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Sturgeon ‘as confident as ever’ that Scotland will become independent

17 Sep 2024 3 minute read
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Picture by Jane Barlow / PA Wire.

Former Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she is “as confident as ever” that Scotland will become independent.

Speaking ahead of the 10th anniversary of the independence referendum in 2014, Ms Sturgeon described the period around the vote as “both the best of times and the worst of times”.

Scots voted by 55% to 45% to remain in the union, following an extensive two-year campaign which saw the then deputy first minister travel across the country campaigning, propelling her to the forefront of Scottish politics.

In the wake of the vote, Ms Sturgeon’s predecessor and mentor Alex Salmond resigned, leaving her to take over the reins of the SNP – which would become the most potent political force in the UK for the next eight years.

‘Glacial’

Writing in the Daily Record on Tuesday, Ms Sturgeon said: “In all manner of things, progress can sometimes feel glacial until suddenly it is not.

“I believe the same will be true of Scotland’s journey to independence.

“I am as confident as ever that we will get there, and sooner than might seem likely right now.

“And when we do, a new phase of building a better Scotland will begin in earnest.”

Despite the waning fortunes of the SNP – which fell to just nine seats at Westminster in July’s election while support for independence continues to hover around 50% – the former first minister said those who write off the independence cause are wrong.

“There is no shortage of unionist politicians now claiming that independence is dead in the water.

“The smart ones know that to be nonsense.

The merest glance at opinion polls, showing that upwards of 60% of young Scots support independence, tells us which way the tide is flowing.

“Indeed, Westminster’s determination to deny Scotland even the choice of independence exposes confidence in the pro-union case that is skin-deep at best.”

The campaign politically energised vast swathes of the country, leading to an 85% turnout on polling day.

Vitriol

But some have spoken of the levels of vitriol to which the debate rose.

Ms Sturgeon acknowledged the campaign was not “all sweetness and light”.

“While for Yes voters, the referendum was an opportunity to win something that felt precious – the independence of our nation – for No voters, it represented a threat to the union they cherished,” she wrote.

“The stakes were high and tensions sometimes rose to meet them.”

She added: “What I remember most about that time is how informed people were.

“Highly complex issues such as currency unions and lender of last resort were explored in depth.

“People on both sides knew that the decision mattered. We all took it seriously.

“Even people who had never voted in their lives before, turned out to have their say. For the first time, 16 and 17-year-olds got to vote too, helping to engage a new generation in the substance of politics.”


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David
David
17 days ago

What did Nicola Sturgeon do from 2014 to further Independence?

Chris
Chris
17 days ago
Reply to  David

She did her best impression of a broken record where she blamed Westminster for every possible ill that befell Scotland, real or inagined, devolved or not.

From speaking to Scots I know, I think she did more to damage the Scottish independence movement than she did to further it.

Last edited 17 days ago by Chris
hdavies15
hdavies15
17 days ago
Reply to  Chris

I doubt whether it was the “blaming of everything on Westminster” that did most damage. That honour should go any one of a number of issues she and most of the SNP embraced as priorities thus pushing the core idea of “Indy” into the background. That some of those issues would need to be resolved in due course is fair enough but they served to take the wheels off by creating divisions within the movement and feeding some aversion into the minds of the undecided. All added up to as much damage as taking a shotgun to one’s own feet.

Ernie The Smallholder
Ernie The Smallholder
17 days ago
Reply to  hdavies15

Yes, the Scottish electorate voted SNP because they wanted independence from the UK centralised state.
Nothing should have got in the way of your nation’s future.

What the SNP does from now on is in their hands.

Labour has fired the first shot.
Labour have just shot their own foot with withdrawal of OAP Winter Fuel Allowance.

That is the immediate issue for the SNP.

Jack
Jack
17 days ago

Who cares what she says?

Overall the SNP is a waning to Welsh Nationalists to be very aware of the many failures of the SNP government – being a nationlist government does not mean anything will automatically be perfect.

Ernie The Smallholder
Ernie The Smallholder
17 days ago
Reply to  Jack

Having control of your life and country is perfect.

If you set your own priorities as a nation then that is great.
For success or failure – I did it my way.

Neil Anderson
Neil Anderson
17 days ago
Reply to  Jack

One might consider that there was an advantage in having our own government in Cymru which we had chosen and which would be accountable to us, rather than one in Westminster which is seemingly unaccountable for anything, and never one we have chosen.

Or do you prefer the latter, Jack?

Drew Anderson
Drew Anderson
17 days ago
Reply to  Jack

“…the many failures of the SNP government…”

Such as; be specific?

If your sources are the mainstream media, here’s how it goes: every error, no matter how trivial, gets blown out of proportion; good news gets buried; positive news is spun for a negative angle.

For example:

Headline: “SNP fail to close attainment gap”.

What happened was that grades improved and attainment levels improved across the board.

If Plaid ever get control of the Senedd, the same will happen in Cymru.

robin campbell
robin campbell
17 days ago
Reply to  Jack

Don’t believe all the anti-Scottish stuff in the media, Jack – here’s a list of 100 achievements 1. Free Tuition. We believe in education based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay. While students in England face tuition fees up to £27,750, Scottish students receive university tuition for free, and always will under the SNP. 2. Record high health funding. We’ve invested over £19 billion in our health and care portfolio, with resource funding up by over 60% under the SNP. 3. Care For All. We extended free personal and nursing care to everyone who needs it, regardless of age. 4. The Baby Box. We’re… Read more »

Chris
Chris
17 days ago
Reply to  robin campbell

Nice to see Chat GPT doing your homework for you.

Garycymru
Garycymru
17 days ago
Reply to  Jack

Unfortunately, most of the incidents involving the SNP have been completely fabricated by the media.
The corrupt and dangerous UK establishment will steer the media narrative completely, when it comes to the subject of independence, for Scotland or Wales.

Johnny Gamble
Johnny Gamble
17 days ago
Reply to  Jack

I have to agree with you that being a Nationalist government does not mean anything will automatically be perfect.
Since the inception of the Senedd we have had English Nationalist governments.

Annibendod
Annibendod
17 days ago

IMHO the SNP have mishandled the cause for Scottish indy. They’ve clearly paid the electoral price. Despite this, support for Scottish indy has crept up over the last decade. Those who think this issue has gone away have fallen into the trap of wishful thinking.

Rhufawn Jones
Rhufawn Jones
17 days ago

Gobeithio y caffwyf fyw i weld y dydd.

John Ellis
John Ellis
16 days ago

A counter-intuitive oddity of the current political situation in Scotland appears to be that even though support for the SNP has for now – understandably! – pretty much fallen off a cliff, opinion polling up there suggests that voter support for independence as a principle has been scarcely affected.

David
David
15 days ago

The SNP voted against having another referendum o independence.
https://wingsoverscotland.com/an-unduly-restrictive-view-of-salvation/
Read the article and comments.

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