrong.

"If I had my time again, I would do things differently. But we are where we are.

"So let's go forward and maybe I'll get another opportunity to correct some mistakes."

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