In the four years since then, we now have the shambles of Brexit, despite NO being sold as our way to stay in the EU. And most Scots clearly wanted to stay: 62% in favour of remain.
And yet we are passed over. In this 'partnership of equals' we were exhorted to stick with, we are still not treated as equals.
Time and again our protestations, our proposals and simply our voices have been ignored. Even the Scots Tory MSPs who collectively committed to standing up for Scotland's interests have one by one, sneak by sneak, fallen in behind their Westminster colleagues. In much the same way, the Tory MPs from Scotland, voted in at the 2016 General Election, have similarly sneaked (one presumes with heads bowed in shame, but maybe not even that) to deny their commitment in the lobbies of Westminster.
For those of us on the ground, there's been a growing feeling of limbo since 2014, made worse by the exhausting local and central government elections in 2016. It feels as if independence has been hidden away in the sidelines while those opposed to it have endlessly bawled about it to make it go away completely.
But I know it's not gone anywhere. People are waiting. Oh, I know some have been critical of the SNP government for playing an electoralist game, doing the 'day job' as Ruthie calls it. I know many in the YES movement have been itching for a date, renewed momentum, more overt Scottish government encouragement and less of the legalistic legislation-crunching stuff.
I've three things to say about all that.
First: I think the 'competent governance' position is one the Scottish Government needed to adopt to make certain the role of an Independent Scottish Government is one that would be taken seriously. I also accept that seems to have meant the fire-in-the-belly fervour may have slackened somewhat.
But… and this is two…
Things like the Continuity Bill*, though, speak of a deeper strategy through which the Brexit defences are being built (along with a potential ramp for independence). Given that much of the last three years have seen, time and again, Scotland's proposals knocked back by Westminster, we have reached a place where the litany of rebuttals demonstrates how little regard this Tory government has for us.
Thirdly…
The YES movement. I agree the SNP could (and should) do more to nurture the grassroots movement whose groundswell drove the YES campaign on in 2014. I agree that some more ambitious (and possibly contentious) ways could be found to make this happen. But I think the movement should not rely on it; because, sometimes in reliance comes an implied control relationship; because the job of government is to govern and maybe we should just let that be.
The YES movement needs to be diverse, as before, to attract and accommodate disparate voices. Let's call that the interdependence that we need to secure independence. Maintaining some distance from the arm of government is actually a good thing. It demonstrates YES isn't about the SNP; that it's about the Scottish people. It can represent a grassroots way beyond party politics. And it's the basis on which a different kind of politics (remember that idea?) can be built.
The movement has to build itself, bring out the protest and the pressure, make itself heard. The Scottish Government is only the enabler, the channel for change. The YES Movement is the catalyst for change and the power behind it. It's down to us, now. No time for waiting, hesitating or cogitating. As they say: it's time to get weaving.
*For some background on the Continuity Bill - try -
It's the BBC but seems sound and detailed enough. Their journalism is often pretty good even if editorial skews the priorities…
Ottherwise, there's Mike Russell's speech introducing the bill -
And yet we are passed over. In this 'partnership of equals' we were exhorted to stick with, we are still not treated as equals.
Time and again our protestations, our proposals and simply our voices have been ignored. Even the Scots Tory MSPs who collectively committed to standing up for Scotland's interests have one by one, sneak by sneak, fallen in behind their Westminster colleagues. In much the same way, the Tory MPs from Scotland, voted in at the 2016 General Election, have similarly sneaked (one presumes with heads bowed in shame, but maybe not even that) to deny their commitment in the lobbies of Westminster.
For those of us on the ground, there's been a growing feeling of limbo since 2014, made worse by the exhausting local and central government elections in 2016. It feels as if independence has been hidden away in the sidelines while those opposed to it have endlessly bawled about it to make it go away completely.
But I know it's not gone anywhere. People are waiting. Oh, I know some have been critical of the SNP government for playing an electoralist game, doing the 'day job' as Ruthie calls it. I know many in the YES movement have been itching for a date, renewed momentum, more overt Scottish government encouragement and less of the legalistic legislation-crunching stuff.
I've three things to say about all that.
First: I think the 'competent governance' position is one the Scottish Government needed to adopt to make certain the role of an Independent Scottish Government is one that would be taken seriously. I also accept that seems to have meant the fire-in-the-belly fervour may have slackened somewhat.
But… and this is two…
Things like the Continuity Bill*, though, speak of a deeper strategy through which the Brexit defences are being built (along with a potential ramp for independence). Given that much of the last three years have seen, time and again, Scotland's proposals knocked back by Westminster, we have reached a place where the litany of rebuttals demonstrates how little regard this Tory government has for us.
Thirdly…
The YES movement. I agree the SNP could (and should) do more to nurture the grassroots movement whose groundswell drove the YES campaign on in 2014. I agree that some more ambitious (and possibly contentious) ways could be found to make this happen. But I think the movement should not rely on it; because, sometimes in reliance comes an implied control relationship; because the job of government is to govern and maybe we should just let that be.
The YES movement needs to be diverse, as before, to attract and accommodate disparate voices. Let's call that the interdependence that we need to secure independence. Maintaining some distance from the arm of government is actually a good thing. It demonstrates YES isn't about the SNP; that it's about the Scottish people. It can represent a grassroots way beyond party politics. And it's the basis on which a different kind of politics (remember that idea?) can be built.
The movement has to build itself, bring out the protest and the pressure, make itself heard. The Scottish Government is only the enabler, the channel for change. The YES Movement is the catalyst for change and the power behind it. It's down to us, now. No time for waiting, hesitating or cogitating. As they say: it's time to get weaving.
'Now's the day and now's the hour…'
*For some background on the Continuity Bill - try -
It's the BBC but seems sound and detailed enough. Their journalism is often pretty good even if editorial skews the priorities…
Ottherwise, there's Mike Russell's speech introducing the bill -
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