Wouldn't it be good if Cameron fought for Britain's interests as hard as Salmond fought for Scotland's? I'm sure Mr Salmond doesn't care what the English think of him as long as he gets the best deal for Scotland, and he has been steadfast in that resolution and belief all during his long career in politics.
Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon have more credibility in their little finger than any one of our Westminster politicians will have throughout their whole political lifespan.
Whether you love or loathe Alex Salmond, he is still the only politician in these islands at the moment to lead a party with a healthy working majority.
He'll be back to scourge Unionist politics, stronger than ever, and will lead a swarm of yellow and black SNP representatives into Westminster next year; stirring up a Hornet's Nest that will awaken the Westminster establishment from their self-satisfied and cosy stupor.
Eck and Nicola and everyone who participated in the cross party YES campaign have unified Scots into a nation once again and installed self-belief and self-pride. Our time will come, as surely it is better to be led by lions rather than lambs.
One in 50 of the Scottish population is now an SNP member, and that is remarkable, and was a figure unachievable before Eck took control again. The only way to change things politically is to take the battle into the streets, and that is why the SNP will win. All of us have a part to play at the GE next year, no matter how small or insignificant we think it is, from the 16 or 17-year-old who became engaged at the referendum in politics for the first time, to the pensioner. From the housewife to the student, the bin-man to the teacher. We are all individuals, but all united here and all one and the same. No matter how you voted on 18 September, the only way we can achieve more for Scotland and hold the Unionist parties to their promises is to return as many SNP representatives to Westminster as possible.
Holyrood is a devolved parliament; we don't have independence in all but name. We have a limited degree of self-government, and all the major decisions are still taken in Westminster. Now the YES side are fully aware that they lost the vote in September but the realisation that the entire country was duped by last minute promises from the Unionist leaders of Devo Max, has now motivated more than half the country to support Sturgeon in the next Westminster elections.
A Tory government will only drive the Scots towards Independence. Still, that is a plus for the SNP, and if the polls show Labour cannot win then even more voters in Scotland will support the SNP; and about time. Yet no doubt the Red Tories will use their tired old mantra of "vote for us keep the Tories out u're alright." Well we are not going to fall for that one again. Nicola has already stated that if the SNP do hold the balance of power after the GE they would support a Labour Coalition, ON THEIR TERMS ONLY, which will ensure that Scotland gets all powers promised or else they would walk away. So vote SNP to achieve the best deal for all of Scotland. Sturgeon in Perth made it clear she is not to be messed with. Just like Eck, she has already in her maiden speech as leader shown that she is a force to be reckoned with. If Milliband needs those SNP seats to form a majority, the price for that will be significant. Trident must be scrapped and removed from the Clyde. All powers promised in the "Vow" must be delivered, and the austerity policies must be abandoned, all over the UK.
And reading through todays Glasgow Evening Tmes, Nicola Sturgeon is quoted on page two as saying "oting for Labour to keep the Tories out is the biggest con trick in Scottish politics."Meanwhile on page 16 The Scottish Labour acting Leader Anas Sarwar gushes, " Every Vote for an sNP candidate is a vote to elect David Cameron". This time though we won't get fooled agaon . . .
A friend of mine has a son who works at Westminster as a researcher for a group of Labour MP's, and he confessed that a lot of the Labour MP's wish Salmond was a member of their party, because they think that with him on board he would make a fine PM! Some people have also compared Eck to Obi Wan Kenobi, "You can't win. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." While that detail is certainly true, I however see Salmond more like a rock star - and I have known a good few in my time - and the General Election will be Alex Salmond and the SNP's '68 Comeback Special.
I watched Eck's speech on the road via Youtube and it was stirring stuff indeed. So the rest of this blog will be a kind of condensed version of some of the key points, a kind of greatest hits, (where have we heard that expression recently?) and shows the measure of the man, and the politician.
Attending the Scotland v England game at Parkhead will be his last official duty as FM, and he has spearheaded a seismic transformation in Scotland that will mark his place in History, and the shockwaves shall be felt for many years to come. And as a last act, he will be donating his annual pension entitlement after being First Minister every year to benefit children's charities in the NE of Scotland, he already donates a third of his annual salary this way already.
"As we enter the 2015 and 2016 elections, our message of hope and ambition is matched by a demonstration of what we have achieved."
"Because self-government has never been just about having power for its own sake. It has been about having power to improve the lives of the people who live and work here."
"That's why we have worked so hard to demonstrate what can be done within devolved government -constitutional reform means nothing without tangible benefit for ALL of Scotland."
"Since 2007 we have delivered Scotland's first minority government and Scotland's first majority government. Let me be clear - without the success of that minority government there would have been no majority government, and without that majority, there would have been no referendum."
"Ten years ago when I was re-elected in a partnership leadership with Nicola the SNP had 8,000 members. We now have ten times that number, ready and willing to pick up the gauntlet for Scotland. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN AN ORDINARY POLITICAL PARTY. NOW WE ARE AN EXTRAORDINARY ONE WITH A GREAT TASK TO BE COMPLETED. Next week our Conference re-convenes in the Hydro Arena in Glasgow - the largest ever political Conference across these islands. We are a party renewed. Let us resolve to involve each and every member in the work that lies before us, in the selection of candidates and in the election to come. And let us be open and generous - to allow some shining stars of the YES movement to stand under the SNP banner reflecting the historic shift that has taken place. The groups that emerged from the grassroots were wonderful - Women for Independence, Business for Scotland, National Collective and many many more. LET US EMBRACE THEM AS CANDIDATES AND ASK PEOPLE A SIMPLE QUESTION: WHO WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE REPRESENTING THE NATION? THE NEW PEOPLE WHO AWOKE THE NATIONAL SPIRIT OR THE OLD WESTMINSTER PARTIES WHO HAVE DONE THEIR BEST TO BREAK IT? And let us set ourselves a target. Let us select our candidates from the best that Scotland has to offer and send them into battle with an army of activists. Our Party has tripled in size but it can grow further yet."
"We have come a long way but we have a step further still to travel. It must be infuriating for our Unionist opponents to see us lose the referendum and then go on to prosper. They are totally disorientated. They cannot understand what on earth is going on.
The reason is actually quite simple. For us the referendum for us was never about party - it was always about country. And because we understand that most people - YES voters and NO voters - want to see the country prosper, we are trusted by most voters to do just that. Advancing the Scottish national interest is what we do - it's in this party's DNA. So starting now and until we have secured for Scotland what we were promised our job is to hold Westminster's feet to the fire. And that is why voting SNP is more important than ever, and the YES vote we shall ask for in May next year will be a simple one: Yes to the devolution of job creating powers, social security, broadcasting, pensions and much else besides. Yes to a Parliament with real control of Scotland's finances. Yes - above all - to the presumption that those who live and work here are best placed to run our own affairs. The UK parties should be in no doubt - give Scots the power we demand, or Scotland will vote to take it."
"We have put Scotland back on the global map. The eyes of the world were fixed on Scotland this year, and Scotland did not stand transfixed in the headlights of international attention. We rose instead to the challenge of change. The people will not disappear back into the political shadows and the nation will not fade into the dark. This country has changed and changed utterly.
AND THAT IS THE CHANGE WHICH WILL CARRY US FORWARD - FORWARD TO INDEPENDENCE"