Alex Salmond, outgoing First Minister of Scotland - my personal tribute.

I took this picture of the outgoing First Minister
of Scotland earlier this year - he is a canny, well
liked and highly skilled politician.

If you've got no access to a television, smartphone, tablet, computer or any media then you will be one of the very few people on this planet not to be in the knowledge of what has unfolded here in Scotland over the last 24 to 48 hours. 

As a supporter of the Yes campaign,  I am personally devastated, hurt and very upset by the outcome of the Scottish independence referendum. Yet at the same time, I'm proud also. With a turnout of well over 80%, it is clear that democracy was the big winner with this referendum. But the outcome of the vote has sadly led to the forthcoming loss of quite probably one of the greatest (if not the greatest) politician to have ever led Scotland. 

When I arrived home at lunchtime today, a volcano of emotions erupted. Tears, sadness, devastation, sorrow and even anger. Yes I know the last one is very drastic, but it was inevitable. Let me add though that I wasn't angry at anybody. I was just angry that my country was never granted the ability to take it's place on the international stage as an independent country.

I slept much of those emotions off throughout the afternoon and when I woke up, I discovered that our current First Minister announced that he was to resign towards the end of 2014. Now you would expect me to feel a sense of complete and total sadness at that news, wouldn't you? Well I did feel upset for him, but the main feeling that emerged for me was a sense of relief, happiness and respect for the man who has led our nation since 2007.

Let's face it, Alex Salmond could not have done any more in his current role. He led his party to two stunning election victories in both 2007 and 2011. I have never been a member of the Scottish National Party, but my admiration for him and his party existed, especially in the latter of the two victories. At that time, I was still a Conservative member yet I can still remember wanting to see the Scottish National Party win. I was so impressed by how the party managed to govern effectively despite having to work as a minority within the Scottish Parliament in their first term of office.

Alex Salmond's party frankly deserved their overall majority in 2011, because they proved to people across Scotland and beyond that they could run an administration with competence. I don't think they got everything right, but they certainly performed well. But as far as the issue of independence was concerned, it was always going to be a big ask. Yet despite this, the MSP for Aberdeenshire East proved why he is one of the world's most skilful politicians. He outplayed Westminster and the Prime Minister from the start all the way until before the referendum vote. 

The loss for Yes is something that the First Minister should never be blamed for. Rather, he should be very proud that the Yes campaign managed to convince well over 1.5 million people in Scotland to vote in favour of independence. When you consider the overall environment in Scotland, it is an absolutely remarkable achievement. He could have very easily continued on, but I think he was absolutely right to resign. He doesn't need to put himself through any unnecessary agony, pressure or stress in the coming weeks. And he will depart Bute House with dignity and his integrity well in tact.

I think when we move on, history will put Alex Salmond in a good light. This is a man who wanted the best for his country. This is a man who was willing to lead from the front and do what was necessary to make Scotland more appealing and relevant internationally. I absolutely reject the absolutely absurd and downright malicious assertion that he was an arrogant individual. Arrogance is not the same as being assertive. He asserted himself appropriately and although he was quite mischievous at times, he was never boring and always wanted the best for the country. It is people like him that makes politics tolerable.

Despite this referendum, he is a winner. Scotland needs winners. And that's why he will always be someone that I will regard with a deep sense of affection for the rest of my life.

It's time for an independent Scotland to take it's place on the world stage

listen to ‘My declaration over the Scottish independence referendum’ on Audioboo

Will my home city become the capital of a
newly independent Scotland?

This is probably going to be the most important blog post I have ever written. For many weeks, people have asked me time and time again what stance I take on the forthcoming independence referendum this Thursday. I came to the conclusion that keeping my thoughts to myself was not justifiable in the face of what is to become one of the most defining moments in my lifetime (no matter what the result is) so I've decided to share my thoughts and feelings publicly.

