:00:10. > :00:26.this is me subtitling. To warm up this bloodshed. Good afternoon.
:00:27. > :00:32.In ten minutes, we will be listening to a live press conference from the
:00:33. > :00:39.First Minister, Alex Salmond, with his reaction to today's vote. I'm
:00:40. > :00:44.joined until then by Andrew Wilson, the former SNP and close confidant
:00:45. > :00:51.of the first Mr, and John Curtice, a well-kept face on the referendum
:00:52. > :00:55.trail. Thank you for joining us. Andrew, we are about here from the
:00:56. > :01:02.First Minister. Any idea what he might be about to say? Hopefully, he
:01:03. > :01:05.says that we have had a disappointing outcome, but seen in
:01:06. > :01:10.the context of the sweep of the story of Scotland's progress, it has
:01:11. > :01:17.been a remarkable night. 1.6 million people voting for yes, and the
:01:18. > :01:20.momentum behind tremendous change in Scotland that we hope can be driven
:01:21. > :01:24.forward. I would like to see Scotland controlling its own
:01:25. > :01:28.relevant finances and defence and foreign affairs being what's left at
:01:29. > :01:33.Westminster. It has been 15 years since the project here got going. It
:01:34. > :01:40.is remarkable where we are ready. We can have optimism from what we have
:01:41. > :01:44.heard today. Hearing that there are now 660 new members of the SNP as of
:01:45. > :01:49.now from last night, that is a remarkable surge in membership. My
:01:50. > :01:54.sister text at me to say that she had just joined. There is a vibrancy
:01:55. > :01:58.in there, of people wanting to keep the energy and bottle it and push it
:01:59. > :02:00.forward. Talking about a sense of optimism, Alex Salmond was talking
:02:01. > :02:04.about a journey, but on a personal level, in some ways he got so close
:02:05. > :02:10.you must be feeling that 11% more and he would have got it. But Italy
:02:11. > :02:15.for him, he has given two decades to leadership. It is a remarkable
:02:16. > :02:18.story. -- party to early for him. There are tonnes of people across
:02:19. > :02:24.the country who have campaigned for years, and everybody will feel
:02:25. > :02:29.disappointment. We are entitled to have a couple of days to pick
:02:30. > :02:33.ourselves up but what matters is that everybody unifies behind this
:02:34. > :02:38.next step. We cannot afford to step back. We have to keep the pressure
:02:39. > :02:41.on to get more power and do more for the people of Scotland. They have
:02:42. > :02:44.said that they do not want to be outside the United Kingdom and that
:02:45. > :02:51.has to be respected. That does not mean we should not get more power,
:02:52. > :02:58.and not just the yes voters, but tonnes of the no vote is also one
:02:59. > :03:00.that and that is a good thing. Interesting to view your take, John,
:03:01. > :03:05.on what has happened. A remarkable 24 hours in Scottish politics. It
:03:06. > :03:07.has been. And they think a fair judgement of what has happened is
:03:08. > :03:13.that it is clear that the yes side lost the boat. -- lost the vote, but
:03:14. > :03:18.it is clear that they also won the campaign. Remember three years ago,
:03:19. > :03:22.we thought it remarkable that the SNP could succeed at getting 45% in
:03:23. > :03:29.a Holyrood election. Let your member they got 45% last night, and to that
:03:30. > :03:35.extent, they have gained and demonstrated an ability to command
:03:36. > :03:38.the votes of a large section of the Scottish population. The truth is
:03:39. > :03:42.that as a result of the fact that they clearly increased their support
:03:43. > :03:47.during the course of the campaign, they in effect have forced the
:03:48. > :03:51.Unionist parties to go further down the road of promising at least
:03:52. > :03:55.something about more devolution, albeit I'm sure Andrew will say that
:03:56. > :04:00.the details are too vague at the moment and the timetable is not one
:04:01. > :04:04.that we are sure can be delivered, but they have gone further than
:04:05. > :04:11.intended. To that extent, the truth is that what has happened is another
:04:12. > :04:16.reiteration of the story whereby the SNP or the nationalist movement more
:04:17. > :04:19.broadly does well. They threaten the potential interests of the Unionist
:04:20. > :04:25.parties and their political holes, and as a result, the Unionist
:04:26. > :04:31.parties respond with more offers of devolution. -- political holes. And
:04:32. > :04:35.in effect, that has been the principal motivation that has led to
:04:36. > :04:39.where we are. And we have seen that reiterated. The UK still has
:04:40. > :04:42.Scotland as a member but it is going to be a member which looks as though
:04:43. > :04:50.it will be increasingly semidetached. And less detached than
:04:51. > :04:56.it was. The irony about this is that we were not supposed to have more
:04:57. > :04:59.devolution on the ballot paper because that would have been a
:05:00. > :05:02.consolation prize. Arguably, the First Minister could today say that
:05:03. > :05:08.reasonably, he got his consolation prize anyway. It could be viewed as
:05:09. > :05:12.a win-win. When you look at this place, this opens tenure to go and
:05:13. > :05:16.we have been here for 15 years, of course, but even ten years ago, you
:05:17. > :05:20.probably would not have thought it would be in this situation today. It
:05:21. > :05:24.may be disappointing, but you are in a strong place. My instinct is to be
:05:25. > :05:28.positive and optimistic and disappointed for a moment but
:05:29. > :05:32.hopeful for what is coming. I am supportive of the idea of appointing
:05:33. > :05:35.Lord Smith of Kelvin to oversee this, one of the few people with the
:05:36. > :05:38.great public service and private sector career who is equally
:05:39. > :05:43.respected in Downing Street and Holyrood. You think you will be an
:05:44. > :05:46.honest broker? I think he will be first class. We need to make sure
:05:47. > :05:50.that all sides are respectful of each other. We hear that Ed Miliband
:05:51. > :05:54.wants a UK Constitutional Convention. Fine in principle but we
:05:55. > :05:56.cannot have Scotland held back waiting for the slowest ship in the
:05:57. > :06:02.convoy. We need a multispeed approach. We should not be held back
:06:03. > :06:05.by Ed Miliband trying to tidy up the constitution for the rest of the UK.
