Staging posts on the road to independence
WHEN this column first appeared five years ago, some people reacted as though Mars Attacks, World War Z and Armaggedon had all come at once.
The Unionist political establishment behaved like every disaster movie had morphed into one and stormed the Daily Record citadel in 6in heels.
The reason for alarm was fear of Independence Day – not the Will Smith film but a real possibility for Scotland.
The SNP tsunami in the Scottish Parliament election in 2011 meant a referendum on our country’s future was undeniable.
As someone swept into Parliament by that great political wave, after a career in journalism, it was natural for me to advance the arguments in writing.
Being invited to join The Record in 2012 with a remit to make the argument for Scotland as a successful independent country was an opportunity like no other. The right paper at the best time.
My previous work as a writer, columnist and editor was with the Herald, The Scotsman and The Sunday Times. I had worked mainly in what was rather patronisingly called “the quality press”, as opposed to the popular press that more people read.
The Daily Record’s readership was far greater than that of any paper I had worked for previously. It had traditionally taken a strong stance against independence and the SNP.
By giving a platform to those
CONGRATULATIONS to Lincluden Abbey in Dumfries, which has been named as one of Scotland’s hidden gems in a nationwide competition for Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology.
The abbey dates back to the early middle ages and is a fantastic asset to the residents of north-west Dumfries, a largely low income area with a fantastic community spirit.
The area is now home to Creative Futures, a locally led project which – among other things – uses the hidden history to boost regeneration.
The abbey is a big part of that and now will get the funds and attention it deserves.
arguments in hiring me, it opened itself – and crucially its readers – to the most stimulating debate Scots ever had on their future.
It was a debate some did not want. Unionist politicians, unaccustomed to challenge, felt under threat.
As the vote came nearer, a senior member of the No campaign phoned the editor of the Record in 2014 demanding he fire me. To his credit, he refused.
Asking an editor to fire a writer you don’t like is akin to admitting defeat. Panic was gripping the Establishment.
It was also proof I was doing something right and this column was effective in mocking and exposing the No campaign’s lies.
Pro-independence support rose from around one in four Scots in 2012 to almost half in September 2014. There have been waverings either way since then. But the shift has been permanent. Tectonic plates have moved.
This column laid out the arguments for Yes in a clear and entertaining way. It made those who would sack me foam at the mouth. They desperately tried to undermine my work. Every joke was magnified into a national calamity. Every irreverent, ironic aside was treated like a manifesto commitment.
But my approach was the correct one. The Daily Record is a paper written for hard-working, busy people. It’s passed around in tea breaks, picked up after busy shifts.
A political column cannot be dry and jargon laden. It must be vivid in its language. It must be concise. It must return to similar subject matter repeatedly and find ways to make it fresh and new – something journalists constantly strive to do while politicians, keen to ram home a message, prefer to ignore.
The arguments for independence remain constant. Norway, an independent country of similar size to Scotland, does not suffer our poverty and inequality.
Comparable nations – New Zealand, The Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland – all prosper as independent countries. Scotland has advantages they envy – whisky, energy, tourism and more globally renowned universities per head of population.
Too many still believe we are too wee and too poor to make our own decisions. The most absurd argument of Unionism is that politicians in Westminster are better qualified to make those decisions than us.
It is inconceivable today that a writer such as myself appearing in The Record would be greeted as an apocalyptic development, as it was in 2012.
Independence as an aspiration is normal. Polls show it leads among people under 55 – and has convinced the young completely.
There are more independent women – and men – now. We lost the referendum but progress continues.
Scotland is on a journey and I am proud this column has played its part in moving us along the road.