'Brexit only made my belief in independence stronger'

For weeks we had known that, although our vote was going up locally, with many people voting SNP for the first time, it was going to be close. Reports from pollsters early on Election night that the SNP were 99% certain to take the seat were wide of the mark, just as they had been when they had next door Perth and North Perthshire as a 99% certain Conservative gain in 2017. We were right to doubt the Exit Poll.

Although our vote had gone up by 5000, returning to numbers in the “one-off” General Election result in 2015, it wasn’t enough this time.

The Conservatives had seen the biggest collapse in their vote anywhere in the UK, Labour lost their deposit, and the Liberal Democrats had been the big winners.

Given how hard we had worked over the years and during the campaign itself, that was hard to take. That is politics though. I joined the SNP in 1993, so it was not the first disappointing result I have experienced.

The evening itself was naturally tough for everyone, coming after weeks of campaigning in the cold and dark of the first December election in a century. I was lucky to be supported throughout the night, like the campaign itself, by our volunteers in North East Fife, one of the best teams I have ever had the privilege to campaign with. My wife was also there, who had been an absolute rock star throughout the ups and downs of my time in parliament.

I have to say that the staff at the count and colleagues from other political parties were decent and gracious. I was also fortunate to be able to witness a fantastic night for the SNP across the rest of the country, with so many able colleagues returned.

Readjusting to life after politics really isn’t that bad. It is always vital to remember that no-one is entitled to be in parliament, and it may end at any time. Plenty of better parliamentarians than me have lost their seats in the past. It helps to have joined the SNP when we were not used to winning too many elections. It is critical to try and remain grounded.

Overall it was a positive experience. I enjoyed my time in parliament and loved representing North East Fife. I was especially lucky to have been in parliament at a time that the main topic of debate and discussion was our relationship with Europe.

As someone who has worked in the EU and benefited from our membership, it is an issue close to my heart.

It made my belief that Scotland should be an independent member state of the EU, just like most of our neighbours, even stronger.

Even so, none of us is entitled to a job for life in politics, and everyone does well to remember that.

The hardest part, by far, was making my colleagues in the parliamentary office redundant just before Christmas. It is difficult to stress too much just how close you become to your parliamentary team. I relied heavily on colleagues who kept me going through several tumultuous years in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. That, coupled with one of the highest constituency caseloads in parliament, meant that we all worked long and hard hours.

My colleagues Lindsey Alexander, Kirsty Watson, Rhona McLaren and my superb agent Rhuaraidh Fleming worked their socks off in difficult circumstances. They did not deserve to lose their jobs and certainly would not have done if it were simply based on merit and hard work!

I also felt for the volunteers who had chapped thousands of doors and distributed hundreds of thousands of pieces of material by hand. I was grateful to everyone, including Henry Orr, for his use of data that helped us target voters, Mat Cassen, for some truly innovative online campaigning, and our convener, Moira MacKenzie, amogt many others who gave up their time and helped gain those thousands of extra votes. After the General Election they kept going, delivering Thank You leaflets to voters, and we had a fantastic get together in January to celebrate what had been achieved.

The transition back to what passes for normal life has been as smooth as I could have hoped. I will not miss the weekly commute from my home near St Andrews down to London. That is hard for everyone who works away from home, but especially on our partners who are left behind, often with small children. I will especially not miss some of the more antiquated processes at Westminster.

Votes would often go on late into the night and the system of voting meant decisions, that in the Scottish or European Parliaments could take a matter of minutes, took hours. In the years immediately after the Brexit vote it was often difficult to tell when the parliamentary week would finish. That left planning and scheduling almost impossible.

Getting involved in debates could be challenging too, waiting hours to “catch the Speaker’s eye”.

Those challenges built a real sense of solidarity among my colleagues. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have been an MP over the past two parliaments. I was lucky to have been part of a group of committed and incredibly hard-working MPs and staff members.

I will miss them and the others who made that time so rewarding.

Nevertheless, since the General Election I have been able to spend time with family and friends. That just wouldn’t have happened if I had been re-elected.

I have also started working at Scotland’s oldest university, St Andrews. Given the political upheavals it has witnessed since its foundation in 1413, it provides valuable perspective to anyone involved in the daily grind of politics.

Stephen Gethins is a Professor of Practice at the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. He served as the MP for North East Fife from May 2015 to December 2019, and was the SNP Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Europe.

Michael Fry is away.

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