:06:06. > :06:09.We need to respect different paces of doing this on as we did in the
:06:10. > :06:14.European Union. There is a precedent for that. An unusual move by the
:06:15. > :06:18.Prime Minister appointing Portsmouth to be the timekeeper in this
:06:19. > :06:28.programme, keeping an eye on what's going on, making sure that it
:06:29. > :06:32.follows that times table, -- timetable. An interesting repetition
:06:33. > :06:36.of the choreography from the 2010 election. We will remember that
:06:37. > :06:39.during that election we were told by the Prime Minister the idea of a
:06:40. > :06:43.hung parliament was terrible and we could not have a coalition of them
:06:44. > :06:46.as soon as the result was known, he moved very quickly and we had a
:06:47. > :06:50.remarkable announcement that he was willing to talk to Nick Clegg.
:06:51. > :06:56.Again, it is now quite remarkable in Downing Street that we discover that
:06:57. > :06:59.as we suspected, the three parties have been talking to each other
:07:00. > :07:02.quite a lot about what the next step should be although they had not let
:07:03. > :07:06.on about it. He was very well-prepared to say as far as
:07:07. > :07:11.Scotland is concerned, this is the next step. Then added a googly about
:07:12. > :07:19.the West Lothian question which is going to potentially make things
:07:20. > :07:22.more, get it. Two other things about last night that are found
:07:23. > :07:27.remarkable, one was the sight of a Conservative Prime Minister
:07:28. > :07:33.extolling devolution, and the other thing was hearing Lord Michael
:07:34. > :07:36.Forsyth saying that his own party's proposals for devolution were not
:07:37. > :07:47.radical enough will stop this was the man who in 1990 denied Scotland
:07:48. > :07:51.a parliament at all. For now, let's talk to our correspondent, David
:07:52. > :07:55.Porter, in Westminster. Interesting news this afternoon about Ed
:07:56. > :08:00.Miliband and his view on the Prime Minister's proposals. It is
:08:01. > :08:04.interesting. How things move on. Who was it who once said that a week was
:08:05. > :08:09.a long time in politics? Harold Wilson. These days, a day is a long
:08:10. > :08:15.time. A momentous 24 hours and the knock on effects are being felt here
:08:16. > :08:18.at Westminster. This morning, as you alluded to, David Cameron went down
:08:19. > :08:21.to Downing Street and said that Scotland would be getting more
:08:22. > :08:25.devolution and also the other parts of the United Kingdom. Then he also
:08:26. > :08:28.said that the English question would have to be addressed. The West
:08:29. > :08:34.Lothian question, the rights and responsible it is of Scottish MPs to
:08:35. > :08:38.vote on matters which they do not control. He gave an indication that
:08:39. > :08:42.he wanted to see an answer to the English question. Many Tory MPs
:08:43. > :08:48.would like that to be a long line of Scottish MPs not being able to vote
:08:49. > :08:51.on English only matters. So far, so good. Ed Miliband give a statement
:08:52. > :08:55.this afternoon in which he seems to be going back on that. He says yes,
:08:56. > :09:00.he wants devolution for Scotland and he wants that to go ahead map but he
:09:01. > :09:04.is also saying, wait a moment and let's not rush forward with some of
:09:05. > :09:09.the other plans that David Cameron had for further devolution for the
:09:10. > :09:13.rest of the United Kingdom, and interestingly, the English question,
:09:14. > :09:17.preventing Scottish MPs from voting on English matters. Why is that so
:09:18. > :09:22.important? We have a general election coming up. We could find
:09:23. > :09:25.out that in 2015, it is Ed Miliband that is the Prime Minister in the
:09:26. > :09:30.House of Commons behind me and the likelihood is that he will have
:09:31. > :09:33.quite a large block of Scottish MPs. What would happen if legislation was
:09:34. > :09:36.in place whereby they could not vote on certain English matters? That
:09:37. > :09:45.could cause problems for Ed Miliband. What he is saying is that
:09:46. > :09:48.now, he will not sign up to David Cameron's plans to get this through
:09:49. > :09:54.as soon as is. He wants more time to think about it, to go slow on the
:09:55. > :09:59.idea of addressing the English question. It is getting very
:10:00. > :10:04.interesting and it is showing, for want of a better phrase, a building
:10:05. > :10:10.site for a new constitution in the UK, and how difficult this is going
:10:11. > :10:13.to be, even with those who agreed before the referendum. Now the
:10:14. > :10:24.referendum is over they are not seeing eye to eye.
:10:25. > :10:27.We are hearing Big Ben is striking in the background and we were hoping
:10:28. > :10:32.to go to the First Minister's press conference. We should be able to get
:10:33. > :10:36.to it soon. Will he be putting on a pretty brave face this afternoon and
:10:37. > :10:40.taking the fight to the Prime Minister? Don't think he needs to
:10:41. > :10:47.put on a brave face. He is naturally brilliant and optimistic. He has
:10:48. > :10:50.carried his own energy, taking the party from protest to opposition
:10:51. > :10:57.into a very cultural ease with being in power. -- Bewley in. He's able to
:10:58. > :11:01.lead a coalition of quite a wide righty of people, because this is
:11:02. > :11:06.not just the SNP. This is about all sorts of people. It has been quite a
:11:07. > :11:10.magnificent culture change in Scottish politics. It is not in its
:11:11. > :11:13.party but gets any more. As our membership is going up dramatically,
:11:14. > :11:16.the word is that the Labour Party are losing members. That will be a
:11:17. > :11:22.dynamic that will be interesting to watch. John, you are laughing at
:11:23. > :11:25.that. As Andrew is pointing out, there is a disparate group of people
:11:26. > :11:30.rallied around the banner of independence. Do you think that
:11:31. > :11:33.group can continue? Do you think they will stick together or do you
:11:34. > :11:36.think that they have lost the referendum, that will now not
:11:37. > :11:41.happen? Without naming names, can think of a number of prominent
:11:42. > :11:47.individuals who tenure to go clearly were primarily allied to their own
:11:48. > :11:50.party. They came out as public advocates of independence, and
:11:51. > :11:55.perhaps that was an indication of a wider change whereby the nationalist
:11:56. > :11:59.movement is now eating into traditional territory. Certainly,
:12:00. > :12:03.the one thing that strikes you when you look at the map of the places
:12:04. > :12:07.where the yes side did actually have a majority, where are they? They are
:12:08. > :12:11.in red Clydeside, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Western Barton share.
