Recently marked ten years since the resignation of Alex Salmond as First Minister of Scotland and just a week ago the official memorial service dedicated to him was held at St Giles in Edinburgh. Much has and, no doubt, will continue to be said about his time in charge of the Scottish Government so I feel it’s appropriate for me to do the same.
Pretty much everyone and their da now has seen or at least heard of the sketch “What have the Romans ever done for us?” from the Life of Brian in which a long-winded list of all their achievements is given to said question (much to the frustration of John Cleese’s character). It’s been parodied countless times by people likely trying to make a point about similar scenarios, in fact the SNP did their own twice (one actually made under Alex Salmond’s campaign for the 2011 elections) so this article aims to replicate it to some extent.
So now it’s time to ask me that question: what did Alex Salmond’s Premiership ever do for us?
The impact of those 7 years in power ought to be rightly remembered and studied in as much detail as they deserve. As someone who grew up under his Premiership, I feel I owe it to do it the justice it deserves.
It was May 4th 2007 when it happened; the victory of the Scottish National Party under the leadership of Alex Salmond, aged 52. Much work was to be done.
Government Reform
The first step taken was to streamline the Cabinet. Salmond simplified the nine departments to just six (although this would later be increased again to nine after the 2011 election, likely to accommodate itself now that it was in a much more stable position in the Parliament), restyled the position of ‘Minister’ to ‘Cabinet Secretary’ and removed the Lord Advocate’s regular attendance in the Cabinet, cutting inefficiency in the civil service and shifting to a more apolitical basis.
Thus marked the formation of the first ever Scottish Government, having quickly rebranded itself from the old ‘Scottish Executive’ not long after, showing the commitment to governance in Scotland rather than just being merely a small branch of a higher authority like a company board under its directorate.
Crime
The Scottish Government’s action against crime was conducted extremely masterfully. Crime had remained at a relatively static and continuous rate in the early to mid 2000s. The Scottish Government tackled this rate and was able to see immense progress, crime having reached its lowest ever recorded level since 1974.
This was largely by funding the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) with £7.6m in 2008 and the establishment of Police Scotland, Scottish Police Authority and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in 2013, which helped at improving safety, and increased the number of police in Scotland by bringing in over 1,000 new officers. The Scottish Government even seeked to support the victims of violent crime, particularly those subjected to rape and other horrific sex crimes.
This ultimately led to total crimes in Scotland falling by well over 100,000 during the Salmond Premiership, homicide rates were halved, and non-sexual violent crimes (excluding homicide) also fell by nearly half. Crimes of fire-raising and vandalism also decreased. Not only this we can see that the clear-up rate for crime also reached its highest ever in recorded history in Scotland with over half of crimes solved.
This rate of crime falling shows just how impressive it was and still hasn’t been matched since 2014. The structural overhaul made to policing spearheaded by Cabinet Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill’s work, an argument which is supported by Police Scotland Chief Constable Sir Stephen House, and the support for victims of crime were crucial in this feat. In terms of handling crime, it’s safe to say the Salmond Premiership was unmatched in its success since the start of devolution.
Economy
It was necessary for the Salmond Premiership to lead Scotland’s economic recovery through the recession in 2009-2010 to give it the economic credibility it needed for confidence in the new Government and especially since the next year elections would soon be upon them, this was a task that the Cabinet Finance Secretary John Swinney would take up. Over £95m total would be injected into the Scottish economy as a stimulus, aiming to create growth for businesses and provide new jobs and skills opportunities for 75,000 Scots, particularly by investing in education and industry sectors including life sciences and renewable energy. The First Minister, too, argued that what was needed for the country to pull together from all walks of life to recover from the recession – joining with councils, businesses and unions. A united effort for recovery was what the Scottish economy needed.
Excluding the leadership of Salmond and Swinney during the recession, several other major steps were taken by the Scottish Government to oversee its economic policy. The Scottish Government of that time prioritised a more business friendly model of economics, much more than the incumbent Government. It created the Small Business Bonus Scheme, which meant a business can get up to 100% non-domestic rates relief through the Small Business Bonus Scheme if all of these are true: the combined rateable value of all your business premises is £35,000 or less, the rateable values of individual premises are £20,000 or less and if the property is actively occupied. This effectively cut business rates for small businesses across Scotland, saving around £165m a year for said businesses.
