IT was a quiet, determined and peaceful revolution. It left Scotland’s unionist parties looking like a troika of forlorn pandas with less prospect of breeding and multiplying than Tian Tian and Yang Guang.

It has also left Scotland under the undiluted control of the Tories.

I’ve heard a number of pundits complain that Scotland is now a “one-party state”. But Scotland is not a state – at least not yet. And that’s precisely why we elected 56 SNP MPs.

It is not the 56 who will control our pensions and benefits, the level of the minimum wage, the employment laws, the size of the Scottish budget. It is not the SNP which has the power to declare war, launch nuclear strikes or lock out refugees.

These powers will all be wielded by a bunch of public school politicians whose party is now barely able to muster the support of one in 10 Scottish voters.

David Mundell, a man not exactly renowned for his intellectual prowess, is now most likely to be appointed Scotland’s feudal overseer on behalf of the old Etonians in Downing Street.

I was delighted for the fabulous 56 – especially the women. Women for Independence can now legitimately claim to have more MPs in Westminster than the Liberal Democrats.

But I also felt a wee bit of apprehension. They have been elected on a wave of hope, optimism and expectation. But trying to bring the Bullingdon Boys who run the UK state into the 21st century will be like trying to make a river go uphill.

I know some of these new MPs. They are principled, dedicated and will spare no effort to improve the lives of their constituents and of the wider population of Scotland and the UK. They will fight battle after battle to try and prise some powers from the iron grip of the Westminster elite.

They may even succeed in wresting some concessions, if only because some of the more politically astute elements within the ruling circles of Britain understand that intransigence will lead to independence and the break up of the UK.

But in my view, their priority is not the Westminster committees, where they will more often than not find themselves running into walls of solid granite, but what they do here in Scotland to keep people on board with the vision of independence.

That means working with all their constituents, irrespective of party allegiance. It means burrowing into communities where previously Labour were in with the bricks.

Folk might not know this but when I was an MSP, I was a bit of a workaholic. I thought it was crucially important to be seen to be working hard in Parliament. I dutifully attended the committees, the cross-party groups and the multitude of other events and meetings. I waded through tonnes of parliamentary business papers.

That’s all important – but nobody really notices. And that will be even more true for the business conducted in the Palace of Westminster.

We’ve learned through this election and the referendum that, in general, the media are hostile to independence and the SNP. That means the new MPs can expect forensic scrutiny. Their every move will be monitored, their every mistake broadcast at full volume to the world outside.

When the eyes of the world were on the UCS shipyard workforce in 1971, Jimmy Reid wisely told them that “there will be no vandalism, no hooliganism, no bevvying”. When you’re lined up against the establishment, you need to be better behaved, more conscientious and more hardworking than the folk in power. It’s not fair – but it’s true.

The famous SNP discipline will now be put to the test as never before. That shouldn’t mean political regimentation and the stifling of all dissent. It should mean that every new MP has to be conscious that their personal behaviour and character will be on trial from day one.

The 56 carry on their shoulders a huge weight of trust, hope and belief. It’s a heavy responsibility for anyone to bear but the stakes are sky high, not just for the those in the frontline but for all of Scotland.

Can we vote pundits out?

I DID a wee stint on the BBC in the early hours of Friday morning. Although I tried not to show it, there were times when my patience was stretched to the limit.

Despite the electoral tsunami that had swept over Scotland, some of the usual pundits were on hand to wear us down with same old shallow and bland pronouncements that we’ve been hearing from them since 2007.

The Scottish electorate was duped. Or they had succumbed to a cult. Or that this was just a one-off protest that would soon evaporate.

When it comes to Scottish politics, much of the political commentariat has called it wrong over and over again. Some clearly spend most of their time talking to each other in the bars around Holyrood rather than getting out and listening to real people.

As a result, some are beginning to look like Michael Fish, who on the eve of the Great Storm of 1987 told viewers to ignore rumours of a hurricane on the way.

When politicians fail catastrophically to get things right, they tend to get swept aside. Maybe it’s time for a few political pundits to take responsibility for their dismal performances, and make way for folk who might actually be capable of picking up a change in the wind direction, and having the courage to report it.