:12:12. > :12:16.One part of Scotland that actually had a majority of people in favour
:12:17. > :12:23.was supposedly the socialist heartland of the country. -- West
:12:24. > :12:26.Dunbartonshire. If it is socialist, it is nationalist and socialist but
:12:27. > :12:32.not socialist on its own any more. And personally, Andrew, the
:12:33. > :12:37.nationalist heartlands of Angus and Perthshire home the majority went
:12:38. > :12:45.for now. It is maybe a slight switch. -- for a no vote. In many of
:12:46. > :12:51.these places, like Moray, it is a bigger switch. It is interesting,
:12:52. > :12:55.because there is a clear dynamic. On average, across the parliament
:12:56. > :12:59.seats, we have 2500 votes in terms of the swing that we would have
:13:00. > :13:04.needed to have one. There is not a lot of people. -- to have won. There
:13:05. > :13:09.is a lot under the surface happening. A bunch of liberals
:13:10. > :13:11.appear to have voted yes and a small number of conservatives, and a big
:13:12. > :13:15.chunk of Labour Party people. There is a lot going on and we should take
:13:16. > :13:19.the time to properly digest it and get the advice of experts like John.
:13:20. > :13:24.It disappoints me that it turns out his polling was pretty accurate! It
:13:25. > :13:29.is nice of you to say sell! I think that the results last night revealed
:13:30. > :13:33.that what some of us thought would be a problem for the yes side is
:13:34. > :13:36.indeed that many of you are middle-class supporters in the
:13:37. > :13:42.north-east of Scotland, in some of the strongholds, said, well, I love
:13:43. > :13:46.the SNP has a party that can defend Scotland's interests but I'm not
:13:47. > :13:50.sure I believe in independence. Although you successfully persuaded
:13:51. > :13:54.the community to spend its time focusing on Labour folk who were
:13:55. > :13:57.going to vote yes, some of us pointed out that if you looked at
:13:58. > :14:01.the opinion polls, there were almost as many people who said they voted
:14:02. > :14:04.for the SNP in 2011 who ended up voting now and we suspected that
:14:05. > :14:09.that would affect you in the north-east. In truth, it was pretty
:14:10. > :14:14.spot on. That is a fair criticism. It is a fair analysis. Clearly,
:14:15. > :14:17.there was a job that was not done in terms of persuading people in
:14:18. > :14:20.different segments of the population. Among the over 65 is,
:14:21. > :14:26.there was a very significant vote against reform. And that may have
:14:27. > :14:33.been the risk and reward staff. When it came to the money problems, it
:14:34. > :14:40.was the YouGov poll on Sunday that showed that the lead for yes was in
:14:41. > :14:43.place. Westminster then kicked in with the warnings for business. Did
:14:44. > :14:48.that affect the vote in places like Aberdeen city, which was very firmly
:14:49. > :14:56.now? We will not know until we analyse it. Intuitively, it feels
:14:57. > :14:59.that the oldest amongst us would be more deferential to institutions and
:15:00. > :15:03.big figures in the way that the rest of the population is decreasingly
:15:04. > :15:07.so. Secondly, the wall of noise, not just from the print media which was
:15:08. > :15:11.hostile to us and much of the broadcast media did not have a
:15:12. > :15:16.wonderful campaign map but the wall of noise from the institutions were
:15:17. > :15:20.saying, don't they are. And a lot of people drew back from that. That is
:15:21. > :15:27.not their fault, that is our fault. -- don't today. It shows where there
:15:28. > :15:30.was work not done. Now we must galvanise the positive energy behind
:15:31. > :15:33.the step that people are prepared to take at this moment, to go at the
:15:34. > :15:40.pace that people want to go out and that is what we must not let up on.
:15:41. > :15:49.The demographics, the 25 to 35 age group. Supporting independence. As
:15:50. > :15:53.time moves on, does independence become more popular, more and more
:15:54. > :16:00.young people voting, do they get more used to it? It may be... Sorry,
:16:01. > :16:03.Jon, Alex Salmond is now at the podium.
:16:04. > :16:09.Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to make a brief statement and take some
:16:10. > :16:14.questions. Let me say first, that I am immensely proud of the campaign
:16:15. > :16:23.that yes Scotland fought. And of the 1. 6 million voters who rallied to
:16:24. > :16:27.the cause. I am proud of the 85% turnout in the referendum and the
:16:28. > :16:32.remarkable response of the people of Scotland who participated in this
:16:33. > :16:37.great, democratic constitutional debate, and of course the manner in
:16:38. > :16:41.which they conducted themselves. We have now the opportunity to hold
:16:42. > :16:46.Westminster's feet to the fire on the vow that they have made to
:16:47. > :16:50.devolve further meaningful power to Scotland. This places Scotland in a
:16:51. > :16:56.very strong position. I spoke to the Prime Minister today
:16:57. > :17:01.and although he reiterated intentions to proceed as he has
:17:02. > :17:08.outlined, he would not commit to a second reading vote on the 22nd
:17:09. > :17:12.March, a clear promise laid out by Gordon Brown during the campaign.
:17:13. > :17:16.The Prime Minister says such a vote would be meaningless. I suspect he
:17:17. > :17:21.cannot guarantee the support of his party. As we have seen in the last
:17:22. > :17:25.hour, the common front between Labour and Tory, Tory and Labour is
:17:26. > :17:32.starting to break. But the real point is this, the real
:17:33. > :17:37.guardians of progress, they are not longer politicians at Westminster,
:17:38. > :17:43.or even Holyrood. But the energised activism of tens of thousands of
:17:44. > :17:48.people, who I predict will refuse to meekly go back into the shadows. For
:17:49. > :17:53.me right now, therefore, there is a decision as to who is best-placed to
:17:54. > :17:58.lead this process forward. I believe that this is a new, exciting
:17:59. > :18:05.situation, that is redolent with possibility. In that situation I
:18:06. > :18:10.think that party, Parliament and country would benefit from new
:18:11. > :18:21.leadership. Therefore, I have told the national secretary of the snap
:18:22. > :18:25.Scottish National Party that I shall not accept the position, I shall
:18:26. > :18:32.stand down to allow the new leader to be elected by due process. Until
:18:33. > :18:36.then I shall continue to surf as First Minister and offer myself as
:18:37. > :18:41.member of Parliament for Aberdeenshire east. It has been the
:18:42. > :18:46.privilege of my life to serve as the First Minister. But as I have said
:18:47. > :18:50.during the referendum campaign, this is a process not about me, or the
:18:51. > :18:55.SNP or any political party, it is much, much more important than that.