The Scottish Government was committed to taking the burden off families’ budgets in the wake of the recession and the beginning of Austerity in the UK. To do so, the Government announced a freeze on council tax when coming to power in cooperation with local councils, lasting throughout the entire Salmond years. £10.6bn of the Scottish Government’s Budget was directed towards funding councils, their activities and services with £80m sent to fund the cost of childcare provision for three and four year olds, increasing the number of hours per child from 475 to 600 a year. The Council Tax Reduction Scheme was also implemented in 2013 in Scotland to help those on low incomes to pay their council tax, helping hundreds of thousands of Scots to save up to 35% of their payments. This also joined with efforts to tackle the newly implemented yet hated bedroom tax and mitigate it with a support package worth up to £40m to local councils, setting out the Scottish Government’s agenda to combat cuts for tenants in housing with a ‘room too many’.
The Scottish Welfare Fund was established under the Salmond Premiership as a result of the Westminster Government effectively transferring its powers associated with it to the Scottish Government as a national scheme overseen by local authorities and was given a budget of £33m. It provides two types of grants – Crisis Grants, and Community Care Grants. It provides either a safety net for those in an emergency or disaster situation threatening the health or safety of an individual or give assistance to those who can live independently or continue to live independently, preventing the need for institutional care. This gave the Scottish Government to care for its people when they needed it and became essential at proving that Scotland could hold such powers over welfare so that it could be granted more in the Scotland (2016) Act.
The Life Sciences Strategy was planned and supported by the Scottish Government in 2011. It was implemented with the aim of putting the sector at the forefront of the Scottish economy, prioritising sustainable research, development and production in human health, agriculture, aquaculture and animal technologies. Since its establishment the sector has flourished and has resulted in 29% growth in turnover and 24% growth in gross value added (GVA), with current turnover in excess of £4.2bn and GVA of about £2bn as well as employing over 30,000 high-paid workers in nearly 1,000 sites. Overall, it has proven one of the best long-term models for a future dynamic Scotland, which the Salmond Government had supported, becoming one of the most rapidly growing sectors in the country.
CashBack for Communities as a policy was created to reinvest the proceeds of crime into activities and programmes for young people across all thirty-two local authorities in Scotland. It helps young people with opportunities of employment, including apprenticeships, education and volunteering. Since its establishment in 2008, it has committed £130m for youth projects, provided 2.5m opportunities, supported twenty-four organisations in doing so and dedicated 75% of the activities for young people from the 30% most deprived communities. Truly fitting of an achievement considering Mr. Salmond went on to donate his pension and gifts received as First Minister to charity dedicated to supporting young people and their communities.
Infrastructure
Major projects of Scotland’s infrastructure were undertaken by the Salmond Government along with policies designed to make transport over said infrastructure easier and more accessible to the everyday citizen.
Much has been said about the infamous Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow mainly surrounding the long wait for the two expensive ferries and the controversial activities of the yard since it’s nationalisation, but those issues were far from anyone’s minds when the Scottish Government saved it in 2014 from potential closure when it went into administration as a result of a lack of investment in the shipyard and decline of commercial shipbuilding on the Clyde. In August of that year Clyde Blowers Capital took over the yard as part of a deal with the support of the Scottish Government, transforming it into Ferguson Marine Engineering Ltd under Scottish businessman Jim McColl, who proceeded to save one hundred jobs from redundancy and protect the last major shipyard on the Clyde from its closure. The First Minister himself said that he believed so long as his country had the skills, the know-how and the capital then “Scotland and the Clyde are unstoppable in shipbuilding.” Like with Grangemouth, which will be discussed later, the Scottish Government from then saved one of the most key industrial centres from closure. Something the current Scottish Government would do well to learn from.
Next with the abolishment of the bridge tolls. The bridge tolls in Scotland were now only in place for the Forth and Tay Road Bridges, worth £1 and £0.80 for the bridges respectively after they had been removed from the Erskine and Skye Bridges in the early 2000s. The Scottish Government passed through the Abolition of Bridge Tolls Act in 2008, officially removing tolls on the Forth and Tay Road Bridges along the Forth and Tay Rivers respectively in the east of Scotland. It was widely supported by the rest of Holyrood (except for the Scottish Greens… because of course) and meant that any person could cross the bridges from then onwards, undoubtedly ease the financial burden on people even just by a little and granting universal access for Scotland’s drivers to visit any place for no cost on the roads.
