One year on

Sir, A year has now passed since Scotland’s historic independence referendum.

As always with the passage of time, events often seem within very recent memory. With the referendum, so much has changed that it feels as if a decade may somehow have passed us by.

The resignation of Scotland’s longest serving First Minister and the election of Scotland’s first female First Minister; the boom in SNP membership, the UK general election and near annihilation of the once all-pervasive Labour Party in Scotland; a Tory UK majority, the resignation of party leaders and the subsequent (and surprising) campaigns to find new ones. It has been a busy and tumultuous time in both Scottish and UK politics.

Like so many others, I had hoped for a different referendum outcome and was naturally upset in the wee small hours of Friday, September 19, 2014. Yet, I can look back on the referendum as without doubt the most exciting moment of my political life.

Scotland engaged in a huge and unprecedented national conversation.

The topic of discussion in pubs and cafes often changed from TV and the weather to the intricacies of the Barnett Formula, currency unions and continuing membership of the European Union.

Scotland’s young people participated enthusiastically and contributed to the wider dialogue knowing that (for a change) they would have their say on polling day.

The referendum made people question what was valuable to them and ask what kind of society they wanted to live in. The options laid in front of us proved that the future could be shaped by our decisions and is never set in stone.

We realised that our voice was loud; as presidents, prime ministers and, yes, even David Bowie, took notice of what we had to say. Few countries in the world have ever been so politically aware as Scotland has been in recent months and the country is undoubtedly all the better for it.

Whilst there was heated debate and disagreement throughout and after the campaign, I believe we did ourselves proud and acted with intelligence, dignity and respect.

Of course there were some rogue elements who did not meet these standards. However, these were the exception.

Prior to the referendum, the vast majority of people in Scotland believed that we could and should take more responsibility for our future.

Even many of those who ultimately decided that Scotland should not be independent would argue that the people of Scotland are best placed to make decisions about Scotland and this should be reflected in the powers and responsibilities of the Scottish parliament.

These sentiments were echoed by both David Cameron and Gordon Brown in the now infamous ‘Vow’. Scotland was further urged to ‘lead not leave’ the UK and following the resulting ‘No’ vote, many Scots chose to accept that invitation – delivering an astounding message to Westminster in the form of 56 SNP MPs.

With polls showing that only 9 per cent of people in Scotland believe the vow has been delivered and a multitude of organisations publicly stating that the powers due to be delivered fall well short of what is needed.

Whilst the Tory-Labour ‘Better Together’ campaign won the day last year, it is not clear that they conclusively won the arguments and with an engaged and educated electorate demanding genuine power and change, it is evident that the debate over Scotland’s future will be ongoing. I for one look forward to carrying on that discussion.

Yours, Kenneth Gibson MSP Cunninghame North