Angry. Depressed. Disillusioned. The feeling today across the United Kingdom about politics and politicians. Everywhere I go, I hear this sentiment. I don’t blame people for feeling it, I sympathise. I share a lot in common with those who feel it; − the hardship, the disdain at the conflict it causes, the desire to just get on with our lives hassle-free. So why don’t I follow the disillusioned? Turn my back on politics? The simple truth is I can’t. It’s not within me. And that is down to one man and the path he inspired me to follow. It is down to Alex Salmond.
What happened?
Alex Salmond was Scotland’s First Minister who, in 2012, brought forward a legally binding referendum on the nation’s constitutional future and asked the people of Scotland, a question they would answer on the 18 September 2014, should Scotland be an independent country?
But it all goes much deeper than that. It became more than just a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ referendum question. Alex Salmond’s leadership of the cause to take Scotland out of the United Kingdom inspired many across Scotland and beyond. I saw many young people in the Scottish Borders communities around me taking up the fight he led and becoming engaged in politics. I remember campaigning with them on the ground, so many people of my age, taking to the streets to build a better future.
I remember taking friends to political events, and even an event to see him in 2015, they were excited to meet him. I recall attending a debate on Scottish independence in the Hydro in Glasgow in the September of 2014. It was packed to bursting point with young people, thousands of them, from all across the political spectrum. Whether they believed in independence or the union, they were there and taking part in healthy debate and engaging with the political process.
Even after the referendum, we all remained active and more young people followed suit. People I went to high school with actively engaged in politics across the spectrum and all of us, one way or another, made our cases to each other, stood up for what we believed in and challenged the status quo.
How was I impacted?
At the time, I made the decision to support the campaign for Scottish independence. I hadn’t actually even considered doing anything beyond one event. But, I ended up campaigning hard; every waking moment with sheer abandon as I became inspired by a man who himself, tirelessly campaigned in what seemed like every waking moment of his life. I saw it in his face and heard it in his voice; he believed in his cause; he believed in his country and held his country and its people’s interests in his very heart.
I tried to follow that example in every way I could. I tried to debate like he did, though no one could ever knock their opponents for six like Alex Salmond could and did. I even began to wear a saltire lapel pin at all times, just like he did, and still to this day will wear a national pin whenever I can. But most importantly, I tried to fight for what was right and stand up for my communities. I still do today; I may have changed political parties a couple of times but that hasn’t changed my resolve. I am still in it to put my community and country’s best interests first. I still carry their interests at heart, just like Alex did.
Fears for the future
I fear for the future. I fear the lack of engagement and the disillusionment of young people with politics. I don’t blame them, but I fear that without their input, governments across Britain will walk all over them. With no one to inspire them, how can they take an interest in politics? I have seen a few since Salmond; Nicola Sturgeon, Jeremy Corbyn, Jamie Driscoll. I have seen them inspire young people in politics but sadly, not as permanently as Alex Salmond did during the independence referendum.
Alex Salmond was a true statesman and political heavyweight who held his country and its people in his heart. He made history and put Scotland on the world’s map, even if it wasn’t as an independent nation. But most importantly, he inspired thousands of young people to follow in his footsteps and engage with the political process. Scotland, certainly, has a high proportion of politically engaged young people and that will serve them and the nation well. That is one of his many legacies. He inspired me at 17-years-old to always fight with my country and people at heart. I never lost that inspiration. Just like the dream of Scottish independence never dying, so too will the inspiration from Alex Salmond never die.
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