In my personal opinion, the most impressive and my personal favourite of the Scottish Government’s achievements was the Queensferry Crossing; a towering cable-stayed bridge on the Forth, joining the Forth Rail Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge just next to them. Such a beautiful marvel of civil engineering. There had been talks and proposals surrounding a potential new bridge across the Forth due to deteriorated conditions for the Forth Road Bridge, but it was under the SNP Government which seriously gave thought to that idea in 2007 to complete a new bridge by 2017. The Scottish Government initially believed it would cost some £3.2-4.2bn to construct the bridge but later much of this was saved and reduced several times to just around £1.3bn due to changes in the planning and construction methods used. Following negotiations over the planning process and the Forth Crossing Act was passed in 2011, which gave the Scottish Government the approval it needed to begin work, construction of the bridge began under the Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors. Now that the construction of the bridge had been commissioned, connecting the M90 motorway between Edinburgh and Fife. In 2013 First Minister Alex Salmond held a public vote on the bridge’s name, which ultimately received 37,000 votes and the ‘Queensferry Crossing’ became the winner. Mr. Salmond said of the bridge: “The Queensferry Crossing is a bridge to the future. When complete, it will take its place alongside the other iconic bridges, while safeguarding and improving a vital connection in the country’s transport network.”. After hard toil and some delay due to harsh weather conditions, the 1.7 mile long and nearly 700-foot tall Crossing was completed and opened in 2017. Since its creation, the Queensferry Crossing has become an iconic structure along the Forth and presents an incredible silhouette on the Edinburgh skyline. When the former First Minister Alex Salmond unfortunately passed away in October 2024, a petition was made to rename the Queensferry Crossing to the ‘Alex Salmond Bridge’ as a tribute to the man and has received over 2,000 votes, which includes my own.
The Scottish Government under Alex Salmond took a deep interest into improving and investing in the roads and railways of Scotland, far more than the current Scottish Government which is yet to dual the A9 road which runs from Perth to Inverness. Compare that to ten years ago and it is a completely different story. The M80 in Central Scotland was expanded in 2011 through the Stepps to Haggs Project leading to greater benefits to the economy, safer roads and improvements to the environment while the M74 was also extended to the M8 in Glasgow from 2008 to 2011 once again leading to a greater economic boost for jobs, tourism etcetera. These were both road expansion projects that were supported and led by the Scottish Government of that time with full credit to them for it.
The Labour-Liberal Democrat Government in the early 2000s had begun talks about construction a new bypass for Aberdeen but it took the SNP-led Scottish Government to approve the ambitious construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route in 2009 and then became officially ready in 2012 (following some legal issues) for construction and thus started early works on this major project in 2014 followed by a fully-fledged effort in 2015 onwards for Scotland’s northeast before opening in 2019, reducing journey times, traffic queues and making the city centre of Aberdeen a lot less busy full of large goods vehicles.
Finally on this section, the Scottish Government launched the work on the Borders Railway and between Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders in 2013 after the Scottish Parliament approved in the Waverley Act of 2006 under the Labour and the responsibility of building the railway fell to the new SNP Government, who contracted the job to Network Rail as was done to the Airdrie-Bathgate rail link, also built under the Salmond Government. Work began on the Borders Railway in 2013 and completed it in 2015, becoming the longest railway in Scotland in over a century and turned into a significant boost to the economy, the environment and Scotland’s engineering capabilities.
Education and Health
The Scottish Government’s measures to improve Scotland’s education and health, however, might be some of the most well-known achievements made under the Salmond Government.
Everyone knows about how the Salmond Government brought about free prescriptions and abolished the remaining tuition fees from Scotland’s NHS and education system respectively. The Scottish Government abolished prescription charges in the country in 2011 at small cost to its revenues and now meant free universal prescriptions, including life-changing medication, could now be purchased by anyone in need of them. Compare this to England where the charge for every prescription item is at £9.90, a significant amount of money. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all hold free prescriptions so evidently something must be going right.
As for tuition fees, they were largely done away with under the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition in Scotland in 2001, but, while upfront fees were abolished, there became the graduate endowment to fund bursaries (or grants) for students, which basically meant they had to repay £2,000 once they had graduated and earned over £10,000. This was abolished by the Scottish Government in 2008 as part of their election pledge through the Graduate Endowment Abolition Act, bringing free higher education to Scotland. The First Minister himself was famously pictured with the stone with the words: “The rocks would melt away with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scotland’s students”. Such became key policies of the Scottish Government in this time.
NHS Scotland has a standard of 98% for patients being seen in A&E within four hours. Nowadays, the percentage of those seen within the four hour mark is at just 68%. However, under the watch of Cabinet Health Secretaries Nicola Sturgeon and later Alex Neil, this was kept at a consistent and impressive rate especially compared to now. In 2007, 97.8% of patients attending A&E were seen before the four hour target and in 2014 it was 91.8%. During those seven years it was kept at around 90% and above. Barely missing the precise 98% target, but still incredibly close and that’s not a bad percentage regardless especially when compared to today.