:18:56. > :18:59.The position is this, we lost the referendum vote but Scotland can
:19:00. > :19:06.still carry the political initiative. Scotland can still
:19:07. > :19:13.emerge as the real winner. For me as leader of my time here, my time now
:19:14. > :19:16.is nearly over but for Scotland the campaign continues and the dream
:19:17. > :19:22.shall never die. Now, I am very happy to answer a few
:19:23. > :19:26.questions. REPORTER: Thank you very much indeed
:19:27. > :19:32.for that statement. A couple of things, do you have a particular
:19:33. > :19:37.successor in mind? Can you indicate what was the precise motivation that
:19:38. > :19:41.has led you to this decision? And mostly, you said during the
:19:42. > :19:44.referendum campaign, that this was a decision for a generation, possibly
:19:45. > :19:48.a lifetime, do you believe that the party you have led, now for some
:19:49. > :19:52.time, will change its nature and become more a party of Scottish
:19:53. > :19:57.affairs and Scottish interests rather than mainly a party of
:19:58. > :20:01.independence? No, is the answer to the last part of that question,
:20:02. > :20:06.Brian. But on the question of who is to be the new leader of the Scottish
:20:07. > :20:09.National Party and likely, therefore, through parliamentary
:20:10. > :20:16.process to be the next First Minister, that is a matter for the
:20:17. > :20:19.membership of the SNP. There are a number eminently qualified and
:20:20. > :20:23.suitable candidates. We have a strong leadership team. As far as my
:20:24. > :20:29.comments, I have always believed, as you know, that a republican rum is a
:20:30. > :20:36.once in a generation process. I mean a political generation. We had a
:20:37. > :20:42.referendum in 1979 and another in 1987. I did draw attention that it
:20:43. > :20:47.seemed that the political focus to take forward Scotland has now
:20:48. > :20:53.shifted. Vows were made in the last stages of the referendum campaign. A
:20:54. > :20:56.clear timetable was laid out. As I said, I think that the
:20:57. > :20:59.opportunity for Scotland is two-fold. One is to hold
:21:00. > :21:04.Westminster's feet to the fire to make sure that there is no slippage
:21:05. > :21:09.from that timetable. I am disappointed that the idea of a
:21:10. > :21:15.second reading vote seems to have disappeared as well as the
:21:16. > :21:20.Labour/Conservative common front on the issue. But the real guardians of
:21:21. > :21:24.Scotland are not the political parties in Westminster or Holyrood,
:21:25. > :21:28.they are the activism of the tens of thousands of people in the political
:21:29. > :21:32.process. That is where the guarantees lie, in my estimation.
:21:33. > :21:38.REPORTER: And your main reason for standing down? As I said, I think in
:21:39. > :21:43.these circumstances, you should judge if the party, Parliament,
:21:44. > :21:48.country, could benefit from a new leadership. I should know, you are
:21:49. > :21:52.probably the only journalist in the room, Brian, who has covered that
:21:53. > :21:57.entire political process. I have had ten years as leader of the Scottish
:21:58. > :22:02.National Party, then a slight pause and another ten years have just been
:22:03. > :22:06.completed. It is not exactly fly by night in terms of the leadership
:22:07. > :22:09.spell. But at this stage, this point, and I think this is a moment
:22:10. > :22:14.of great political opportunity, I had to make a judgment as to whether
:22:15. > :22:16.I am best-placed to take that opportunity forward. I think that
:22:17. > :22:23.others are. I think that the party, I am sure,
:22:24. > :22:28.they will make a wise choice and take party and country forward. The
:22:29. > :22:32.most important thing is not about who is First Minister but whether
:22:33. > :22:36.you engage the political process. I think there is a tremendous
:22:37. > :22:41.opportunity to do it but I think that new leadership can be a part of
:22:42. > :22:48.that galvanising process. Clare Stuart?
:22:49. > :22:54.REPORTER: What is your reaction to Ed Miliband not signing up to David
:22:55. > :22:59.Cameron's defendant luges plan and secondly, how difficult a decision
:23:00. > :23:04.was this for you? Well, I make this commentary to people, that I, when
:23:05. > :23:09.the, when Ed Miliband and David Cameron came to Scotland a week
:23:10. > :23:14.past, I felt that they lacked a degree of credibility in terms of
:23:15. > :23:19.the last-minute nature of the offer, the last-minute dash to Scotland in
:23:20. > :23:23.terms of political engagement. It is clear in the last 48 hours, because
:23:24. > :23:27.of the manner in which the vow was presented, that a number of #350e78
:23:28. > :23:32.thought it was so explicit, so clear, so defendant, that there
:23:33. > :23:37.could be no going back from it -- definite, that there could be no
:23:38. > :23:44.going back from it. Maybe we will get a different statement tomorrow.
:23:45. > :23:48.There is a parliamentary vote in a set timetable before the general
:23:49. > :23:53.election, presumably Gordon Brown suggested that as he knows it was
:23:54. > :23:56.not the exact parliamentary process that counted but having a second
:23:57. > :24:03.reading vote to demonstrate real commitment. Both that and indeed the
:24:04. > :24:07.common front between the Prime Minister and the leader of the
:24:08. > :24:16.opposition which seemed so easy. When people in Scotland were to be
:24:17. > :24:20.persuaded to vote no, now in the aftermath it seems more difficult.
:24:21. > :24:25.The guardians of Scotland, as I said, are now the tens and thousands
:24:26. > :24:31.of people activated into politics. I don't think we longer depend in the
:24:32. > :24:34.words or the deeds of Westminster politicians or even Holyrood
:24:35. > :24:39.politicians. That is where the centre of gravity lies. It is on
:24:40. > :24:43.that basis that I am confident about the future as opposed to the words
:24:44. > :24:48.of Westminster politicians. They will be judged, of course. Not by
:24:49. > :24:55.the words that they spoke but by the actions that they now take forward.
