ALLAN DORANS, NEW SNP AYR, CARRICK AND CUMNOCK

ALLAN Dorans credits his convincing majority in Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock to his “superb” campaign team, as well as his record as a hard-working SNP local councillor.

Although he was working against a 2774 majority for the Tories at the last election, he was hopeful he could gain that back and more and he did, winning by 2329 votes.

“We had a short campaign for Westminster and it went superbly,” said Dorans. “I had a campaign team who I could only describe as a dream team. They were mainly retired men and women who came out every day in all weathers, delivering leaflets and knocking on doors. We hand-delivered 80,000 leaflets in one month. It really was amazing. The opposition had a few people out delivering leaflets but that was all.”

Along with the doorstepping, the team set up street stalls in town high streets all over the constituency, with the stall in Ayr at the Wallace Tower, a focal point of the town.

“We gave away thousands of pens and badges and anything else we could think of,” said Dorans. “It was a fantastic, intense campaign and we had a great response. No one else was out on the high streets so people were overwhelmed by us but in a positive, friendly way. We did not force anything on anyone.”

Dorans also took part in a hustings organised by local publican Bob Shields, who is also a journalist.

“He writes very scathing articles on politics,” said Dorans. “I don’t know him very well but he has never said a bad word about me.”

LibDem candidate Helena Bongard did not turn up for the hustings and few supporters turned out for Tory candidate Martin Dowey, the leader of South Ayrshire Council Tory group, and Labour candidate Duncan Townson.

“There were 40 people in the pub and 25 were my supporters so it went well,” said Dorans.

Afterwards Shields predicted the SNP would win.

His prediction proved right even though the previous SNP MP Corri Wilson dropped nearly 10,000 votes at the 2017 election.

“I was confident that as a new candidate with a reputation for honesty and integrity I would get some of them back,” said Dorans.

“I also did some things that I don’t think anyone else did. I produced 800 letters for first-time voters, personalised them all and had them delivered, and wrote personalised letters to all 140 SNP members not on email.”

In addition, two independence supporting volunteers boosted Dorans’s social media presence, free of charge.

“They were just incredible,” he said. “They made some videos of WASPI women – three 30-second videos which were hugely powerful and got 25,000 hits within a few days. They made some videos of me and what I wanted to do too, and increased my social media profile phenomenally. They did it free because they are independence supporters but I would really recommend their skills.”

Despite the positive feedback the team were receiving, Dorans said he thought it would be close as the Tory MP, Bill Grant, had a substantial majority and it is a relatively affluent constituency.

“There was always a concern that the rich and the twinset and pearl brigade would come out in force to vote so I did not think it was cut and dried,” he said. “The Labour candidate was a young man who was very good but it was his first step into politics so it was always going to be a two horse race.”

Even on the night, when a sample of ballot boxes indicated a majority of around 3000 for Dorans, the team did not count their chickens.

“As the night went on the pile of Tory votes got bigger and mine stayed the same so it looked very close and at one stage I thought there could be a recount,” said Dorans. “At the end the majority was 2329 so we gained nearly 5000 votes.”

He said he thought Brexit played a big part in the vote for the SNP, particularly now that Northern Ireland is set to get special treatment, and added he was looking forward to it being the last time Scotland had to send MPs to Westminster.

Nicola Sturgeon is applying for a Section 30 before Christmas and as she says, what right do they have to say no. If they do I am sure there will be a plan although I am not a party to that yet,” said Dorans.

“In the meantime, I am looking forward to using my knowledge and skills to help my constituents. I am already getting immigration and benefit problems to deal with.”

The National: Allan Dorans thought the EU had played a big part in the SNP's victoryAllan Dorans thought the EU had played a big part in the SNP's victory

JOANNA CHERRY, SNP MP FOR EDINBURGH SOUTH WEST JOANNA

Cherry QC spearheaded legal challenges to the UK Government’s prorogation of Parliament and attempts to leave the EU with no deal on October 31. She plans to do the same in order to secure indyref2.

“We had a really good campaign and had more people out campaigning and volunteering to help than ever before,” Cherry said. “They were out in all weathers on the doorsteps and the streets and we had a fantastic response to our crowdfunder which broke our funding target of £16,000. From the response we got on the doorstep and going round polling stations yesterday we thought we were going to do well.”