Let me put my cards on the table. I have never been a member of the Scottish National Party and have no desire to become a politician anytime soon. I was a member of the Conservatives between 2009 and 2012 and left the party for a mixture of reasons - losing interest in party politics in general and being unable to support many of the decisions being taken by the UK coalition government, plus it's overall performance in a variety of issues (such as failure to stay successfully on track to tackling the UK's deficit).

But also, despite initially favouring Ruth Davidson for the leadership, I felt that the Scottish Conservatives took the wrong direction when Murdo Fraser's plans for disbanding the party and creating a new centre-right political party for Scotland were rejected. I felt then that my place in the party had disappeared and let my membership expire. I am approaching the issue on Scotland's constitutional future as an individual and I am only speaking for my own self now. I'm not really left or right anymore. I see myself as more of a pragmatist if anything (some may argue that I'm more of a populist, but I don't see things that way!).

Firstly, I want to congratulate everybody, Yes, No and those on the fence on what has been one of the most enlightening and thrilling debates of all time. Political apathy has well and truly been defeated for the first time in around three decades or so and we should all be proud of that. With a turnout of well over 80% to be expected, it is clear that many people want their voices heard on what is clearly a very important issue.

Despite there being some unpleasant moments of friction between some supporters of the two sides, the vast majority of people have debated the issues in an environment of respect and dignity. Although differences of opinion undoubtedly create some sort of disharmony, it is fair to say that none of us want to live in a world where everybody agrees with each other on every single last aspect or issue in life - where's the fun in that?

On Thursday, the nation's voters will be asked whether Scotland should become an independent country. It's fair to say that both options on the ballot paper carry a mixture of benefit and risk.

Let's start with the Yes option. Nearly nobody disputes that Scotland is more than capable of being a superb, prosperous and successful independent nation and that we are more than capable of running our own country. We are a wealthy country that has been blessed with a range of resources such as our talented population, oil and water. We also appeal to many tourists as a country worth visiting. We also have demonstrated to our friends all over the world that when we hold international events in the areas of arts, culture and sport, we are world class.

And we need to do much more in order to properly reach out to all corners of the globe. We need to become the number one place for business to come and invest in - after all, investment brings employment and prosperity. Although the level of investment into Scotland has increased over the last few years, we need to do far more to achieve that goal. People get terrified of the word competition, but I think it is the reality of our world today. We need to stand up and take our own unique place in what is becoming an ever more dynamic and globalised world.

Evan Davis' excellent documentary "Mind The Gap: London v the Rest", which was broadcast on the BBC, demonstrated to me why Scotland needs to take responsibility for all of it's economic matters. Now please don't get me wrong, London is a fabulous city and I visit the city a lot and enjoy my experiences there, but it just feels like it is prioritised too often over other parts of the United Kingdom for investment and economic growth. There simply aren't enough job opportunities for people my age in Scotland, nor is there enough support to help our future generations come out of secondary or tertiary education and into a successful career and good quality of living.

People like myself have had no choice but to leave home in order to further a career. And if I'm honest, although it's great to travel around and have a different environment every now and again, I actually resent having to face the idea of having no choice but to leaving my own country in order to make progress within my own life. My friends and family live here and I want to live, work and build my life in Scotland and I seriously think that the country needs much more autonomy in order to take it's own direction economically.

But I also acknowledge that there are risks that will be taken with independence. Many people are still anxious about the currency issue and wonder whether we will still be using the Pound Sterling. However, I am very confident that whether we end up in a currency union or not that the currency we currently have will still be the one we are using in the immediate aftermath of becoming an independent country. However, I do believe that one day, like other nations such as the Republic of Ireland and Australia, we will have our own currency (such as the Scottish Pound for instance). There's nothing to fear from that - these nations and many more started out in a similar way and then over the years they used their own currency and have gone on to be successful since.