:24:56. > :24:59.Martin, please. REPORTER: First Minister, to be
:25:00. > :25:04.clear, are you suggesting that the Scottish electorate have been duped
:25:05. > :25:07.by Westminster? Well, there are 1. 6 million people who made a choice for
:25:08. > :25:13.independence. That is an extraordinary total. That
:25:14. > :25:19.is way beyond realistic expectations of the last generation of Scottish
:25:20. > :25:25.politics. With a succession of polls during the campaign, whether a
:25:26. > :25:29.multi-option choice was given had independence as the main choice. I
:25:30. > :25:33.think that the 1. 6 million can speak loud if there is a retreat
:25:34. > :25:39.from the commitments made. But more than that, I think that many of the
:25:40. > :25:42.2 million people who were not persuaded by the argument for
:25:43. > :25:47.Scottish independence, that many felt something else was to be
:25:48. > :25:52.offered on a timetable that we were told was quicker and more certain
:25:53. > :25:57.than the process of the #0i7s negotiations. Imagine that these
:25:58. > :26:01.people in particular will be astonished by the early developments
:26:02. > :26:05.of Westminster, that the united front, that the easy commitments are
:26:06. > :26:12.now starting to be withdrawn. Those of us who voted "yes", did so in a
:26:13. > :26:15.faith and a belief in Scotland's future but also healthy scepticism
:26:16. > :26:23.of Westminster paper guarantees. Some of the people that voted no
:26:24. > :26:26.will be incandescent, if they see slippage from a timetable
:26:27. > :26:34.articulated only a few days ago. Jon?
:26:35. > :26:37.REPORTER: First Minister, you talk of energised activism but
:26:38. > :26:42.unmarshaled, and unled, it may not go far. No First Minister with
:26:43. > :26:48.obligations to the whole of Scotland can hope to become involved in that
:26:49. > :26:53.activism, hence, will you become buried within it, or will you been
:26:54. > :26:58.the leader of it, and will you continue to toil for independence?
:26:59. > :27:03.Well, I'm the First Minister and therefore in respects, the leader of
:27:04. > :27:06.the country will be that person who the Parliament chooses. I have no
:27:07. > :27:12.intention of retiring from Scottish politics. There are a large number
:27:13. > :27:15.of things you are able to do when you are not the firm leader of a
:27:16. > :27:21.political party, which is still useful. But I think that the whole
:27:22. > :27:26.point about the energised activism is that it does not depend on the
:27:27. > :27:29.leadership figures. The whole point about it, the significant
:27:30. > :27:34.development of the campaign is the emergence of that as grass roots
:27:35. > :27:39.movement, and by definition, not top-down leadership. So therefore,
:27:40. > :27:43.why not be the leader of that energised activism by definition. It
:27:44. > :27:47.does not come from a leadership aspect but I want to be a part of
:27:48. > :27:52.that campaign. I think it was exciting. It was one of the
:27:53. > :27:57.underlying amazing stories of this political campaign. I have to say
:27:58. > :28:04.that those who didn't see that huge story, because they were concerned
:28:05. > :28:09.about some relatively minor instance from either side on the corner of
:28:10. > :28:13.politics and missed this extraordinary development in this
:28:14. > :28:17.modern age of political activism on a scale which certainly Scotland has
:28:18. > :28:22.never seen, that is one of the underlying wonderful stories of the
:28:23. > :28:27.campaign. The question is how does it rebalance Scottish politics? I
:28:28. > :28:31.think it is fundamental. It plays challenges to Westminster. The
:28:32. > :28:38.ultimate top-down leadership process. And there are challenges to
:28:39. > :28:42.Holyrood about how activism can be engaged and encompassed. But it does
:28:43. > :28:46.not depen on a leader figure. That is one of the points.
:28:47. > :28:52.REPORTER: Will you continue to toil for independence? Toil, I don't
:28:53. > :28:56.think that is the correct word. I believe in Scottish independence all
:28:57. > :28:59.of my political life. I shall do everything that I possibly can to
:29:00. > :29:04.contribute to that cause. But there are many more ways to do it than as
:29:05. > :29:08.the leader of the Scottish National Party or the First Minister of
:29:09. > :29:12.Scotland. I think that the position that we
:29:13. > :29:16.are in now, that Scotland is in now is redolent for opportunity. If you
:29:17. > :29:22.regard it as a narrow political focus, I don't think we should, then
:29:23. > :29:26.it is a great opportunity for the SNP and indeed the other "yes"
:29:27. > :29:30.forces but I am interested in the opportunity that lies ahead for
:29:31. > :29:34.Scotland. I think that the situation is redolent for opportunity and
:29:35. > :29:40.political progress for the country. Peter?
:29:41. > :29:44.REPORTER: First Minister when I interviewed you recently you said we
:29:45. > :29:50.will win in the south of Scotland and we will win across Scotland. Now
:29:51. > :29:55.you have lost by a margin of 10% points. That is a very, very big
:29:56. > :30:00.margin. It seems that you are blaming the Westminster forces. Do
:30:01. > :30:06.you not take some personal responsibility for this defeat? Will
:30:07. > :30:11.I will look you in the eye and say that 45% of the vote of 1. 6 million
:30:12. > :30:17.votes is a remarkable political development. If you have been
:30:18. > :30:22.interviewing me a few months ago, you did not believe or forecast that
:30:23. > :30:28.to be the case. I know this absolutely as I saw you say it on
:30:29. > :30:33.the television a few hours ago! In terms of responsibility, I don't
:30:34. > :30:39.think there is anymore assured way to take what responsibility than I
:30:40. > :30:42.have than what I have just said. Mistake made were mine. Nobody else
:30:43. > :30:48.is responsible. But a balanced judgment will tell you that this
:30:49. > :30:52.campaign went a long way in a very reasonable short space of time in
:30:53. > :31:00.the last few months to delivering on that ambition for Scotland.
:31:01. > :31:04.So, I but in terms the No Campaign is never perfect, of course it is
:31:05. > :31:22.not. The mistakes made were mine and mine alone.
:31:23. > :31:29.support as your successor? The conventions in politics. There are a
:31:30. > :31:38.number of conventions that are broken, but shall I vow on this?
