IT is indeed a huge privilege and an honour to be part of the remarkable starburst of democracy which last Thursday demanded that Scotland’s voice be heard.
And as their newly elected MP, I would like to thank the people of Ochil and South Perthshire for putting their faith in me and in the SNP. I have the good fortune of representing one of the most diverse and interesting constituencies in Scotland, with a whole range of challenges and opportunities and I will use my voice at Westminster to get the best deal possible for local people.
Election counts are where politics and drama most closely align. The nail-biting tension of watching the papers pile up and trying to work out if you’re ahead. The rumours floating round the hall. The sheer, elated joy of the win. And you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have some consideration too, for those who didn’t succeed.
Once you’ve been elected, the process of actually becoming an MP is surprisingly well organised and rapid. Almost as soon as I’d come off the stage after the declaration, I was handed an envelope by the Returning Officer, containing information about what I had to do next.
This was followed up by a phone call on Saturday from the Commons authorities saying I’d need to be in London from Monday until Wednesday to go through the induction procedure. The weekend was then spent at that fantastic photocall at South Queensferry with our SNP group, handling media interviews and thanking my brilliant activists.
The flight to London City airport on Monday morning was packed with party colleagues also travelling down to take their seats, everyone feeling hugely excited and upbeat. As fate would have it, we apparently only just missed bumping into Ed Miliband and his family flying out on holiday. I suspect that miss spared his blushes more than ours.
Both the atmosphere and the architecture at the Palace of Westminster are tangibly and definably British. It clings to its Mother of Parliaments reputation: there is a powerful feeling of tradition and hierarchy.
For the SNP group though, this is a straightforward place of work, and our job; to be a strong voice for Scotland, and push more powers up to Edinburgh.
You can’t help feel a certain ambivalence about the building. Without doubt, Barry and Pugin’s 19th century creation is a masterpiece of neo-High Gothic splendour.
It was designed to be impressive and – no matter what your politics – it is. The Central Lobby is intended to be Cathedral-like in its power, and it succeeds.
But as a place to do business, this Palace of Westminster is far from ideal. For a start, the chamber of the Commons isn’t nearly big enough for all the MPs to sit down during big debates, leading to crowding.
It’s also a rabbit warren of a place – those who work there say that to fully learn your way round its maze of corridors, alcoves and back staircases can take six months.
But I don’t think a single one of our new SNP group minds any of this. The voters of Scotland have provided us with an unprecedented opportunity to advance their interests, and those of progressive politics across the UK. That is what we plan to do. Place does not matter. Politics does. People do.
With the Liberals all but wiped out and Labour broken and likely to suffer an internal identity crisis for years to come, it will be our party which holds this Tory government to account and which articulates the voice of everyone who supports the end of austerity.
I believe there are going to be three great issues in this parliament – Scotland, Europe and the economy. We will be at the centre of all these things, advocating powers beyond the Smith Commission, continued membership of the EU and the return of a fair tax and welfare system based on social justice. If the Prime Minister thinks that a shambolic Labour opposition is going to let him off the hook, then he’s going to get a shock.
The women and men of our group of 56 MPs are here to do a job which includes being the most effective opposition to the Tory government on behalf of people throughout the UK.
Of course it’s going to be tough, but we have lots of things on our side – goodwill, a team of fantastic and passionate MPs, an overwhelming democratic mandate, the eyes of an engaged world and the continuing fascination of the media.
We have earned the trust of Scotland’s people. Our nation rightly has high expectations of us and we are – we truly are – going to be heard. It’s time.
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