Perhaps a controversial and less popular decision to some under the Salmond Government was the creation of the minimum pricing system for alcohol in 2012. It introduced a statutory minimum price for alcohol, set at 50p per unit in the beginning, to fight against alcohol abuse in Scotland. According to Public Health Scotland, University of Glasgow and other sources, the start of minimum unit pricing has helped to reduce deaths caused by alcohol-specific scenarios by 13% or more, the most dramatic fall happening in 2012 when it was introduced. This just as crucially led to the fall in alcohol sales by 8% and consumption by 3% (once again the most dramatic instances occurring in 2012). Perhaps the best thing about it is that it has, very simply, stopped the worst drinkers in lower classes from drinking as much and has helped reduce health inequalities, as a result.
Under the Salmond Government, modern apprenticeships were increased by 60% from 2007 to 2014, coming up from a number of 15,800 per year to over 25,200 apprenticeships in Scotland. The Government’s youth employment strategy was so successful, in fact, that the target for apprenticeships was increased to 30,000 per year by 2020.
Roughly 600 schools were built or refurbished under the watch of the Scottish Government between 2007 and 2015, nearly twice as many as done under Labour (and the Liberal Democrats until 2003) from 1999 to 2007. The Government also enacted the School Clothing Grant. Along with that, universal free school meals were introduced for P1-3 pupils and free childcare would be extended to an annual 600 hours by 2015 for families eligible for it.
Environment and Energy
Yet another one of the greatest pursuits of the Scottish Government under Alex Salmond’s leadership, aside from infrastructure, education and health reforms, was to support the Scottish environment and energy resources. The Scottish Parliament had passed the Climate Change (Scotland) Act with eight pieces of secondary legislation made under the Act, the latest one in 2019 and effectively laid the groundwork for the Scottish Government’s newfound commitment to reducing emissions. It set a primary target year for 2050, aiming to reduce the country’s emissions by 80% with the interim reduction target of 42% by the year 2020 and while holding Ministers and public bodies in Scotland to account on each year’s targets. It has now been augmented so that it will likely achieve 100% by 2045.
Furthermore, the Scottish Government launched the Climate Justice Fund to fund action against climate change abroad in developing countries, aiming to lead the world in supporting the hardest hit regions under the threat of the worst effects of climate change, particularly supplying water projects in Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia, the most former of which brought relations with Scotland closer since the two nations’ Partnership Agreement in 2005. The Scottish Government received widespread support at home and abroad for its world-leading approach to climate action. What started as a programme worth just £3m is now set at a total of £36m today.
All of this in the end meant the Salmond Government had exceeded climate targets six years early by 4% in 2014, showing that emission levels were lower than they were in 1990 by almost 46% and studies show that Scotland had evidently performed better than the rest of the UK, reducing them at a much faster rate. This, of course, was combined with other factors including weather pattern and seasonal temperature changes but it was evidently driven by the Scottish Government’s pursuit of fighting climate change or else the rate of the amount reduced would not have been as quick, logically speaking.
As things stand, the Grangemouth Oil Refinery is on the brink of closure. The Scottish Government has been unable to save it from this fate. Scotland’s only industrial refinery centre closure could lead to over 400 workers being made redundant and cause intense harm to the local community around the refinery. However, it didn’t have to be the case. Grangemouth was actually protected from closure by the Scottish Government. Twice. In both 2008 and 2013.
In 2008, industrial union strike action brought Grangemouth to a standstill when the refinery’s operator Ineos released plans to force workers to pay into their contributions into its pension scheme instead of the salary pension they were receiving beforehand. The strike was led by 1,200 workers and threatened to shut down the refinery indefinitely and cause major economic disruption for the country’s energy supply but after several days, thanks to the Scottish Government trying to balance out the interests of each party, negotiations were called and calm heads would prevail as the strikes came to an end after just two days of action.
Once again in 2013 Grangemouth was threatened with closure as industrial action became a serious obstacle to the refinery once Ineos revealed it would be taking action to avoid its losses of £10m per month by changing its employment terms through a ‘survival plan’ including going through with the pensions scheme, which the workers refused to accept. As a result Ineos announced that closure of the Grangemouth petrochemical and refinery plant would be likely with the loss of 800 jobs. Once again following talks between Ineos, the Scottish Government and Unite a deal was agreed to keep Grangemouth open, the survival plan was accepted by the unions after the First Minister himself encouraged that they would not let the refinery be closed. The workers came to accept the operator’s changes with the pension scheme in turn for the £300m investment in the refinery to boost its economic activity and benefits for the workers.
The Marine (Scotland) Act is a major component of the National Marine Plan as its framework, forming the crucial elements of the marine planning system. It provides a single blueprint for the Scottish sea and aims to protect and improve the marine environment, help boost economic investment and growth in areas such as marine renewables. Its main measures include supporting a simple marine licensing, providing conservation over and protecting marine areas, animals and enforcing it with its own powers. This has allowed for there to be a balanced platform for competition and the environment, making Scotland’s waters healthy, developed and ecologically sustainable.