:31:39. > :31:45.What do you think, David? All the appropriate conventions, I think, in
:31:46. > :31:48.a membership ballot in a democracy, like the SNP leadership contest, I
:31:49. > :31:53.think it is incumbent on the outgoing leader not to attempt to
:31:54. > :31:57.nominate that process. The point about it is that everybody in that
:31:58. > :32:02.process, like everybody here, has one vote. I will not be put into
:32:03. > :32:08.instructed the Scottish National party. They are well able. I think
:32:09. > :32:13.the leadership, the judgement on the main part, when they voted for me,
:32:14. > :32:18.the SNP have been pretty good. I think the members are well able to
:32:19. > :32:34.make that judgement without any guidance. REPORTER: First Minister,
:32:35. > :32:37.with the process of devolution starting soon, time is of the
:32:38. > :32:43.essence. A quickly will your successor be appointed? -- how
:32:44. > :32:48.quickly. My successor will be in place at the time of the SNP annual
:32:49. > :32:57.conference in Perth, on the 13th of November. Andy Parliamentary vote,
:32:58. > :33:02.the proper process of becoming First Minister, it will then likely be the
:33:03. > :33:07.next week. The Parliamentary timetable is not from me -- a matter
:33:08. > :33:12.for me, as the residing officer would likely remind us. Any
:33:13. > :33:20.leadership campaign, incidentally, it is an energising process. I see
:33:21. > :33:29.no reason whatsoever that the SNP would not want to engage in that,
:33:30. > :33:34.and all politics does not stop because you are having a leadership
:33:35. > :33:36.contest. On the contrary, leadership contest helps to crystallise the
:33:37. > :33:38.different ways ahead. For me, I have made some observations and it seems
:33:39. > :33:43.to be a clear priority for Scotland, and political opportunity. But I'm
:33:44. > :33:54.sure that will develop and emerge as the SNP leadership contest moves
:33:55. > :34:01.forward. I think you have been through that entire process, along
:34:02. > :34:05.with Brian Taylor. REPORTER: Talk us through in more detail the
:34:06. > :34:08.conversation with the Prime Minister, and you raised the matter
:34:09. > :34:13.of the deadline for the second viewing and what his response was.
:34:14. > :34:20.-- how you raised. I'd congratulated the Prime Minister, because he is in
:34:21. > :34:30.fact the leader of the no campaign. I'd congratulated him on his success
:34:31. > :34:35.in the campaign. He kindly had sent me a note of what he had in mind to
:34:36. > :34:40.say. There were a number of aspects that are found quite satisfactory.
:34:41. > :34:43.But when I'm asked the Prime Minister, because I was interested
:34:44. > :34:47.to know if the Gordon Brown timetable which he endorsed in the
:34:48. > :34:51.course of the 27th of March, to have a vote on a Scotland bill, the Prime
:34:52. > :34:56.Minister's response was to say that well, that is a meaningless process
:34:57. > :35:00.because, of course, it will be overtaken by the UK general
:35:01. > :35:03.election. I think Gordon Brown knew that when he put forward the 27th of
:35:04. > :37:56.March. I'd assumed what When you have a contest, people
:37:57. > :38:00.accept the result. Yes, it is very yes campaign who are disappointed
:38:01. > :38:04.that we did not win but the yes campaign, I'd clear, has accepted
:38:05. > :38:10.the result and, of course, are prepared and willing to engage under
:38:11. > :38:13.the Edinburgh agreement in the terms of not just accepting the results
:38:14. > :38:19.but moving forward in the best interest of Scotland and the UK. The
:38:20. > :38:27.words that I have skirts today have come about quicker than I've
:38:28. > :38:32.suspected because part of the vow seems to have been removed in a
:38:33. > :38:38.short period. REPORTER: Many of the party members will be upset today
:38:39. > :38:41.anyway. You not just adding to that by announcing your resignation
:38:42. > :38:47.today, and how do you feel about that? I'm conscious of that. But I
:38:48. > :38:54.have consistently argued a position, particularly as this
:38:55. > :38:59.campaign has emerged, that this was not about and individual or a 1
:39:00. > :39:03.political party or any political party. This was much bigger and more
:39:04. > :39:10.important. And therefore, my judgement has to be as far as the
:39:11. > :39:15.SNP's contribution to that process, would it benefit from having new
:39:16. > :39:17.leadership? Would the country benefit? And would the Parliament
:39:18. > :39:22.benefit. My judgement is that it would. Therefore, it is surely in
:39:23. > :39:25.the spirit of not just saying that it is more important than an
:39:26. > :39:35.individual, it is actually to carry that forward. REPORTER: Can I ask
:39:36. > :39:42.when exactly you made the decision to stand down and if this is the end
:39:43. > :39:46.of you in front line politics or if you could be tempted back if you
:39:47. > :39:58.were offered a role? If nominated, I will decline. Now, I think, I'd keep
:39:59. > :40:03.seeing eye and 59 and ask audiences around Scotland to agree that I do
:40:04. > :40:11.not look it. Why will be 60 on Hogmanay and although that is not an
:40:12. > :40:15.ageist comments, and many people do things in politics beyond that age,
:40:16. > :40:24.20 years as leader of the Scottish National Party is a fierce spell of
:40:25. > :40:26.the last quarter-century. The last seven years as First Minister of
:40:27. > :40:34.Scotland has been the privilege of my life. But I think that that is a
:40:35. > :40:40.reasonable spell of service. I think there is an aspect that you have to
:40:41. > :40:48.understand and recognise when it is time to give someone else a chance
:40:49. > :40:51.and move forward. Let's stop talking about referendum battles and things
:40:52. > :40:58.like that and talk about getting up the mountain. I think the base camp
:40:59. > :41:03.is not far off the summit now. It might be that those that make the
:41:04. > :41:10.last move to the summit are not those who got it to the current
:41:11. > :41:13.encampment. I think that is my judgement. And I think that is the
:41:14. > :41:21.right thing to do. As to when I made the decision, needed this morning. I
:41:22. > :41:27.was not as rightly set. I'd believed that there was great possibility in
:41:28. > :41:30.the campaign. And obviously I would not have made the decision if it had
:41:31. > :41:40.been a yes vote. Given the circumstances of the vote, wonderful
:41:41. > :41:43.and empowering though it is, I think it is my judgement that someone
:41:44. > :41:51.else's leadership will be best placed to take that forward to the
:41:52. > :41:54.summit. Please. REPORTER: Magnus Gardham from the Herald. First
:41:55. > :41:59.Minister, you are Scotland's longest serving First Minister will stop you
:42:00. > :42:04.won an election and a majority government which many people thought
:42:05. > :42:08.was impossible. You staged a referendum of independence and a lot
:42:09. > :42:12.of people thought was impossible. In that referendum, you secured 45% of
:42:13. > :42:17.the vote which a few weeks ago, a lot of people would have thought was
:42:18. > :42:23.impossible. When you come to leave office, how much of you will feel
:42:24. > :42:28.that you have fallen short and how much of you will feel that actually
:42:29. > :42:31.you achieved a great deal? I should have spoken to you this morning
:42:32. > :42:37.because that is a very good description of the process. Magnus,
:42:38. > :42:44.it is more a judgement of where we are. As I said, I absolutely believe
:42:45. > :42:47.that the circumstances are redolent with possibilities for Scotland and
:42:48. > :42:53.the SNP but more importantly for Scotland. There is a judgement to be
:42:54. > :42:58.made about how best to take that forward. What is the SNP and the
:42:59. > :43:05.First Minister's contribution to that? I'm convinced that at this
:43:06. > :43:08.moment, it would be better to have that under new leadership. It is
:43:09. > :43:13.about the process and how it goes forward. That and only that is my
:43:14. > :43:22.interest in this matter. In fact, it always has been. James. STUDIO: An
:43:23. > :43:27.extraordinary career in front line politics draws to a close this
:43:28. > :43:31.afternoon. This extraordinary Friday afternoon. My time is nearly over.
