Anyone listening to Alex Salmond’s final pro-independence rally tonight in Perth might have been forgiven for thinking the ‘Yes’ campaign was in the lead in the polls. He used most of it to congratulate his side for running such a successful campaign and for changing Scotland before the final result had even been declared. There was much less of a pitch for any undecided voters watching, unless the First Minister had concluded that anyone who was still wavering would be swayed by the idea that his guys had already won.
He told the audience that ‘what has emerged in this campaign is something very new; it has changed Scotland forever’. Scotland now had confidence, belief, empowerment, he said, ridiculing Westminster politicians for telling the nation of Adam Smith that it could not manage its own finances.
He also ridiculed the settlement offered by the pro-union parties, saying ‘Westminster parties cobble together separate, contradictory proposals for more powers – none of which offer any answers to the real challenges we face.’ He pointed to the threats from Conservative MPs over the promise as a sign that ‘this is the clearly demonstration that we could have that Scotland’s future must be in Scotland’s hands’. This was the passage where Salmond was turning, briefly, to waverers, suggesting that they shouldn’t believe everything they hear from the ‘No’ campaign.
He did make a pitch for the unity that the country will need whatever the result, saying he would respect it and urging ‘tolerance for those who have a different view’. He added:
‘To our friends in the rest of the United Kingdom, I say this. We don’t
seek division, but rather equality. A new, better and harmonious
relationship founded on our enduring bonds of family and culture.’
As he worked towards the end, he continued to encourage his supporters. ‘Don’t let them tell us we can’t. Let’s. Do. This. Now.’ He said they were still the underdogs, and still had to convince their fellow citizens to vote by majority for a new future for Scotland. ‘Let’s get to it, and let’s do it now,’ he said at the finish. And that was that. Supporters galvanised.
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