On the morning of 18 September 2014, Jane Phillips, a teacher from Dundee, was among the first people to vote in the Scottish independence referendum. At 58 years old, she was dreaming of a Yes victory that had seemed almost inconceivable for months. Looking back a decade later, she recalls the tension and excitement, and the feeling that they were on the brink of victory. Similarly, Cat Headley, a 30-year-old solicitor at the time, campaigned for Better Together in Edinburgh. She remembers the energy that existed and how it was amazing to be a part of. Malcolm Andrew, a 20-year-old No activist in Inverclyde, had both excitement and fear and recalls fighting for Scotland’s place that had been stable for hundreds of years.
Referendums naturally breed entrenchment, and everyone wanted to have their say. From then-US President Barack Obama to Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin, from royalty like Queen Elizabeth to Scottish royalty like Andy Murray, everyone had their views. However, it was a time of great fluidity and also forced party politics, and inter-party politics to take a back seat in Better Together. The Yes campaign, with Big Country’s One Great Thing as its unofficial soundtrack, took an unexpected lead in an opinion poll just over a week before the referendum. Three days out from the vote, independence supporters gathered in the Usher Hall in Edinburgh to be serenaded by some of the cause’s celebrity backers.
The first concrete indication that all efforts would be in vain came out of Clackmannanshire at 01:30. Eva Comrie, a lawyer who campaigned for Yes, had been confident of victory in her local area, but it was won by No with 55% of the vote. The No side then secured wins in Orkney, Shetland, and a narrow victory in the Western Isles. The major drama came from Inverclyde, where No won by just 86 votes, sparking groans and hands on heads among the Yes ranks in Glasgow. When the national result was confirmed, it was 55.3% for No and 44.7% for Yes.
Tensions inevitably ran high throughout the campaign, both on Scotland’s streets and in the nascent Twitter-sphere. Although the result did not satisfy either side completely, feelings remain raw a decade later. Jane Phillips says, “it has changed my view of what is possible. It’s given me hope and aspiration for the future.” Similarly, Louise recalls fondly a period when she feels Scots were able to “imagine something other than the status quo.
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