And what about the No option? Well, we will still remain a nation state within the United Kingdom as it stands today. I guess not much will change - we'll still have the BBC, have MP's representing us at Westminster and retain British passports. But as far as the constitutional issue is concerned, dare I say this but I fear that after many years of debate and ideas being exchanged and discussed that we will end up with nothing. It's all well and good to hear the three main parties who support the union propose ideas for more new powers for Scotland. But from what I've heard in the news over the last week or so, it's just not good enough.

It seems like we will only get some powers and nothing like devolution max. And what's more, that option isn't even on the ballot paper - it could have been though. Also, how will MP's and voters react in the rest of the UK? I think very few people there will happily approve of the idea of giving Scotland any more powers. Whilst I applaud those on the No side aspiring to see more devolution taking place in Scotland, I strongly think that it is not achievable. The idea of devolving more powers to Scotland in the aftermath of a No vote is politically impossible and probably won't gain approval at Westminster.

I have to applaud the current administration at Holyrood for it's competence in ensuring that policies such as free NHS prescriptions and the abolition of tuition fees for students in Scotland have been implemented - ensuring that you have appropriate policies in order to cater for the social needs of the population is vital. Although I do agree that welfare reform is necessary, I do not feel comfortable about some of the things that have unfolded. The rise in the number of food banks is troubling and the way the welfare system is run is frankly not working effectively. Also, the policy of the spare room subsidy has proven to be an absolute disaster and should never have been implemented in the first place. If Scotland's voters don't want such policies, then why should they be brought about in the first place?

On another note, I am absolutely sick, tired and fed up of listening to some people who doubt our capability to run our own nation. I feel that the decision I am about to announce has been vindicated by the events of this past week - the scare stories which illustrate that some sort of an economic catastrophe will hit our country have been nothing short of ridiculous. I'm actually really angry, hurt and very disappointed about the way my country has been treated, sneered upon and viewed over our future, because of the referendum - call me emotional if you want, but this decision is a mixture of head and heart. It's a democratic decision. The world will respect it and if we are set to become an independent country then I would expect there to be a degree of anticipation for us to take our own place in the world.

I respect the views of everyone whether they are voting Yes, No or don't intend to vote at all. I have no doubt that we all, whichever viewpoint we accept, want the best for Scotland. I absolutely condemn any intimidation, abuse or questioning of anybody's patriotism within this debate. Whilst I am more than delighted to debate the issues with anybody in a calm, constructive and dignified manner, I will have absolutely no time for anybody who is looking for trouble of any kind (and it doesn't matter what stance you take on the debate either!).

And finally, I could go on and write a book about all of my thoughts on the future of our country, but I don't have time. And you probably don't have time to read them either. Which is why I'm going to declare that after weighing all of the risks and benefits, I am convinced that the benefits of Scottish independence outweigh the risks. I am supporting a Yes vote and I'm ready to embrace the independence of the Scottish nation (if it happens).

Thank you very much.

FOSIS Scottish Independence Debate: Civilised and a big win for Yes

The debate took place in Glasgow on Sunday evening

People calling for a Yes vote in the forthcoming referendum on Scottish independence celebrated an emphatic victory on Sunday night after a majority of people who attended the Federation of Student Islamic Societies Scotland debate on Scottish independence backed the idea of Scotland becoming independent.

Two polls were held, one before the debate commenced and one after the debate had finished. In the pre-debate poll, out of the people who voted, 52% voted Yes and 41% voted No. 7% were undecided. Then a debate was held for approximately two hours where issues such as the economy, education and immigration were discussed. The panellists who took part in the debate held inside the McCance Building at Strathclyde University in Glasgow were Humza Yousaf MSP, Shabana Naz, Yvonne Ridley and Anas Sarwar MP. Na'eem Raza chaired the debate.

There was a lot of passion in the room and many issues were explored and discussed. I had never attended a debate like this in Glasgow until last night and I have to say I was so impressed with how civil everyone was with one another. Disagreements maybe, at times (but with an issue as fundamentally important as this, anyone would expect differences of opinion), but there was support amongst the panellists and audience for everyone to make their point heard and, if anything, that is something that should be celebrated and commended.