Scotland on the World Stage
The Salmond Government had further established Scotland on the world stage. Alex Salmond looked to deepen links and relationships with other countries, particularly with Europe and the United States, making twenty international visits during his tenure. He valued forging a closer relation to the United States as a country of shared cultural and economic bonds from history, seeking to promote trade, tourism and education between the two nations. Salmond also looked to fight climate change in conjunction with the United States, even meeting with former Vice President Al Gore, to reduce emissions and help the sustainability of a transition through carbon innovation.
Similarly, he promoted Scotland’s relations with Norway and Europe in order to support Scotland’s energy and make it easier for Scotland to join the European Union, if Independence was achieved. Salmond was especially concerned over supporting economic activity in fisheries and development in the North Sea for its oil and gas, as well as sustaining renewable energy. Salmond outlined his vision of Scotland within the EU during his speech in Brugge in April 2014, he believed Scotland could contribute to its democratic institutions, support its economy with investment of key sectors and have a strong voice on the world stage in partnership with its allies.
The First Minister infamously, however, underwent a rivalry with the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who distrusted the Scottish Independence movement, clearly reminded of the implications of its success to the movement for Catalonia’s Independence. Alex Salmond fundamentally rejected the idea argued by Rajoy that Scotland would not be easily admitted into the EU for membership by discussing the letter sent by the European Commission which confirmed membership negotiations were possible for Scotland from within the EU due to being part of the United Kingdom, an EU member since the 1970s.
The Salmond Premiership also saw Scotland’s sport and cultural history promoted via both the Commonwealth Games and the Ryders Cup in 2014. The blueprints for both were made by the predecessor Labour Government under First Minister Jack McConnell, but it was up to the SNP Government to deliver on it.
The Commonwealth Games were hosted in Glasgow and established within the budget set to it, receiving universal support from the major party leaders in Holyrood with Alex Salmond himself boasting that “Scotland has never had a higher profile on the international stage.”. Nearly 15,000 jobs were created as a result, half of them in Glasgow, contributing over £740m to the Scottish economy and £390m to Glasgow itself compared to the £425m of public funds injected into it. As a result of the Games and announced that 70% of the contracts went to local Scottish businesses and was a great success, undoubtedly inspiring the people of Glasgow for years to come with local pride, regeneration and supporting tourism. Team Scotland achieved its greatest performance in the Commonwealth Games before, winning 53 medals – 19 gold, 15 silver and 19 bronze.
The Ryder Cup most certainly must have pleased Alex Salmond, an avid golfer himself. It was held in Gleneagles, and Salmond was confident that over £100m revenue from it was made to boost the Scottish economy and it was once again another success at promoting Scotland to the world. The European team defeated the US in its third consecutive victory so Scotland itself did not have much of a presence in the matches given its rookie status but it encouraged Scotland’s world of golf. As Alex Salmond told BBC Scotland: “After the Olympics and the football World Cup, this is the biggest watched event on the planet and coming to Scotland, all this excitement, all this enthusiasm, this massive generation of atmosphere – you can feel and taste it now, it’s going to be massive, huge, or, as they say in America, awesome.”
The Sports Minister and later Cabinet Secretary Shona Robinson said of the dual events: “The eyes of the world have been on Scotland, not least through the Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup and the referendum as well… A lot of people now know more about Scotland than they did a year ago. It bodes well for the future.”
And that was most certainly true, over 35,000 and 45,000 visitors watched the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup each day along with over 1,500,000,000 and 500,000,000 watching on TV both respectively.
The Scottish Independence Referendum
Above all else, however, the Referendum on Scottish Independence in September 2014 marks the most dramatic event of the Salmond Premiership by far.
The Independence mandate had been empowered beyond any expectations in 2011 after securing the first (and so far only) majority in the Scottish Parliament since its creation in 1999, sweeping the largely Unionist opposition off the table and sending a message to Westminster that Independence was to be the deciding issue for the incoming Parliament. Thus the beginning of the framework towards a referendum began.
Negotiations from 2011 onwards between the Westminster and Scottish Governments were conducted and ultimately culminated into the Edinburgh Agreement in 2012, signed by the Nationalist side – Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and the Deputy Minister First Nicola Sturgeon, and by the Unionist side – Prime Minister of the UK David Cameron and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore at St. Andrew’s House. It laid out the defined legalities of the proposed Scottish Independence Referendum which was ready to be held in late 2014. It gave the Scottish Parliament near complete control over the legislative components of the Referendum and would be put through on the question of Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom through a Section 30 order, allowing Holyrood the ability to pass legislation not involved in the devolved affairs of the Scottish Parliament.
