SCOTTISH political leaders have marked 10 years since polls opened on the independence referendum.
Representatives of all the main parties north of Border have commemorated the momentous day.
Speaking to independence campaigners on Wednesday, First Minister John Swinney (below) said the Yes movement needs to "reawaken the sense of optimism" seen during the 2014 campaign.
“For all of us who worked so hard for a Yes vote, the excitement of the campaign turned to heartbreak as the declarations started pouring in,” he said.
“As parliament returned I spoke to many leading figures in the No campaign.
“They were gracious, and they were understanding, that lifelong independence campaigners like me were truly hurting at that moment.”
Swinney added that the referendum has left "an overwhelmingly positive legacy on our country".
"In the days after the referendum, campaigners picked themselves up, dusted themselves down, and looked to the future with a renewed determination", Swinney said.
Former first minister Alex Salmond (below) said the anniversary should be a “point of departure” for the independence movement, calling on Yessers to move “forwards not backwards” and reject the temptation of nostalgia.
The Alba leader said: “It is entirely understandable that so many Yes supporters look back to the 2014 referendum campaign. It was a time of great exhilaration and optimism about Scotland in sharp contrast to the dismal decade that every family in the country has suffered over the last 10 years.
“However, I want the 10th anniversary to be a point of departure.”
Salmond said it was “abundantly clear” Scotland would not “extract another referendum from Westminster any time soon”.
The Alba leader, whose eyes are trained on an election breakthrough for his party at the next Holyrood elections, added: “Therefore it falls on the Yes movement to plan ahead and look strategically about alternative democratic ways, using elections to secure Scotland’s freedom. With the correct approach, we can have independence out of the deep freeze and on the boil by the 2026 Scottish elections.
“Independence campaigners must have an eye to the future not dwell in past glories, however admirable and exciting in so many ways was the Yes campaign of 2014.
“For the Yes movement it should always be forwards not backwards. That’s why the dream shall never die.”
Speaking before her members’ business debate in the Scottish Parliament to make 10 years since the independence vote, Greens co-leader Lorna Slater (below) said that the “last decade could have been so different”.
She said: “So much has changed in the last 10 years, but I will always remember the optimism and the hope I felt that day. For that short 24-hour window, we had the power to take our future into our own hands.”
Slater said that the “need for independence is still clear”, adding: “It is about empowering our communities and building a future that represents the hopes and values of the people of Scotland.”
She said: “On this anniversary, we can pause to think and reflect on the opportunity that we lost in 2014 and the Scotland we want to see.
“The need for independence has not gone away, and there is a whole new generation who want to have the debate about their future.”
The Scottish Tories said the SNP should use the 10-year anniversary to “end a decade of division and finally let Scotland heal”.
Party chair Craig Hoy added: “Scotland has been stuck in a state of paralysis for 10 years precisely because the SNP have refused to accept the result. They have failed to move on and focus on the day job.”
Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour (above), said the decade since the referendum had been defined by “turbulence, division and decline in our politics”.
He added: “I don't care how people voted in the past – what I care about is the better and fairer Scotland that we can build together.”
Meanwhile Scottish LibDem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “Ten years ago, the Scottish people voted to stay in our family of nations. But for the past decade the SNP has picked at the scab of their defeat.”