In the final poll, out of all the people who voted after the debate, the Yes side surged to 68% - a gain of 16 points. No dropped to just 28% - a drop of 13 points. The number of people who were still undecided dropped by three points to just 4%. 

A major thank you to FOSIS for putting in all of the effort and time to organise the event and I also have to admit that my attendance there was just out of personal interest and a last minute commitment. I was at a conference in the city centre earlier in the day and only just decided an hour before the debate to come along. An engaging debate and there's no doubt more of those kind of events will be happening before September.

RGU students prefer Scotland staying within the United Kingdom

listen to ‘RGU Scottish Independence Opinion Polls’ on Audioboo

Source: RGU:Union

Most Robert Gordon University students, who took part in two opinion polls last night during the Scottish independence debate at the Riverside East campus in Aberdeen, would prefer Scotland to stay within the United Kingdom, according to the results published today on the RGU:Union Facebook page.

An opinion poll was taken before the debate commenced and another opinion poll took place after the debate. The poll was based on the wording of the actual question that is expected to appear on the ballot papers of the actual referendum on Scottish independence: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

Out of the 162 voters in the first poll, 78 of them said 'No'. Only 36 people said 'Yes' whilst 48 didn't know what way to go. In percentage figures, just under 50% of voters preferred Scotland to remain within the UK whilst only just over 22% would back Scotland becoming independent. Just under 30% of voters were unsure about which way to go.

In the aftermath of the debate, 167 people took the second poll. Both sides of the debate gained voters whilst less people were undecided about what stance they preferred to take. 'Yes' went up to 48 but 'No' went up to 98, whilst 21 didn't know. As far as percentages are concerned, the 'Yes' side gained approximately 6% from the last poll. But the 'No' side gained an increase of approximately 10% from the poll before the debate. The number of people who still weren't sure was more than halved, with a figure of approximately 12.5%.

Now a few factors have to come into play here. The student population of Robert Gordon University is over 16,000 (2012/2013) so we are talking a small minority of people who took part in last night's debate. Also, the polls taken last night were not secret ballots. They were simply opinion polls just to measure what the opinion was like amongst those who attended the event.

And the other thing to take into account overall is that the real vote has still not taken place. Many things have already happened during the debate on Scotland's constitutional future and there is no doubt that there will be more twists and turns prior to September 18th 2014. Yet, it is nevertheless interesting to see what people think about this dominant political issue that keeps coming up in news bulletin after news bulletin.

RGU:Union's Paul Greene delighted with success of Scottish independence debate

listen to ‘Interview with rgu:union President for Communications and Democracy, Paul Greene, about RGU's Scottish independence debate.’ on Audioboo

The panellist table prior to the start of last night's debate

The RGU:Union President of Communications and Democracy, Paul Greene, has expressed his elation at the successful turnout of last night's Scottish independence debate at The Robert Gordon University's Riverside East campus in Aberdeen last night.

Approximately 200 students attended the much publicised event which was broadcast on RGU's brand new television and radio stations. Topics of discussion that featured in the debate around the issue of Scotland's constitutional future included currency, education and foreign affairs.

It was a highly energised and engaging debate with many points and questions being made by audience members and other people on social media. Paul, who oversaw the whole organisation of last night's proceedings was delighted about the attendance: "I'm absolutely thrilled about the numbers. I remember when we had our AGM in here, the first time we didn't even have 60 people and couldn't have it. The second time we had about 90..."

Paul is delighted with last night's out turnout and also is happy about the positive reception received about last night's debate: "...we are absolutely thrilled about the result and we got a lot of really great feedback, so we are really pleased."

Panellists who featured in the debate included an eclectic mix of campaigners from both sides of the debate, including Christian Allard MSP from the Scottish National Party and Richard Baker MSP from the Scottish Labour Party. Earlier on in the day, staff of the university took part in a Q & A session with Scottish Education Secretary, Michael Russell MSP.