The Scottish Government announced the date would be the 18th of September 2014, the date that would determine the fate of Scotland, and the Referendum’s question would be direct and simple: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”. Crucially as well, the franchise was expanded for the first time to include 16 and 17-year olds by granting them the right to vote in this opportunity for Scotland. This is what the Scottish Parliament set out for the Referendum, an effort Alex Salmond was certainly determined to bring out it’s best potential.
The Scottish Government then set out its intention through the now-famous white paper titled Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland. It laid out the Scottish Government’s case for their answer to the question on the place of Scotland in the UK and all of the developed plans for what a free Scotland could look like, promising a personal union with the UK, in which the Monarch would remain the Head of State over Scotland, the removal of Trident missiles from the Faslane base. in Scotland, overhaul of UK institutions like the BBC and the welfare state, creating a new Scottish Defence Force similar to Japan or Ireland and, most controversially, retaining the Pound Sterling as its currency while taking on a share of the UK national debt. This laid out the plan, but that last point certainly came back to bite the Independence campaign
Now according to the polls, support for Scottish Independence in 2007 sensed to be at roughly 30% give or take. Much work had to be done. Campaigning had to begin. Yes Scotland represented the Nationalist force facing the Better Together representing the Unionists.
The First Minister Alex Salmond became the face of the Yes Scotland campaign. Meanwhile, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling led the Better Together campaign. A hard fight was fought between the two movements. The Yes campaign argued it could unlock Scotland’s potential as a free independent nation, it was summed up by Alex Salmond when he declared: “This is our opportunity of a lifetime and we must seize it with both hands.”. The Yes campaign argued independence could be brought with a firm commitment to membership in the European Union, hold full control over Scotland’s resources and be able to elect its own parties with their own policies instead of being ruled over by Westminster parties.
The Better Together campaign seemed to run on a campaign based on the negatives of Independence. They argued emphatically that a currency union with the UK would not be achievable, that there would be a new border between two countries making EU membership incompatible and Scotland wouldn’t be able to fund its public services under its deficit while capitalising on the shared history and claimed unity between Scotland and the other nations of the UK.
There were debates by the respective faces of the opposing campaigns – Alex Salmond vs Alistair Darling. The first was held in August 2014 on STV. Alex Salmond argued that Scotland could be an independent prosperous country with all the levers to do so without the influence of a Government down in Westminster they did not vote for while Darling pursued Salmond down on the currency question above all else, admittedly Salmond himself wasn’t direct in his answer and wanted to rely on Scotland’s ability to use the Pound Sterling. The arguments over economic uncertainty, EU membership and the benefits of the UK’s security seemed to be argued more clearly by Darling at the time. Darling also appealed more to the thousands watching the debate via TV while Salmond kept focusing on the crowd of just a few hundred people. Polls and analysis experts seem to show that most believed that it was either a draw or Darling won though not by much.
The second debate was held in the same month by the BBC. This time the First Minister was more prepared and was able to give a much more precise answer to the currency question with three proposed mechanisms to achieve the currency union. He also appeared much more human, confident and calm while Darling appeared stiff and was a lot more flustered by Salmond. Darling also likely effectively admitted, as he and others had done previously, that Scotland could indeed succeed if independent and Salmond, who ran rings around him with his style, delivered his closing remarks especially marked his undoubtedly well-argued case. Salmond won the majority of polls and according to experts by an overwhelming margin.
Until just a few weeks before the vote would happen, the Yes campaign closed the gap significantly in the polls before finally leading in a YouGov poll by two points. It seemed that it could happen – an independent Scotland for the first time in over 300 years.
But it was not to be. Not yet anyway.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown appeared in Glasgow the day before the vote and affirmed the Unionist perspective in a likely decisive speech, putting forth a passionate argument that the SNP had no answers to the big economic and social questions of Independence, calling it an “economic minefield” while proclaiming Scotland’s shared British history, culture and identity. In a similar display, the three leaders of the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats joined together to promote the now-infamous ‘Vow’ to pursue greater powers and autonomy for the Scottish Parliament and its institutions, undoubtedly swaying the vote with the persuasive argument for devolution or devo-max as it became known by some, giving perhaps full control over all things Scottish while still remaining in the United Kingdom.
55% voted ‘No’ against the 45% for ‘Yes’. Despite the hard work of the First Minister, his Cabinet and the rest of the SNP, having brought independence to the mainstream public opinion to effectively half of Scotland, unfortunately for them the Unionist vote won and Alex Salmond was forced to accept the result in his concession speech.
