This is a piece I never ever wanted to write, and one I
thought I would never need to write. I was confident, in my heart of hearts,
that if the Scottish people were ever fortunate enough to be asked the question
of self-determination that we would always say Yes; I was wrong.
Since the exhausting but memorable day of Thursday 18th
September 2014 (in-between one or maybe even two light alcoholic beverages) my
mind’s been pondering on so many questions: Where did it go wrong? Where do we
go from here? How bad is this for Scotland? Will we ever get a chance of this
again? Do I have it in me to fight for another chance, never mind fight a
referendum campaign again? I’ve went back and forth, coming to what I thought
was a conclusion before returning to square one again, but I’m going to try
piece together my thoughts in a coherent way here…
1-
Where did it go wrong? – After analysing really
the entirety of the last 2 years of my life in this campaign, I’ve came to the
conclusion that really, we couldn’t have done much more than we did. We came up
against the might of the British Establishment; we took on the media, the civil
service, the UK government, big business, and the security services. Armed only
with the biggest and most vibrant group of everyday people we could muster, a
few clipboards and the like and a message of hope and transformation, we took
the UK and its ruling elite to the brink of extinction. We lost because of two
reasons; i- The elite and the privileged came out to protect their privileges.
The second was the pensioners of Scotland were frightened to death, by a
dishonest and ruthlessly fearful No campaign. I was manning several polling
stations on the day in the East End of Glasgow and no campaigners were urging
elderly voters to “go in and protect your pension”. I wouldn’t do anything
different over the past 2 years. I wouldn’t suggest anything that the groups I
was involved in working with could have done differently. We were unlucky,
defeated on the night but withholding a lasting legacy.
2-
Where do we go from here? – It’s this which has
really dragged me from conclusion to conclusion over the past 2 days. It’s
clear that a strategy is needed to move forward, but we’re all at the moment at
odds and ends as to what that strategy must be. I’ll split this into three sections.
Firstly, the 2015 elections to Westminster, then the 2016 elections in Holyrood
and council elections of 2017, followed lastly by the future of the left.
When I say we, I mean the Yes movement.
That’s what it is now, a movement. We began as a campaign and ended as a
movement. We need to keep that movement together. The potential for a coalition
of SNP, SSP, Greens, RIC and Woman for Indy to take several seats at
Westminster as a “Scotland alliance” is clear. We polled 1.6 million across
Scotland on Thursday night, the partners in crime of the No campaign will go their
separate ways in May next year. They will be scrapping over the same votes. We
can utilise and harvest every vote, in constituency areas that we won in the
referendum we have the potential to oust some key Labour figures. We can offer
the people that their vote will matter in 2015. They don’t just have the choice
of two right wing parties, they can vote for an alliance which will have the
potential to: table motions on Trident renewal, an end to the Bedroom Tax, an
end to the Welfare cap, increased social housing development. Real changes
which will affect lives not just in Scotland, but in the UK as a whole. I want
to make this clear- that is what I see as the only and best way forward for us
as movement in the elections of next year. I have no problems about damaging the
Labour parties’ chance of a majority Government. They chose this route, they
chose to defend Westminster and its horrific voting system. The days of sitting
at the back of the bus, shutting up and voting Labour are over.
Now, onto the 2016 Scottish elections and
2017 council elections… What we have in both of these elections, is a far
better voting system in both the AMS, and STV. The obvious answer to local
elections is that the parties ask their voters to only give preferences to the
pro Independence parties. In cities like Glasgow in particular, if that’s
replicated across the board, coupled with many Labour voters who could never
ever give a preference to any of the partners of their coalition, we could
potentially gain overall control of Glasgow City Council. At the very least we could build a far bigger
local government base for all 3 pro Independence parties right across Scotland.
In terms of 2016, the key is to get as many pro Independence MSPS in the
chamber as is possible. There is the potential there for parties to work
constructively with each other across areas where the anti- Independence
parties are on a shoogly nail, and where support for Independence peaked in the
referendum. Pragmatism and cooperation is key going forward
The left can be very proud of our efforts in
this campaign. We dragged the mainstream debate, at times kicking and screaming
it must be said, to the left. We brought ideas of renationalisation, wealth
redistribution, opposition to nuclear weapons, greater local democracy, a green
revolution to the forefront. The big question now is what next for us as
Socialist movement. As a member of the Scottish Socialist Party, I’ve been both
overjoyed and extremely proud of our recent explosion of membership. We have now
recruited 2000 new members across Scotland since end of polls Thursday night.
However, I was also a campaigner and organiser within the Radical Independence
Campaign, I met and campaigned alongside comrades who are and wish to remain out
with the party political system. I want to keep campaigning alongside those
activists now and into the future. The best way in which I see forward for the
socialist movement as a whole is a Socialist alliance. One which allows us to
keep our separate identities as the ISG, SSP, non-aligned or whatever you wish
to be, but one which allows us to conduct selection processes and elections in
a way which allows for the growth of the movement as a whole, not personalities
or egos. An alliance which can, and if
we work hard enough will, tap into the Socialist voice of Scotland to the full.
3-
Will we ever get this chance again? – It was my
belief right through this campaign, and it remains my belief now, that we will
never get the opportunity of Independence again. At the moment, I have no
desire to participate in another referendum campaign. I accept the wishes of
the Scottish people, they voted to remain part of the UK on Thursday. I feel we
all need to accept that and move on and work with what we have. I believe now
however, as I have all my life, and will continue to believe all my life, that
Scotland should be an Independent country. Should the circumstances of the UK
we chose to remain a part of change, such as the removal of the UK from Europe
against the wishes of the Scottish people, I may be convinced that then is the
right time to revisit the question of Independence, The only way I will accept
our Independence however is through the sovereign will of the Scottish people
via referendum.
The last two years have been the best few years of my life.
I witnessed my community and my friends become engaged in politics, and have no
wish to watch that fade away again. My desire to help those forced to go to a foodbank, sanctioned, or had disability rights taken away from them are as strong now as they were 2 years ago. I am as committed to a socialist Scotland
now as I was two years ago. I am as resolute in my belief in the advantages and
benefits of an Independent Scotland to the majority of the population now as I
was two years ago. Those are my thoughts on the direct future ahead. The goal remains the same, but we've got to outmaneuver the defence in a different way. Be proud
of your efforts, be proud of all you worked for. It was not in vain, we have
changed Scotland beyond belief. One day, Scotland will reap the rewards.