Did Alex Salmond really tell David Cameron where to go yesterday?

Yesterday proved to be another interesting soap opera in the ever continuing debate on Scottish independence. Prime Minister David Cameron made a speech from Stratford in the east of London, pleading to Scotland not to walk out of the United Kingdom later this year. 

I initially thought yesterday that he was unwise to make such a speech when he was located approximately some 300 miles south of the Scottish border. Then again, to put things into context, it needs to be understood that this was more of a speech aimed at England, Wales and Northern Ireland - the importance of people in the rest of the UK's input (albeit by voice) could not have been more emphasised.

Around under half an hour after the speech, First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond gave quite probably one of his strongest performances in months as he condemned the Prime Minister live on the BBC News Channel for making the speech and at the same time criticised him for not being willing to come up to Scotland to debate him. But it was his disapproval of the fact that the Conservative Prime Minister wasn't in Somerset instead to deal with the ongoing problems with the flooding situation there.

I must admit that when it was announced later in the afternoon that he would be heading over there to see how the floods were affecting people there, I was thinking that this was a visit that wasn't initially planned by Downing Street. I might well be wrong, but let's put it this way. Wouldn't it have been public knowledge in advance if the Prime Minister was planning to go to the south west of England in the first place? I think many people would have seen the common sense in that.

Finally, the reaction on social media is always worth observing in the aftermath of major speeches or political events on the independence debate. Albeit many people will have already taken a stance in public and stated opinions to assert their political assessments, I would be very intrigued to see the upcoming opinion polls. Many people took to social media to dismiss the Prime Minister's speech and some may view the message coming out of the Olympic Velodrome yesterday as nothing more than a patronising lecture.

Nobody can doubt that independence is closing the gap on the union but could more speeches like yesterday's backfire and just be a fuel for more votes to the side who want to leave the UK?

Margaret Thatcher, Scotland and the Scottish Conservatives

listen to ‘Baroness Thatcher and Scotland’ on Audioboo

Westminster

The news broke earlier today that the former British Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher, had died. Provoking tributes, opinion and reflection, there is no doubt that Britain's Iron Lady has a place in history forever.

I was born in Scotland's capital city during her final years as Prime Minister. I'm far too young to properly appreciate and understand how life changed under her leadership, how people completely reacted to her policies and direction and how seismic the change in society was during the 1980's.

Whether it was the poll tax, the closure of much of the manufacturing industry or her general economic policy, there is no doubt that much of the political debate in Scotland is centred around what happened three decades ago. The current debate on the prospect of Scottish independence is mainly based on past events that happened around that time and many people still talk about her, despite the fact that she left office 23 years ago. And that is down to a number of factors.

Firstly, those that lived under her tenure at Number 10 still reflect on what was happening in the

Is this the legacy of Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister?

country. Secondly, the current policies from the coalition, led by the Conservatives, drive individual and political commentators to compare now to what was happening approximately thirty years ago. And thirdly, compared to other past Prime Ministers, she was truly unique in her style of leadership.

The United Kingdom had never seen a leader of the kind that Margaret Thatcher was. And Scotland's future was to be majorly driven in a direction which was inevitably affected by the policies she pursued.   Almost a decade after resigning as Prime Minister, the Scottish Parliament was reborn for the first time in 292 years. During a BBC documentary called 'Thatcher and the Scots', it's presenter Allan Little commented that:

"She let the genie of Scottish national aspiration out of the 300 year old bottle of British soveringty."

And that is what we are seeing today. Alex Salmond has been our First Minister since 2007 and after his Scottish National Party secured an overall majority at Holyrood in 2011, it has provided them the mandate they have long been seeking to achieve. Next September, the nation will have the chance to decide whether Scotland should stay in the United Kingdom or become an independent country.

