Alex Salmond on the Scottish independence referendum 10 years on

Former first minister Alex Salmond has told Sky News he started to write his concession speech after the first result was declared in the Scottish independence referendum 10 years ago.

The historic event – which would have seen Scotland break free from the rest of the UK – took place on 18 September 2014 and saw more than two million people (55.3%) vote No and 1.6 million (44.7%) vote Yes.

Clackmannanshire was the first to return a result and recorded 19,036 (53.8%) votes for No and 16,350 (46.2%) for Yes.

Known as the “Wee County”, the local authority area often reflects the opinion of Scotland as a whole.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Salmond said: “So, when I saw that result, I started to write my concession speech.”

Although Dundee, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire showed “thunderous support” for Yes, it was not enough.

Following the defeat, Mr Salmond stood down as first minister and SNP leader and was replaced by Nicola Sturgeon.

Reflecting 10 years on, Mr Salmond said the campaign for independence started from behind.

He said: “Nobody gave us a chance at the start.

“I always reckoned if we got to the positive side of the argument, if we claimed the positive side for Yes, which in itself is an affirmation, then once we got into the campaign, I thought we’d pick up ground, and so we did.”

Mr Salmond believes the Yes side “nudged ahead” with around 10 days to go, but the huge public support effectively mobilised the No voters to take action.

Speaking about the “infectious” atmosphere at the time, he said thousands of people turned up to campaign, joking it was “impossible to do the shopping”.

He added: “So, it was a very exciting period, and I thought we’d just about make it. I thought we’d just done enough.

“So, it was a big disappointment, of course it was.”

Mr Salmond is now the leader of the Alba Party.

Despite the UK Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that the Scottish government cannot legislate for indyref2 without Westminster approval, he does not believe independence is as far away as it’s ever been as there has been a “seismic change” since the campaign was launched in 2012.

Mr Salmond is calling for campaigners to mobilise now to return a majority pro-independence Scottish parliament in the 2026 election. From there, a strategy should be put in place to “face down Westminster with the democratic will of the Scottish people”.

He said: “All we have to do is reconfigure the political furniture so as that mass of Yes support finds a political expression.”

The politician said it would be better for the movement if a number of pro-independence parties are elected but not actually in government.

He explained: “You don’t want people not to vote for independence because, you know, they’re fed up with half-built ferries or daft bottle schemes or self-identification, or whatever it might be.

“You want people to vote for independence because they want self-determination and respect for the nation.”

Mr Salmond noted how the Better Together No campaign, dubbed “Project Fear”, said “all sorts of dreadful things” would happen to Scotland if the Yes campaign won.

He said: “You know, we wouldn’t get into Europe. Nobody would talk to us. That Scotland would somehow drift off and end up at the North Pole or whatever. All these dreadful things were going to happen.”

However, Mr Salmond said the No campaign never claimed the SNP was not fit to run the Scottish parliament due to its past record.

Mr Salmond said that situation has since changed.

He said: “Because of the mistakes in governance, let’s put it that way, over the last five years, the SNP have got this albatross round their necks of their record in government.

“And if that becomes a hindrance to the independence campaign, then it becomes a problem.”

And then there’s the Police Scotland investigation into the SNP’s funding and finances.

Dubbed Operation Branchform, the long-running probe is linked to the spending of around £600,000 raised by supporters to be earmarked for Scottish independence campaigning. It is understood there have been complaints the ringfenced cash has been used improperly by being spent elsewhere.

Peter Murrell, Ms Sturgeon’s husband and former SNP chief executive, was charged by police earlier this year in connection with the embezzlement of party funds.

The investigation has also seen Ms Sturgeon arrested and released without charge, alongside ex-party treasurer MSP Colin Beattie. Ms Sturgeon continues to deny any wrongdoing.

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Mr Salmond said the police probe “certainly overhangs” and “casts a shadow” over the party but is not the “main source of problems”.

Citing the SNP’s recent record in government, he said the controversial Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill “alienated a great number of people in the women’s movement”.

Mr Salmond said: “And for the life of me, I don’t understand what all that was about. I mean, even if you thought that was a hugely important issue, you wouldn’t divide a country just when you’re trying to take it to independence.

“You’d say, ‘oh well, you know, we’ll discuss that after independence’.”

He added: “If the SNP were the only thing on offer, that would be a problem. Luckily, they’re not the only party on offer and I think we can overcome that problem.”

Mr Salmond said there has been a lot of talk over the years, but not a lot of action.

He said: “I haven’t seen a sustained campaign for Scottish independence from the SNP for 10 years.”

Mr Salmond said a clear strategy is required so people know the direction the movement is going – in the past it was “let’s get a parliament, let’s get into government in the parliament, then hold a referendum and become independent”.

Mr Salmond said he was a “betting man” and believes “Scotland will be independent in the next 10 years”.

He said the Alba Party would happily cooperate with the SNP to get the job done.

Mr Salmond said: “That’s what matters for Scotland. What we do with the independence, what we do with that self-determination, well, I think, we would govern Scotland well and wisely.”

And as for any future blunders, he said it will be the nation’s “own mistakes” that they can do something about.

Mr Salmond added: “I don’t say that Scotland would be a land of milk and honey, but we would be a land of oil, gas and renewables and that would stand us in good stead.”

The SNP was contacted for comment.