In 2011 the SNP won the most remarkable landslide victory. We won from Caithness to Cumnock. We won in every city in Scotland and we won across every social class, securing votes from all backgrounds. We won this astonishing victory on a manifesto that had a range of measures to improve our society and community at every level and we were rewarded for the good government we had demonstrated in the previous four years. We pledged to retain free education, keep free prescriptions and freeze the council tax. It was what could only be called a ‘One Scotland’ platform. We secured support and votes from all demographics and from people from all social backgrounds. 
 
On September the 18th, the Yes vote scored almost exactly the same percentage share of the vote that the SNP secured in 2011, but the composition of that vote could not be more different. The Yes vote was more class-based. It was larger in working class areas and areas of high deprivation, but it was depressed in areas of affluence and parts of Scotland with a large middle class and rural community. Much has been made of the demographics of the No vote and, whilst it is true we failed to reach the majority of over 65s, we also failed to reach large parts of Scotland’s middle class. We have to take responsibility for that and ask ourselves why the independence project failed to to be an attractive proposition to so many parts of aspiring and middle class Scotland.
 
It is true that there was a correlation with parts of Scotland with a residual Tory vote and a high No vote. The Tories were the most enthusiastic “No-ers”. They secured the Government that Scotland didn’t vote for and were, therefore, less inclined to be attracted by the democracy arguments. They also felt the greatest attachment to the idea of a sense of ‘Britishness’ and attachment to the UK state. But we have to acknowledge that there were many middle class voters beyond the depressed ranks of Conservative voters who could not be convinced of the case for an independent Scotland. It is this group that we also have to address and convince as we develop the SNP and grow the Yes consensus.
 
The developing narrative of the Yes case, particularly in the closing months, was one of radical social change. Most of the modelling offered beyond that, which was promoted in the white paper, came from the left.  Whilst we must be grateful for the intelligent and persuasive way that the case was developed, there just did not seem to be the same success in securing the support of a sceptical middle class. Groups like Business for Scotland worked tirelessly to demonstrate the opportunities of independence to a predominately middle class business community, approaches to middle class voters seemed almost half-hearted.
 
What we must do as a party now is get that ‘One Scotland’ message back on track and reinforced, listen to the concerns of “middle Scotland” and understand more clearly why so many of them felt they could not join us in supporting our nation’s independence. To Labour, the SNP are still the ‘tartan Tories’ and to the Tories we remain ‘radical left wingers’. That demonstrates to me that we are in just about the right place. What we must not do is abandon this ‘One Scotland’ approach of the last Scottish election. We must continue our commitment to social justice and redistribution with an attractive range of policies that also appeal to aspiring Scotland. 
 
The referendum suggested that there is a desire for real and substantial change, but if we are to radically transform our community, we must take the whole nation with us. When we, therefore, get out and debate and discuss the way forward for our nation, let’s remember that we are ‘One Scotland’ and it is this ‘One Scotland’ that we hope to continue to lead.