And whatever the outcome, it will be truly historic. If Scotland votes to leave the United Kingdom, some may dare to say that Margaret Thatcher's political legacy in Scotland was not just the Scottish Parliament, but Scotland's independence. Others may disagree.

And as for the Scottish Conservative party, it's fair to say that they have never recovered from their downfall back at the UK General Election in 1997, despite increasing their share of the vote in 1992 under John Major. The party seem to have lost their ability to bounce back from their decline, despite increasing their share of the vote in Scotland at the 2010 UK General Election. They still only have just the one MP north of the border and failed to win more seats three years ago. This outcome can be interpreted as partly to blame for David Cameron falling short with the number of seats won at the election, failing to ensure that his party sealed an overall majority.

And as far as current polls show, David Cameron could well have to depart Downing Street in just over two years time as Labour are now 10 points ahead of the Conservatives. Thatcherism now shapes the political debate across the UK and what may happen in the next two years could well shape the destiny of these islands forever.

For now though, Baroness Thatcher's life and her time as Prime Minister will be spoken about for days, weeks, months and even years to come.

How can we revive Scotland's press?

listen to ‘Scotland's media.’ on Audioboo

Pondering at Holyrood.

Scotland Tonight, STV's relatively new and popular current affairs programme, posed the following question on Twitter tonight:

From STV's Scotland Tonight Twitter timeline

It is in the country's interest to ensure that our broadcast and print media is in as healthy a condition as possible. Anything less than that is bad news for our democracy. And I'm not even necessarily talking about politics, but a strong Scottish media matters to everyone in Scotland. Scottish life is reflected in many different areas, industries and public life in general. A few people on Twitter tonight, in response to the main question featured above, have indicated that the use of the Internet has changed the way they receive their news or even has always been a major way of receiving their news.

A healthy Scottish media especially matters for next year. The nation will face it's biggest decision in it's entire history. And regardless of what stance anyone takes on the referendum, it's in everyone's interests to ensure we are all enlightened with all the facts and figures about Scottish independence and Scotland's future in the United Kingdom.

Because when a voter goes into the polling station next year to cast their vote, then they want to be certain that the decision they take will be taken whilst all the arguments and facts have been absorbed and taken into consideration.

The news this week that as many as thirty jobs could go at The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday is very worrying. That's as many as thirty livelihoods at risk. I know that might sound very potent but any job loss is damaging, not just to the individual involved but to the economy as well and even more importantly, it is damaging to the media industry in Scotland.

There is no doubt that the Internet has revolutionised the way we receive our news. Most content from newspapers are now available for free with just a couple of clicks. Some newspapers have even installed a paywall to ensure a stream of revenue flows from the readership of their publications. But according to The Wall Blog, The Times readership has dramatically fallen since their paywall was installed, whilst The Guardian and The Telegraph have higher figures.

Some people even have come to the conclusion that the newspaper industry is beginning to decline terminally. But I think that's a little harsh. Alternative ways of running newspapers will have to be sought. For example, the London Evening Standard is now available for free with a focus that has now shifted to increasing revenue from advertising. Will Scotland's newspapers have to adopt a similar model in order to survive or even revive themselves?

Also, events at BBC Scotland are a cause for concern as well. Despite mainly focusing on the newspapers in this piece, I primarily take an interest in broadcasting as far as journalism is concerned and it would be very unfair to forget about what has been happening at Pacific Quay. They will play an equally important role in delivering essential coverage of events surrounding next year's independence referendum and any potential job cut is enough to cause concern. There is no doubt the world faces an economic crisis, but it is people who make the world turn around and bring economic success and the broadcast and print media are of huge value and importance.

And there is no one right answer to how to solve the problem of reviving readership of newspapers. This is an issue that will only get bigger and creative solutions are now becoming more essential than ever before. But having said that, everyone surely must agree that it is in a democracy's interests to ensure that a free, diverse and healthy press flourishes and that applies to both broadcast and print media.