Whatever the fate of the movement, it was clear that Alex Salmond’s time as First Minister was soon to be over. He announced in the aftermath that he would resign and a new leader of the SNP would succeed him. The Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was expected to succeed him as First Minister, having become her mentor in the years beforehand.
As his time as First Minister drew to a close, Alex Salmond delivered his final renowned speech in September 2014, just two months before he officially left office, outlining his vision for the new leadership to take the reins. At the end of it he spoke those words we all know and love – “For me, as leader, my time is nearly over but for Scotland the campaign continues, and the dream shall never die.”
And thus ended the most accomplished, decisive and transformative Premiership of the Scottish Government since the creation of the devolved Scottish bodies over 20 years ago. As things stand, Alex Salmond remains undoubtedly the greatest of all the First Ministers and he has been lifted up into history though his dream remains here – alive and kicking.
So again, what did Alex Salmond’s Premiership ever do for us?
Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6659531.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6974798.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6663031.stm
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42690960.amp
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-49809729.amp
https://www.statista.com/statistics/370370/crime-figures-in-scotland/
https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2020-2021/pages/3/
https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2022-23/pages/4/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-13319936
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-30192406
https://scottishgov-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/police-numbers-over-1000-extra
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-29279384
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-right-choose-putting-scotlands-future-scotlands-hands/pages/8/
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13077067.text-edinburgh-agreement-full/
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/mar/21/scottish-independence-referendum-date
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-future/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-25088251.amp
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/scotland-decides/results
https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/10304-latest-scottish-referendum-poll-yes-lead
https://participedia.net/case/5108
https://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-09-17/salmond-this-is-our-opportunity-of-a-lifetime/
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/09/scottish-independence-five-mistakes-better-together-campaign
17 ‘broken promises’ of the Better Together campaign revealed on ‘independence day’
How Scotland voted, and why
https://gordonandsarahbrown.com/2014/09/gordon-browns-speech-at-the-love-scotland-vote-no-rally-in-glasgow/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-29443603.amp
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gordon-brown-dramatically-wades-into-the-scottish-referendum-spearheading-labour-s-promise-to-give-holyrood-greater-tax-powers-under-devo-max-9182615.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-28649354
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-28936256
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8005186.stm
https://www.gov.scot/publications/international-visits-undertaken-by-first-ministers-foi-release/
https://www.coleurope.eu/events/first-minister-scotland-mr-alex-salmond-has-spoken-college-europe-eu-scotland-relations
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-18046996
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/good-global-citizen-alex-salmonds-speech-on-scotlands-role-in-world/
https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA268196266&sid=sitemap&v=2.1&it=r&p=EAIM&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Ed03d5a89&aty=open-web-entry
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-25138254
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/sport/2014/sep/24/scotland-yes-gleneagles-ryder-cup
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-19776911
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-28426866.amp
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-2014-first-minister-alex-3898729.amp
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/ryder-cup-2014-can-no-4348828?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target
https://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/24651790.alex-salmond-understood-value-golf-scotland/
https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1028900/glasgow-2014-contributed-big-boost-to-economy-but-doubts-remain-over-long-term-benefits
https://audit.scot/docs/central/2015/nr_150312_commonwealth_games_third.pdf
Glasgow 2014
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24679613.snp-learn-salmond-pro-business-scotland/#comments-anchor
https://www.mygov.scot/non-domestic-rates-relief/small-business#:~:text=You%20can%20get%20up%20to,the%20property%20is%20actively%20occupied
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.insider.co.uk/news/brief-salmond-pays-tribute-family-9888522.amp
https://www.publicfinance.co.uk/news/2011/04/snp-promises-further-five-year-freeze-council-tax
https://www.gov.scot/news/help-with-council-tax-bills/#:~:text=The%20Council%20Tax%20Reduction%20(CTR,their%20water%20and%20waste%20charges.