Cherry was confident she would keep her seat, adding: “I knew I was going to hang on to the seat and expected to increase my majority but was not prepared for quite the level we achieved.”

Cherry’s majority went from just over 1000 in 2017 to just under 12,000 this year. In the 2015 General Election the majority was 8000. “At the time we thought that was the high-water mark so I am really chuffed for myself and the activists,” Cherry said. “It’s nice to have such a ringing endorsement from the constituents.

“I was at Dynamic Earth today and was delighted to hear Nicola Sturgeon acknowledge in such strong words the strength of the mandate that we have to hold a second independence referendum and for her to say she is going to be bringing forward a detailed plan for one in such a way that it is beyond legal challenge. I am looking forward to seeing it.”

Asked what she thought the next steps should be, Cherry said: “I have my own views on the way forward but I think she has said she is going to reissue the demand for an independence referendum before the end of the month and will be bringing forward a detailed plan. Until that is in the public domain there is no point in me speculating.”

On her record in the last Parliament, she said: “I am really proud of my part in the Andy Wightman case which established that Article 50 could be unilaterally revoked although obviously that is not going to happen now.

“I am also proud of leading the challenge to Boris Johnson’s unlawful prorogation of Parliament. This set an important precedent to show that when democracy is challenged the courts and the rule of law have a role to play in protecting democracy. I am really proud of that.

“I am also delighted with the vastly increased majority I have which is a vindication of my hard work both nationally and locally and the respect in which I am held in Edinburgh South West.

“During the General Election campaign some nasty and unpleasant briefing was going on against me from a vocal and small minority within the SNP. This is now a crucial time for the nation and the party and is not the time for petty bickering.

“We don’t have time for that sort of nonsense and it is now time to call it out. I am doing so now as there has been some misogynist abuse of me during the campaign and I also had my car scratched which is being looked into by the police.

“The backbiting and briefing has been from a small minority of SNP members and it is very important for that to be called out and that to be stopped. We must unite to defend democracy in Scotland and the cause of independence.

“It is also really important to give Nicola Sturgeon the support she needs to bring forward the plans next week. This is not about individuals. This is about independence and the mandate we have. We need to give her our support and work together as one.

“The abuse made the activists angry when they were working so hard and out in all weathers making sure I got a big majority, not just for me but for the cause of independence. We were really annoyed they were trying to undermine our efforts. We don’t need any more of this nonsense going forward.

“People do have disagreements but they ought to be able to keep debates on policies such as the Gender Recognition Act positive instead of damaging the SNP and the case for independence.”

The National: Joanna Cherry has big plans for indyref2Joanna Cherry has big plans for indyref2

ALYN SMITH, SNP MP FOR STIRLING

‘MY emotions are so conflicted and all over the place,” admits Alyn Smith as he grapples with the highs of finding himself elected as Stirling’s new MP while simultaneously struggling to accept the comfortable majority gained by Tories across the UK.

In this strategic seat in Central Scotland, which includes the historic city of Stirling, Dunblane and Bannockburn, plenty of political battles have been fought in recent years.

It was once a safe seat held by Conservative MP Michael Forsyth, later a tightly fought Tory-Labour marginal. In 2015 it became one of the 56 seats the SNP swept up across the country but was lost to Conservative Stephen Kerr only two years later.

But just after 3am on Friday morning the SNP took it back, winning with a majority of 9254 and securing 51% of the vote share. “As the day went on in Stirling it was feeling good,” says Smith, admitting he was surprised by the margin.

Smith, the former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) who back in March urged the European Union to “leave a light on” for Scotland to find its way back to the EU, has been a determined campaigner for Remain. In this constituency, 68% voted to stay in the EU in 2016.

But now he says, campaigners have nowhere else to go. “We’ve done all the exploring of options that we can do,” he says.

“Johnson’s deal remains as big a bucket of sick as it ever was but he now has the numbers to ram it through. And it will fall apart within minutes. The Tories themselves will fall apart within months because though they are united around the mantra Brexit means Brexit, but they don’t actually agree on what Brexit is.”

The option left for Scots is, of course, independence. But while Smith claims this vote undeniably opens up conversations about independence, he cautions against considering it a mandate.

“There’s no question that the people of Scotland rejected Boris Johnson,” he says. “But equally there was a bucketload of tactical voting that went on in our favour. And I think the idea that when someone votes SNP that necessarily means they support independence is something of a stretch, especially in Stirling.