:43:32. > :43:37.The campaign continues and the dream shall never die. The First Minister,
:43:38. > :43:41.Alex Salmond, announcing his resignation in the next couple of
:43:42. > :43:46.months. I'm joined by Andrew Wilson and Professor John Curtice. Andrew
:43:47. > :43:51.Wilson, you are a close confidant of Alex Salmond. It must've been a
:43:52. > :43:55.difficult decision. I'm sure it was but we must pay tribute to someone
:43:56. > :43:57.who has brought this country to the moment they are and just now, who
:43:58. > :44:02.has given their life to public service. One of the monumental
:44:03. > :44:06.lessons of this great moment of change is that the best of
:44:07. > :44:10.leadership is often about letting go. That is as true of power from
:44:11. > :44:14.the centre as it is true of the First Minister knowing when his
:44:15. > :44:20.moment has come. He has given two decades to the party, seven to the
:44:21. > :44:23.country. What he is saying now is to all of us, not just his successor,
:44:24. > :44:28.now is the moment to have the torch passed to us. This is a profound
:44:29. > :44:31.moment in the developing of Scotland's story and I think he has
:44:32. > :44:37.done something which hopefully across the political spectrum will
:44:38. > :44:44.recognise both what he has achieved and also the manner of his going. I
:44:45. > :44:49.was at the hotel in July of 2004 when he announced his candidacy to
:44:50. > :44:55.be the First Minister. For your party, it has been an incredible ten
:44:56. > :44:59.years. Monumental. I have taken -- he took the party from the position
:45:00. > :45:04.of being a protest group in opposition to a point where we have
:45:05. > :45:08.galvanised 1.6 million people behind the suspects for independence. We
:45:09. > :45:12.have also transformed the aspects for life across the UK because
:45:13. > :45:16.everyone is thirsting to have power decentralised out of the hands of
:45:17. > :45:19.Whitehall and Westminster. That has been his contribution. I would
:45:20. > :45:24.argued that everyone should celebrate that because we mean to
:45:25. > :45:28.public servants. Secondly, it is important to recognise that
:45:29. > :45:32.leadership is not only about leading when you have power but also knowing
:45:33. > :45:36.when the time has come to pass it on. John Curtice, Eagle describe him
:45:37. > :45:42.as the Marmite politician, love him or loathe him. -- people describe
:45:43. > :45:45.him. Even his most bitter enemies will respect what he has achieved.
:45:46. > :45:49.The first thing to say is that although he may not have realised
:45:50. > :45:53.what might have been his ambition, to be the first Prime Minister of an
:45:54. > :45:56.independent Scotland, let's not forget the remarkable achievement
:45:57. > :45:59.that he is the first SNP leader to have become the leader of a
:46:00. > :46:04.government and have become the First Minister of this country. Clearly,
:46:05. > :46:07.that was a substantial achievement. The second thing to say is that
:46:08. > :46:15.despite having been in power for seven years, he is still remarkably
:46:16. > :46:20.popular. His populist standing is still remarkably strong, better than
:46:21. > :46:24.any of the current party leaders in Westminster. That should be
:46:25. > :46:28.recognised. I think we have also now discovered that Gordon Brown's
:46:29. > :46:32.timetable has another publication. Because it seems to me that it will
:46:33. > :46:37.be rather difficult for the SNP to be heavily involved in these
:46:38. > :46:42.negotiations about more devolution when frankly, it will be in minutes
:46:43. > :46:47.of a leadership debate. To that extent, at least, to some degree
:46:48. > :46:51.Alex Salmond's decision cuts across what we thought to be what he was
:46:52. > :46:58.saying to the party, that it should get involved in this. We may well
:46:59. > :47:02.this cover that a candidate emerges who says, actually, I'm standing on
:47:03. > :47:05.the basis that we should not get involved, and as a result, we may
:47:06. > :47:11.see a debate inside the SNP about whether and not a get -- it gets
:47:12. > :47:18.involved. The timetable has another publication from Mr Salmond. John,
:47:19. > :47:26.Andrew, thank you. Let's cross to our correspondent who is in Glasgow.
:47:27. > :47:30.My goodness, since he first went down to Westminster in 1987, he has
:47:31. > :47:42.fairly shaken up the logical foundations. I think will come as a
:47:43. > :47:45.surprise to his supporters that he has announced his resignation today
:47:46. > :47:49.because of the way that he appeared this morning at that news
:47:50. > :47:54.conference, even though they had lost the referendum. Clearly he had
:47:55. > :47:57.won 1.6 million votes and he said that he would accept that decision.
:47:58. > :48:01.We spoke to people this morning who said they thought he would not stand
:48:02. > :48:08.down at him going, he has laid the blame at the feet of the Westminster
:48:09. > :48:11.establishment, saying that they did not believe that Mr Cameron was
:48:12. > :48:16.likely to go ahead with that timetable for those further powers.
:48:17. > :48:21.In a way, he is blaming them for his resignation although he said in his
:48:22. > :48:24.statement that he accepted the responsibility for the fact that
:48:25. > :48:30.they had lost this, and any mistakes in the campaign that were made were
:48:31. > :48:34.his. I think also in failing to name a successor, saying that there were
:48:35. > :48:43.plenty of people who could take over from him, he is laying the way open
:48:44. > :48:47.for a wide ranging debate within the party itself as to its traction.