https://digitalpublications.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefings/Report/2021/9/24/5b21ec2a-3136-440c-abb5-43f220c8a65f
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25337494
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/11/scotland-20m-bedroom-tax
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-welfare-fund-statistics-update-to-30-june-2024/pages/background/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-35815426
https://cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-11/Calculating%20the%20new%20Scottish%20council%20tax%20reduction.pdf
https://www.turn2us.org.uk/get-support/information-for-your-situation/water-schemes/water-companies-scotland#:~:text=Under%20the%20permanent%20Water%20Charges,discounts%2C%20will%20automatically%20get%20a
https://edinburghbioquarter.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Life-Sciences-Strategy-for-Scotland-2025-Vision.pdf
https://cashbackforcommunities.org/
CashBack for Communities
https://www.lifesciencesscotland.com/news/scotlands-thriving-life-sciences-sector-defies-predictions
https://www.gov.scot/publications/climate-change-legislation/
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2009/12/contents
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-36519506.amp
https://unfccc.int/news/scotland-exceeded-2020-climate-targets-six-years-early
https://wwf.panda.org/es/?205057/Scotland-launches-climate-justice-fund
https://www.scottishhumanrights.com/news/climate-justice-fund-launches/
https://www.gov.scot/publications/climate-justice-fund-allocations/
https://www.gov.scot/publications/marine-scotland-act/
https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/planning-and-development/marine-planning-scotland
https://hellorayo.co.uk/mfr-3/local/news/modern-apprenticeships-increase-60-since-2007
https://www.scotsman.com/news/scottish-apprenticeships-increase-by-60-per-cent-1499880
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-30085309
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-30462053
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12928485.amp
https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,new-figures-show-snp-governments-have-built-more-schools-than-previous-administrations_12217.htm
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14682444.snp-has-built-twice-many-schools-previous-administration/
https://www.apse.org.uk/apse/index.cfm/members-area/briefings/2014/14-01-scottish-government-free-school-meals/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25632402.amp
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13139452.salmond-thousands-more-to-be-given-free-childcare/
https://www.scotsman.com/education/scottish-independence-snp-ps114m-childcare-pledge-1548556
https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/content/news/scotland-to-fund-free-childcare-for-two-year-olds-for-the-first-time/
https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/ae-activity-and-waiting-times/ae-activity-and-waiting-times-month-ending-31-march-2023/
https://publichealthscotland.scot/news/2023/june/minimum-unit-pricing-reduces-alcohol-related-harm-to-health/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-55058554
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-57293223
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00497-X/fulltext
https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/26-07-2023-no-place-for-cheap-alcohol–scotland-s-minimum-unit-pricing-policy-is-protecting-lives#:~:text=In%20addition%20to%20the%20reduced,that%20increased%20most%20in%20price.
https://scvo.scot/about/work/campaigns/archive/20-years-delivering-change/abolition-of-tuition-fees
Sturgeon’s claim that SNP scrapped tuition fees is Mostly True
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-52748722.amp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7153021.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7235131.stm#:~:text=Scrapping%20of%20the%20tolls%20was,entirely%20by%20the%20Scottish%20Government.
https://www.fergusonmarine.com/about-us/heritage/
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/13293745.salmond-backs-rescued-yard-to-lead-the-way/
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/alex-salmond-hails-future-of-ferguson-shipyard-1523816
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7775936.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7774761.stm
https://webarchive.nrscotland.gov.uk/20240327012543/https://archive2021.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/Bills/22080.aspx
https://forthbridges-live.cssoftware.co.uk/about-the-forth-bridges/queensferry-crossing/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-33911664
Developing the Queensferry Crossing
https://www.transport.gov.scot/projects/forth-replacement-crossing/project-details/#1315
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/more-than-2000-people-sign-petition-to-rename-queensferry-crossing-after-alex-salmond-4834745
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-40972881
https://news.stv.tv/politics/salmond-warns-swinney-not-to-backtrack-on-roads-projects-to-appease-green-msps
https://www.ice.org.uk/what-is-civil-engineering/infrastructure-projects/borders-railway
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-11976653
https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/transport-minister-officially-launches-new-300m-rail-link
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-31413672
https://hellorayo.co.uk/greatest-hits/borders/news/alex-salmond-great-friend-scottish-borders/
Borders Railway complete
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-28867301.amp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8424142.stm
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-19960448
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2697305.stm
The Impact Of The AWPR On Business Centres In Aberdeen
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-46586029.amp
https://www.aberdeenlive.news/news/aberdeen-news/story-awpr-aberdeens-billion-pound-8950527?int_source=amp_continue_reading&int_medium=amp&int_campaign=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target
https://www.transport.gov.scot/projects/m80-stepps-to-haggs/m80-stepps-to-haggs/
https://ukmotorwayarchive.ciht.org.uk/motorways-by-region/m80/m80-stepps-to-haggs-completion-project/
https://www.scottishroadsarchive.org.uk/m74-completion
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-13931242
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13927131.amp
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg3gwkkk4mo
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7363121.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7374571.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7369043.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7372367.stm
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-24580313
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24631342
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/oct/23/ineos-closes-grangemouth-petrochemicals-plant
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24647843
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-24671184
https://www.ineos.com/inch-magazine/articles/issue-5/the-grangemouth-dispute/#:~:text=At%20the%20eleventh%20hour%20the,a%20successful%20future%20for%20Grangemouth.
By Lewis Atkinson