“I had a number of people who were very vocal on the doorsteps telling me: ‘I am voting for you [but] I don’t want you thinking this is a mandate for independence’.”

Yet, he admits that if this was just about Remain, the Lib Dems would have seen a bounce. In fact they secured just 2867 votes. The biggest movement towards the SNP in this fiercely fought race were two-fold, Smith claims. “In the very Remain, traditionally liberal, conservative parts of the constituency, there was a massive move to us,” he says.

“They are not as hostile to independence as the Tories thought. At the other end of the constituency, former Labour voters came to us in droves. I found the most interesting conversations were those we were having with people who started very hostile to independence and ended up saying: ‘tell me more, son’. They loaned us a vote because they like what we are doing in government, they like our integrity, they like our passion. They are not with us on independence yet so there’s a huge opportunity, but the second we take that for granted it’s gone.”

Already he’s thinking of the work that needs to start tomorrow: “We need to look at a strategy of how we deal with this lunatic government and how we harrie them while they themselves debate what Brexit is,” he says.

“We will need to absolutely circle our wagons around the Scottish Government because I think there is going to be assault on devolution in principle and in practice. I think that will be an attempt to cut back our powers.

“As part of our trade negotiations are we seriously going to allow four different agricultural systems across the UK? No danger. The UK Government will want to centralise all these powers for itself.

“They will want to view the UK as one thing. They will want to control us. It’s not just agriculture, it’s science, investment policy, research policy…”

And he admits challenges lie ahead – Westminster politics is “about raw arithmetics” and the numbers are on the side of the Tories. His instinct is to reach out to others who share the party’s more progressive vision.

“We want to make sure the Scottish people know it’s not all about the flags and anthems,” he says. “It’s about the accountability to power and the decisions that will be forced upon us which will not be in our interests. “We need to build a coalition around that in Scotland, but in the House in Commons as well.”

The National: Alyn Smith struggled to accept the reality of a Tory majorityAlyn Smith struggled to accept the reality of a Tory majority

ANNE MCLAUGHLIN, SNP MP FOR GLASGOW NORTH EAST

THE constituency of Glasgow North East was once a Labour heartland, dominated by the unionised politics of industry. That was until the year after the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, when the SNP’s Anne McLaughlin unseated Willie Bain, who had represented the seat since a 2009 by-election triggered by Commons speaker Michael Martin stepping down. And she won it with over 58% of the vote.

Just two years later, young Labour activist Paul Sweeney – who had campaigned against Scottish independence, organising an open letter signed by young shipyard workers opposing the break-up of the UK – unexpectedly swiped it back, winning by a margin of just 242.

Labour saw it as a seed of hope that all was not lost in Scotland’s largest city. As a high-profile politician – Sweeney was appointed as shadow under-secretary for Scotland in 2017 – he was vocal on crucial issues across Glasgow from the Serco evictions to proper scrutiny of the Glasgow School of Art fire. His most recent campaign – fought on a socialist ticket – included activists from the Yes movement.

But on Friday morning Glasgow returned a full house of seven SNP MPs, including Anne McLaughlin, who won with a comfortable majority of 2548. She knew it was key to increase voter turnout if the SNP was going to take it back and had worked strategically to do just that.

“I’ve got a thing about making sure that people can have expectations of their politicians, that they can relate to their politicians and vote for politicians who can relate to them,” she says. “The best way to spread that message is to get out there and speak to people.” Her targets were SNP supporters, who she needed to convince to come out on a cold December day to vote, and independence supporters who had previously backed either Labour or the Greens. But she was also mindful of the diversity in the constituency.

“I wrote to all African voters, and I wrote to all the Mandarin-speaking voters in Mandarin and English, partly because statistically they are both more likely to need your help and less likely to ask for it,” she says. Her Mandarin-speaking niece also came with her to the doorsteps. “It was great – lots of them said it was the first time anyone had written to them about an election in their own language.”

When it came to issues, the campaign had a three-pronged approach: “First was Brexit, and the wrongness of the fact that we have voted to Remain and we can’t stay in the EU.

“The second was independence because the area I represent was a 57% Yes vote in 2014 and the other thing was mainly about my approach to campaigning for justice for people.” Then there are local issues – recently she’s been immersed in work being done to refurbish Springburn and plans to rent a constituency office in the area’s old library building, helping it come back into public use.

