Independence referendum 10 years on: Dream of a decade ago now seems distant prospect

 

The result of the vote, on September 18, 2014, was a huge disappointment for the SNP and pro-independence campaigners, but it was much closer than seemed likely at the start.

And far from retreating in dejection, the campaign for independence became re-energised, with the SNP winning an unprecedented 56 out of Scotland's 59 Westminster seats at the following year's general election.

The result of the 2014 referendum was closer than expected at the start. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images | Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

But a decade on, Scotland is no nearer being an independent country. Voters are divided roughly 50-50 on the issue and the refusal of Westminster parties to allow another referendum means there is no obvious route to get there.

Writing in The Herald on Sunday, SNP veteran Jim Sillars blamed Nicola Sturgeon for failing to build on the 45 per cent support in the referendum and argued she should have repeated what he described as the "national teach-in" seen in local groups and packed meetings during the referendum campaign.

Looking back to 2014, Scottish Green leader Patrick Harvie said the then First Minister Alex Salmond had run a "media campaign", not a grassroots campaign.  And he said the key task now was building support. "There is not some magic fix or clever wheeze that gets you to independence without building more support."

The need to win people over to independence by explaining how it would change their lives for the better is an argument which the late Margo MacDonald, independent Lothian MSP and wife of Jim Sillars, made repeatedly.  

Sadly Margo died before the 2014 referendum, but the emergence during the campaign of key concerns, like currency and pensions, which people felt were not adequately answered, would surely have reinforced her call for "a programme of information and education".

More recently, Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf published a series of papers addressing different aspects of independence, but there was no sustained campaign to persuade the public to their cause.

The SNP’s drubbing at the general election suggests the party is not in a strong position to argue the case for independence and the public not in the mood to hear it. The dream which captured many people’s imaginations a decade ago now seems a distant prospect.