scribz said
It was a good referendum, and I'm personally proud at how this rekindled politics in my country, outcome regardless. The people chose to remain a part of the UK, and i'm one to respect that. However, I hope the results have at least landed a warning to Westminister, as there's now a great movement in the people of Scotland for independence, that subside if austerity doesn't. Scotland remains a part of the UK, let's try and make it the best Scotland possible.
Cut the Westminster hatred, man. There's no need for "warnings." They'll honour Scotland's wish for more powers, probably devolving more than just the bare minimum if only to appease the Yes voters, and continuing the threats isn't going to help reconcile the current fracturing within Scotland and within the wider UK, y'know? My biggest concern is just that everything's going to fall apart and the current polarisation is going to continue. This is an impressionable time; make your mark the positive messages you've expressed, rather than threats and warnings and anger.
But I completely agree in regards to pride in the success of democracy and of getting people involved in the political process. The thing I fear is that now this central cause/issue is past, the incredible newfound political participation will fade away. It's easy to get involved when things are polarised and you can just pick a side and duke it out; not so much when the political scene is muddier and more complicated and less dramatic. This kind of turnout and participation is basically unprecedented, it'd be a damn shame for that to die out. As I said on Facebook:
"Although I'm very glad there was a No vote, I want to say: Yes and No voters, don't fall into complacency. All of us have problems with the current status quo, whether we believed in independence or not. If you disagree with the current political UK scene, get involved. This was not your one and only chance to change something. Scotland is a great country; it can continue to be a great country as part of the UK, contributing to a larger whole. And we can hope that this has shaken things up enough that longstanding inequalities (both those unfair towards those north and those unfair towards folk south of the border) can be openly discussed and resolved.
I agree with Salmond for the first time ever: the ridiculously high turnout and the huge, nationwide involvement with this political issue is an absolute "triumph for democracy.""
And to be honest, I think it's a shame Salmond resigned. Only just found out about it when I was interviewed on the street. I fucking hate the guy and don't like the way Yes conducted itself in a lot of ways, but he's a talented politician and a strong leader for Scotland to get behind in what's still going to be an era of change. Sturgeon doesn't have anywhere near the same ability to rally people, and I think it'd be disastrous for her to take over.
Ranting over. c: