So the 2014 Referendum to say whether Scotland should be an independent country is over and the end result was a clear victory for those against: No - 2,001,926 votes (55.3%) Yes - 1,617,989 votes (44.7%) I dont want to go in to too much detail about the actual vote, especially as there are already a number of groups and pages set up about it, but there is one aspect that need to be highlighted: 84.6% of those regiestered to vote actually voted, which in itself shows how important people actually considered this decision to be! To put this in to perspective, the turn out for the last Scottish election in 2011 was only 50.4% So, I personally think we take something positive from that, especially as the eyes, of the world were on us with every move being reported through social media. For the main part we did a great job, but, lets be honest, no major vote goes perfectly and we would be fooling ourselves to think we could pull off the impossible; there are just too many variables involved! So, as I said above, we came out in great numbers, we voted and... most of us didnt think Scotland should be an independent country. However, its not the actual result that concerns me or even some of the supposed irregularities of the whole voting system. It was the aftermath, especially the scenes on George Square in Glasgow where pro-Union supporters appeared to show their true colours (and I dont mean the red, white and blue of their flags!) If this was them celebrating their victory and showing the world what the union means to them then in all honesty they are welcome to it! But Scotland does not need that; not now; not ever; not if we have any chance of moving forward, which is what we as a nation need to do. The question is, how are we going to do that? Initially it will be through those in charge at Holyrood negotiating with their counterparts at Westminster over the promised extra powers for the Scottish Government. Meanwhile, however, the independence movement will continue led as always by the SNP (soon, however, to be without Alex Salmond in charge!) and anyone who supports the cause needs to regroup. However, one thing we need to avoid is the knee-jerk reaction that seems to be going on in some quarters just now. Since yesterdays result was announced I have personally been invited to join a number of facebook groups, pages and take part in events, most (but not all) of which seem to be focussing on yesterday and what has happened over the past few weeks. This, in my opinion, is the wrong approach. What we need to do is take time to consider what ultimately happened yesterday: that only 45% of those who voted actually voted in favour of independence. We need to find our the reasons that the other 55% didnt and we need to work on ways of making sure next time (because there WILL be a next time) things are different. That next time will not be for a while, probably not until after the May 2016 election and even the timing might be determined by how much of a hit the SNP take in that election; after all, it is unlikely that we will again see the domination they showed in the previous one! However, if all those who voted for independence consider voting for the SNP (or even another pro-independence party/candidate) then the chances of having another referendum organised sooner rather than later will be higher. In the meantime tho, we really need to find out why we ultimately failed to achieve that majority. We need to know why people honestly thought Scotland shouldnt be independent. We need to change their minds. But we need to do that in a positive way. Scots fighting their fellow Scots, as we usually seem to do, is not the way forward. Instead we need to talk to each other and try to find the answers they need. We need to learn from our own mistakes during the last campaign. By doing this maybe next time we can be ready for all the sticks and stones (metaphorically speaking) that will be thrown in our direction. One day I plan to be part of an independent Scotland. That day will not happen soon... and it wont happen at all if we dont learn from the past as all we will end up doing is making the same mistakes over and over again. Scotland is worth more than that!
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 20:07:29 +0000