The political legacy of Alex Salmond

Edinburgh awoke on 19 September 2014 with a blanket of mist soaking the stones of the old city.

The cacophony of an independence referendum campaign which had echoed through Scotland for three years had died away and Alex Salmond, so often the embodiment of pugnacious self-confidence, appeared pale and drained.

Overnight it had become clear that the nation had voted decisively, although not overwhelmingly, to stay in the United Kingdom, retaining its 307-year-old union with England.

Soon, we squeezed into the drawing room of the first minister’s official residence, Bute House, to watch Salmond announce his resignation as leader of the devolved government which he had run since 2007, and of the Scottish National Party, which he had dominated for far longer.

Salmond was clear that he accepted the democratic verdict of the people but while there was a hint of dejection in his manner, there was a flash of defiance in his words.

“For me, as leader, my time is nearly over but for Scotland the campaign continues, and the dream shall never die,” he said.

Earlier he had delivered a similar message to his devastated supporters, telling them: “Let us not dwell on the distance we have fallen short. Let us dwell on the distance we have travelled.”