Previously...
Last time, I finished off by saying how I support the call made by Caroline Lucas for a Constitutional Convention to discuss how the unwritten UK constitution would evolve into the future. Now I have mainly focused on my personal response and the political fallout in England. So now its time to head north to Scotland and see what happened since.
Nicola Sturgeon, Queen of Scots
Probably the biggest and most immediate impact from No vote in Scotland, was the resignation of Alex Salmond as both the First Minister and Leader of the SNP (Scottish National Party). This has sent shock waves through Scottish politics, as he pretty much was the face of the Yes campaign and for many Scotland as a whole. I also thought that the way he resigned was gracious and moderate in his acceptance of his defeat. The dream of an independent Scotland had been his political raison d'etre and had spurred him on throughout his political career. But now the metaphorical torch of independence would have to passed to another generation, something that Salmond hinted at in his resignation speech. But as usual time will be the best judge of that. It all depends on what kind of devolution deal that Westminster can come up with to placate the Scots.
Alex Salmond, Scottish First Minister delivering his resignation speech in Edinburgh.
Now with Salmond gone, all eyes have quickly turned to his second-in-command, Nicola Sturgeon (pictured below) to take the torch forward. As Deputy First Minister and Head of the Yes campaign, she has certainly been playing a dominant role in the referendum campaign. As a result she has gained much UK wide recognition as a female politician and is dubbed to be the next leader of the SNP. This presents an interesting proposition for Scottish politics, in that Scotland will be lead by a woman that has been elected on a democratic basis.
So will she be like Angela Merkel in Germany or Maggie Thatcher in being a symbolic representation of a powerful female leader. Only time will tell, but in her speech in which she states how she hopes that her candidacy will be a example to girls and women across Scotland to engage in politics. Again only time will tell!
So will she be like Angela Merkel in Germany or Maggie Thatcher in being a symbolic representation of a powerful female leader. Only time will tell, but in her speech in which she states how she hopes that her candidacy will be a example to girls and women across Scotland to engage in politics. Again only time will tell!
Nicola Sturgeon, The new Queen of Scots?
I predict a riot..
The results of the referendum have also been seen in other ways as well. On the morning after there was a series of reported scuffles between pro and anti independence supporters in George Square in Glasgow. Now for those who don't know, George Square is the epicentre for any political demonstrations in the city of Glasgow. Traditionally these were representations of "Red Glasgow", but on polling day and night, it became the base for the Yes supporters. I have even heard rumours that some of the Yes supporters were calling it "Independence Square", in light of a Yes vote. Well actually Glasgow did vote for independence, something which the Scottish Labour Party aren't to pleased with I bet. So it was probably natural that George Square became a hub of the Yes supporters.
However, the skirmishes between both sides has not done either side any favours! I too felt the disappointment of Scots choosing to stay with the status quo. I too wanted Westminster to get a good kick up the bum! In some ways, I feel it has and whether or not it will is again left to be seen...
The people are getting lairy in Glasgow's George Square
The Big Bang!
Another way that the referendum has begun to effect Scottish politics is the rapid increase in the memberships of the pro-independence parties. Most notably the SNP and the Scottish Greens. The SNP has seen an exponential rise in membership and has now seen them overtaking both UKIP and the Lib Dems. This makes them the 3rd largest political party by membership in the UK as a whole. Only being topped by the Conservatives and Labour. At the time of writing this blog,the SNP's membership stood at 72,448! A massive jump even from last week:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/22/snp-poised-become-largest-political-parties.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/22/snp-poised-become-largest-political-parties.
Now it should be noted that this figure is based on a Tweet from a SNP supporter. But still even so it provides some compensation for the SNP. Whilst providing some fear for the other established parties that the SNP will not necessarily vanish overnight.
Similarly the Scottish Greens have also seen an incredible amount of growth in their membership, with an additional 3000 members by last Monday. This puts their membership at over 6000, according to their Wikipedia page. This again is a very positive result and shows that the Greens have now properly entered the political arena in Scotland.
Similarly the Scottish Greens have also seen an incredible amount of growth in their membership, with an additional 3000 members by last Monday. This puts their membership at over 6000, according to their Wikipedia page. This again is a very positive result and shows that the Greens have now properly entered the political arena in Scotland.
Cllr Maggie Chapman and Patrick Harvie MSP, the Co-Conveners of the Scottish Greens.
Let the discussions begin...
So as the dust from the referendum continues to settle and people get on with their own lives again, the attention now turns to so what now? As Westminster makes its promises to Scotland, as previously mentioned in a cross party devolution commission. Once again we would have to wait for the outcome of the their deliberations on how Scotland is to be governed in future. One thing that I did like was that the Scottish Greens are to be included in these discussions. Which I think is a really positive move and will show that the Greens can be involved in serious decision making and are not just pie in the sky!
Stayed tuned..
Well again its getting to that time of day again, where I'm at risk of repetitive strain disorder and have to stop. However, looking forward into October I want to change my focus to each of the main British political parties and what they have to offer in the run up to the general election. After that who knows!
