As an ex-SNP MP, I realise our independence mission has been given a hard pause by voters

In the wee hours of Friday morning, the people of Glasgow South elected a new Member of Parliament. Like his colleagues the length and breadth of the country, Gordon McKee fought a tremendous campaign and has earned his place in the next chapter of Scottish politics. I look forward to watching his new career take off and to the positive contribution he will make to public life in Scotland. As his victory was declared, I looked down to see the beaming pride on the faces of his parents, his partner and his campaign team. They’re good people and, after years of defeat, I know how much this win means to them.

Before I begin my own political eulogy, I want first to thank everyone who has made the past nine years possible. First among them all is my long-suffering partner, Gordon. I could not have done this job without his unwavering love and support and, if there is one positive to be found in losing the job I have loved so much, it’s that I will be able to spend more time with him.

I also want to thank my office staff for keeping the show on the road and my feet firmly on the ground. I’m grateful to my campaign manager Sean Rodgers for the miles and hours he put in. And finally, I want to thank the good people of Glasgow South for giving me – a working-class boy from Castlemilk – the job of representing them in the Commons. It has been the privilege of a lifetime to be your voice in parliament, and throughout that time my constituents were the ones who kept me grounded, sane, inspired and determined.

The SNP's Alison Thewliss is consoled after losing her Glasgow North seat (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA)

100mph life on an MP

But friends, Weegies, countrymen. You have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. There is nothing as ‘ex’ as an ex-MP, and perhaps nothing worse than a self-indulgent ex-MP. My time has come to pass on the baton and, as my predecessor Tom Harris did to me, I extend a hand to my successor should he want some of the tips, advice and tricks I’ve accrued over the past nine years.

Firstly, there is no such thing as an apprentice MP. You are now the elected representative of Glasgow South. Use everything that the office gives you to do good for your constituents, without fear or favour. The early days will go at a rate of 100mph. You will arrive at the Commons, meet hundreds of new colleagues and get to grips with one of the country’s most dysfunctional, and maze-like, workplaces even as you grapple with the practical, mundane logistics like finding somewhere to live. The demands on your time will be immense. Enjoy each moment of your early days but be sure to take it in.

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During this campaign, my party said we needed strong voices to ensure Scotland wasn’t ignored by a mighty Labour majority. Indeed, we said this was only possible by electing SNP MPs. Well, the voters took a different view. It may sound odd, so please bear with me, but I dearly hope that my campaign was fought on a falsehood. I hope that Mr McKee and the new Scottish Labour MPs will prove me wrong and, where they need to, stand up to the Prime Minister when Scotland requires it. I hope they’ll have the courage to put their heads above the parapet and speak up for Scotland. I hope they will prove me wrong.

And while I do plan to shuffle slightly back from the spotlight of frontline politics, public life is still important to me. The structural challenges facing this country – from our anaemic growth rates to the dawning of a new age of global insecurity – remain as pressing as ever. Voters understand this much better than political parties give them credit for. I will continue to chip into the debate on these issues where I think I have something constructive to say.

Votes for Labour on loan

There must also be a deeper reckoning within the SNP about where next for the party and for independence. Even with the caveat that Labour’s comeback is numerically shallow and inflated by an unfair voting system, the truth is that we have strayed over time from our hard-earned reputation for good governance and being the natural vehicle for people’s aspirations.

And though our national mission of independence has been given a hard pause by the electorate – pro-independence and unionist alike – they haven’t given up on us completely. Indeed, I heard countless SNP supporters tell me they were lending their vote to Labour to get rid of the Tories, and to tell us to get our act together. I know that colleagues across the SNP will have heard that message loud and clear.

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So, do we abandon independence, or simply shout it more loudly? The answer must be ‘no’ to both. But we must get real about where we are.

If we’re to stem the tide, we need to move beyond 2014’s Yes/No prism. In the short-term, we must be willing to articulate a new political offering to the people of Scotland: one that promotes and protects Scotland’s interests under a Labour government and new circumstances that mean independence is not on the immediate horizon. This will not be an easy task for the SNP which has, for the past several years, held the push for an imminent second referendum as its North Star.

But we need to come to terms with the fact that yesterday’s strategies will not win tomorrow’s battles. The future of our party depends on our ability to evolve and adapt to changing political weather. That means being unforgiving in our desire to be strategically effective, breaching old comfort zones, and elevating long-term, national interest over the short-term, party interest. The people of Scotland deserve nothing less.

Stewart McDonald is the former SNP MP for Glasgow South