Other priorities including continuing her fight for those ripped off by the UK Government’s Green Deal, sold new energy-efficient boilers, insulation and solar panels by HELMS. She’s also planning to join colleagues in the fight for greater powers to reform drug laws, which the SNP claim is key to reducing drug deaths across Scotland.

But yet, she can’t help hoping that she doesn’t have to keep battling in Westminster for five years.

“Scotland is going in a very different direction from England,” she says. “And if we had a referendum I think we would now win it.” She even reckons the SNP might end up with some unlikely allies.

“Are Labour politicians seriously going to tell people no, hang on, don’t vote for independence, just keep on voting for Boris to be in charge? To be fair, I know lots of Labour politicians who are not anti-independence – their party is though, and they remain loyal to that stance. But I think there just might be a shift.”

The National: Anne McLaughlin predicts a change in indy supportAnne McLaughlin predicts a change in indy support

PETE WISHART, SNP MP FOR PERTH AND NORTH PERTHSHIRE

WAY back in October, following Boris Johnson’s announcement that he was proroguing Parliament – a decision later judged to be unlawful – Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire started planning his election campaign.

One of Scotland’s longest standing MPs, he has held this seat since 2005 but in 2017, his position suddenly looked less certain, and he won with a majority of just 21 votes. Going into last week’s election, this was Scotland’s second most marginal seat – and Wishart was determined to bag a bigger proportion of the vote.

On Friday he was returned with a majority of 7550 over the Conservative candidate Angus Forbes, with just over 50% of the vote share.

It came with a sense of relief and satisfaction of a job well done. “I never got the feeling I was in the same sort of trouble as I was a couple of years ago,” he says. “But I was really surprised – and grateful to the people of Perthshire, for returning us with such a significant majority.

“What’s quite remarkable is that it’s pretty much back to where we were in 2015 – in fact we got a bigger percentage share of the vote and almost the same number of votes. It doesn’t get much better than that – so we were absolutely delighted.”

This is a constituency with a complex mix of interests. In Perth well-to-do suburbs rub alongside pockets of deprivation. But it is largely rural, and interests around farming, fruit growing, fishing, hospitality and tourism explain its weighty support for Remain. Over 60% of Perth and Kinross voted to stay in the EU in 2016’s Brexit referendum.

For Wishart and his team this was a key issue from the start, even underlining the SNP’s support for Remain with a Brexmas song – with accompanying social media video – sung by a chorus of activists.

By the end of the song, Wishart predicted the Prime Minister would provide: “Scotland departing, Lord Nigel Farage, NHS sell off, all Europe laughing, medicine shortage, civil unrest, trucks stuck in Dover, Jacob Rees-Mogg, free movement ended, no customs union, no single market and the hardest of EU leave deals.”

“We tried to be creative and innovate,” he says. “We tried to entertain at points so we managed to engage in a way that I don’t think we’ve done before.”

While the Conservatives held on to voters in several rural areas including Moray, Dumfries and Galloway and Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine, in Perthshire North Wishart was surprised by votes won in traditionally Tory areas.

“We chimed with our sense of optimism and the sense that we wanted to do things differently than what is being presented by the Tory government,” he suggests. “I think more than anything else people are hopeful in terms of what they want.”

And as the results came in, he was struck – like most – by what a different path Scotland was once again forging. “That has to be respected and acknowledged,” he adds.

“There will be 48 MPs reminding Boris Johnson of that when we return to work next week.”

But it will also be an anxious time, with the Brexit deal due to be voted on before Christmas. “It’s almost certain that Boris will be able to secure his Brexit deal with disastrous consequences for the people I represent,” he admits. “We’ll do everything we can to resist that, looking very closely at anything that he puts forward, particularly any trade arrangement with the United States or anything that is a threat to our NHS.

“The Conservatives told us if we voted for them we’d be voting against a second referendum. Well, Scotland voted against them, so this election changes the whole atmosphere and environment around a second independence referendum. We’re looking forward for putting forward that case.

“I don’t think it’s within the gift of the Westminster government to continue to deny it [a Section 30]. We live in a democratic nation – the very basis of what makes democracy work is what people vote for, and we have voted for this and the vote has to be respected.”

READ MORE: Analyst predicts FM to seek permanent transfer of indyref power​