Where are the top players in the Scottish independence referendum now?

Alex Salmond, David Cameron, Nicola Sturgeon and Alistair Darling.
From left, Alex Salmond, David Cameron, Nicola Sturgeon and Alistair Darling (Picture: PA/Getty)

On September 18 2014, voters across Scotland wrote an ‘X’ on their ballot and held their breath in one of the most significant political events in the country’s history.

There was not much doubt about the likely result of the referendum on independence, with almost every poll indicating Scots would reject the idea.

But there was a frisson of uncertainty among supporters of separation from the UK – the margin of error was so tight that a shock result was possible.

And regardless of how Scotland voted, it was clear that the fact of the referendum had changed something for the long term. The genie was out of the bottle: people were talking about what independence would mean, and they were not about to stop.

Yet a decade on, remarkably little has changed in terms of support and opposition.

Even after Brexit and 14 years of Conservative government – both widely unpopular in Scotland – as well as controversy over the finances of the SNP that resulted in the arrests of top figures, the divide remains intact.

The 2014 results showed 55% were opposed to independence and 45% supported it. A recent YouGov poll showed those figures are now 56% and 44% respectively.

However, the past 10 years have held extraordinary ups and downs for the main figures involved in the referendum. Here’s what has happened to them since.

Alex Salmond

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 15: Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and Prime Minister David Cameron shake hands during after signing a Independence Referendum deal on October 15, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Alex Salmond and David Cameron shake hands after signing the Edinburgh Agreement in October 2012 (Picture: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

As first minister, Alex Salmond won an unprecedented majority for the pro-independence SNP at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.

He pointed to that result in negotiations with Prime Minister David Cameron, which ended with an agreement to hold a referendum on the issue in 2014.

After it became clear that Scotland had voted against leaving the UK, Salmond announced he would step down as party leader and first minister. His deputy Nicola Sturgeon ran unopposed to replace him.

Despite leaving office, he loomed large in the 2015 UK General Election with the Conservatives accusing Labour of considering a coalition with the SNP – and producing a poster depicting Ed Miliband in Salmond’s pocket.

At that election, Salmond was elected as MP for Gordon. He stayed in Westminster until being ousted from the seat by the Tories in 2017.

In August 2018, he left the SNP following allegations of sexual misconduct while he was first minister. The following year, he was arrested and charged with 14 offences including two counts of attempted rape.

He was cleared of all charges in March 2020 following a high-profile trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

In 2021, he became leader of the Alba Party, another pro-independence party that faced off directly with the SNP. Widely considered a home for nationalists who disagree with SNP positions on issues such as gender, Alba has been universally unsuccessful in every election since its founding.

David Cameron

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 15: Scottish Secretray, Michael Moore and Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon as First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond (R) welcomes Prime Minister David Cameron, (L) to St Andrew's House in Edinburgh prior to signing a referendum agreement monday on October 15, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scotland (Photo by Gordon Terris - Pool/Getty Images)
Then-PM David Cameron with his Scottish Secretary Michael Moore meeting with Sturgeon and Salmond in 2012 (Picture: Gordon Terris/Getty Images)

David Cameron took two big gambles on referendums during his time as prime minister. One paid off, the other very much did not.

The PM left most of the campaigning ahead of the independence vote to other figures including former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling, perhaps knowing an association with the Tories might not have helped the pro-Union cause in Scotland.

After the result, he said in a speech outside Downing Street: ‘Like millions of other people, I am delighted. As I said during the campaign, it would have broken my heart to see our United Kingdom come to an end.’

Things did not go quite as well for Cameron in his second referendum – the one in 2016 on whether the UK would stay in the European Union.

The country voted for Brexit and he resigned as prime minister. Two months later, he stepped down from the House of Commons too.

After maintaining a low profile for many years, Cameron was appointed as foreign secretary and handed a peerage by PM Rishi Sunak in November 2023.

Nicola Sturgeon

Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP, addressing members of foreign and local media, at a press conference at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, on the 17th anniversary of the Scottish devolution referendum. The event was staged as part of the Yes pro-Scottish independence campaign in the lead up to the referendum on Scotland's future in the United Kingdom. On the 18th of September 2014, the people of Scotland voted in a referendum to decide whether the country's unio (Photo by Colin McPherson/Corbis via Getty Images)
Nicola Sturgeon stepped up to become the de facto leader of the independence movement after the vote (Picture: Colin McPherson/Corbis via Getty Images)

As Salmond’s deputy, Nicola Sturgeon was put in charge of the SNP’s campaign for a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum.

After the defeat, she was elected unopposed as SNP leader – making her the first female Scottish first minister and de facto head of the pro-independence movement.

She grew the party to become one of the most significant forces in British politics, taking all but three Scottish seats in Westminster at the 2015 General Election.

Sturgeon became the longest-serving first minister in May 2022, and unexpectedly announced she would be stepping down the following year. She was replaced by her health secretary Humza Yousaf.

Her husband Peter Murrell was arrested at their Glasgow home two months after her resignation during a police investigation into the SNP’s finances.

On June 11 2023, Sturgeon was also arrested as part of the probe. She was released without charge later that day.

The ex-first minister remains under investigation by Police Scotland, while Murrell was charged with embezzling party funds in April.

Alistair Darling

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 25: Alex Salmond (R) First Minister of Scotland and Alistair Darling (L) chairman of Better Together take part in a live television debate by the BBC in the Kelvingrove Art Galleries on August 25, 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland. Tonight is the second time the two politicians have gone head to head answering questions from members of the audience on key issues on Scottish independence. The referendum will take place on 18th September when the nation will be asked to vote yes or no to decide whether Scotland should be an independent country. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Darling and Salmond took part in a televised debate during the campaign (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Alistair Darling served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer under Gordon Brown between 2007 and Labour’s defeat at the 2010 General Election, leading the UK’s response to the global financial crisis.

In 2012, he stepped up to lead an independent alliance between unionist parties Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives named Better Together.

It became the official voice of the pro-UK campaign ahead of the independence referendum.

During the campaign, he took part in two fiery televised debates against Alex Salmond. Snap polls following each encounter found voters believed Darling won the first and Salmond won the second.

Darling was nominated for a life peerage in 2015 and sat in the House of Lords until retiring in 2020.

He died on November 30 last year, two days after his 70th birthday. Politicians from parties across the political spectrum paid tribute to him, with Brown praising his ‘unimpeachable integrity’ and Salmond describing him as ‘formidable’ but ‘extremely courteous’.

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