:48:48. > :48:52.There will be people within the party who will say that the strategy
:48:53. > :48:55.they employed, saying that they would have a currency union rather
:48:56. > :48:58.than a Scottish currency of its own, that those kind of things were not
:48:59. > :49:02.hardline enough and that perhaps if they had taken a different
:49:03. > :49:08.direction, you might have won a referendum. Lots of things to
:49:09. > :49:11.discuss but clearly, Alex Salmond pointing out that the establishment
:49:12. > :49:16.itself was partly to blame. And the fact that this timetable has not
:49:17. > :49:19.been signed up is something that will likely cause disruptions. But
:49:20. > :49:23.at the end of the day, I think David Cameron will be pleased that he is
:49:24. > :49:28.going as leader. He had run rings around the Westminster leaders in
:49:29. > :49:33.this campaign. And clearly, over the next 24 hours, we will see the
:49:34. > :49:35.reaction. One of the pieces of reaction, Ruth Davidson, the
:49:36. > :49:40.Conservative leader in Scotland has said that Mr Salmond has clearly
:49:41. > :49:44.served Scotland but seems to be confused about this timetable, and
:49:45. > :49:51.one of his cabinet secretaries said that his standing down today is
:49:52. > :49:56.statesman-like. Tim, thank you very much for that. Now let's cross to my
:49:57. > :50:01.colleague, David Porter, he is at Westminster. David, Tim was speaking
:50:02. > :50:05.there about how Alex Salmond was perhaps feared at Westminster and of
:50:06. > :50:09.course he famously said that he would make Westminster dance to a
:50:10. > :50:14.Scottish jig. Something that he managed to achieve, probably, with
:50:15. > :50:18.the referendum? Yes, another extraordinary twist in really a
:50:19. > :50:23.momentous 24 hours. I think that there will be some on a political
:50:24. > :50:27.level who will heave a huge sigh of relief that Alex Salmond is deciding
:50:28. > :50:33.to exit from the political stage. But they will have huge respect for
:50:34. > :50:38.him as a political operator, as a political strategist. They disagreed
:50:39. > :50:43.with him on core politics. They may not have liked him as a personality.
:50:44. > :50:48.But there are politicians here at Westminster, who had great respect
:50:49. > :50:53.for Alex. Alex Salmond cut his teeth in the building behind me in
:50:54. > :50:58.Westminster in 1987. Within a year he had grabbed the head lines by
:50:59. > :51:02.managing to disrupt a budget and get ejected from the House of Commons
:51:03. > :51:08.but to get huge publicity for the SNP. He was a prime candidate who
:51:09. > :51:13.could get publicity for the SNP and there are many people who will say
:51:14. > :51:20.that they don't agree with him or his policies, or where he wanted to
:51:21. > :51:26.take Scotland but by goodness they respected him as a political
:51:27. > :51:31.operator. When Alex Salmond became the Prime Minister in Scotland and
:51:32. > :51:34.the Conservatives took charge of Government here, Alex Salmond met
:51:35. > :51:39.Oscar Garcia, both men who like to think about how they do things. It
:51:40. > :51:45.was supposed to be a courtesy meeting for about 20 minutes. An
:51:46. > :51:48.hour-and-a-half later they were still talking politics, talking from
:51:49. > :51:54.different sides. But they respected each other. I think as we have seen
:51:55. > :51:58.from the campaign, that has just finished, the No Campaign won, they
:51:59. > :52:03.won the election but there are many people who think that the Yes
:52:04. > :52:07.Campaign won the campaign itself. How Alex Salmond managed to play it
:52:08. > :52:13.long in the negotiations with the UK Government. He got the date of his
:52:14. > :52:17.choosing, he got the question of his choosing, he is seen by many at
:52:18. > :52:21.Westminster as a very, very good political strategist. But in
:52:22. > :52:23.political terms, I think that they will be quite glad that he is
:52:24. > :52:26.leaving. David Porter, thank you very much
:52:27. > :52:34.for that. Now, Alex Salmond has been a
:52:35. > :52:38.dominant force in Scottish politics. Andrew Wilson, can you sum up that,
:52:39. > :52:42.the two chunks of leadership, the ten years and the ten years again?
:52:43. > :52:45.In the first period of his leadership he took the party and
:52:46. > :52:50.modernised the outlook and the positioning. He prepared it for what
:52:51. > :52:53.was to come next. When we got to Holyrood or the other Parliament
:52:54. > :52:59.building as it was at the time, he chose a good moment to pass on what
:53:00. > :53:03.would be a long period of the next stages of devolution. He was then
:53:04. > :53:08.persuaded to come back in, the rest is history. He was able to take the
:53:09. > :53:17.party and galvanise it. Change the culture to be much less opposition,
:53:18. > :53:20.chippy, to an open hearted and welcoming onement remarkable.
:53:21. > :53:23.Thank you very much. Now, Alex Salmond, a dominant force in
:53:24. > :53:29.Scottish politics, announces today that he is leaving the stage.
:53:30. > :53:32.Leaving the political limelight. He said that the party, Parliament and
:53:33. > :53:38.country would benefit from new leadership. Here are images of his
:53:39. > :53:42.career. We are back with an extended Reporting Scotland at 6. 30pm this
:53:43. > :54:02.evening on BBC One Scotland. Good afternoon.
:54:03. > :54:06.For me right now, therefore, there is a decision as to who is
:54:07. > :54:10.best-placed to lead this process forward.
:54:11. > :54:15.I believe that this is a new, exciting situation, that is redolent
:54:16. > :54:20.with possibility. But in that situation I think that
:54:21. > :54:23.party, Parliament and country would benefit from new leadership.
:54:24. > :54:27.Therefore I have told the national secretary of the Scottish National
:54:28. > :54:31.Party, that I shall not accept nomination for leader of the annual
:54:32. > :54:35.conference in Perth on the 13th and the 15th of November. After the
:54:36. > :54:40.membership ballot I shall stand down as the First Minister to allow the
:54:41. > :54:49.new leader to be elected by due parliamentary process.
:54:50. > :55:05.Hello! How you getting on? So, June, first of all, is this
:55:06. > :55:07.something you have done before?