Why the political ghost of Salmond will retain his seat at the table

Rather, the political ghost of Alex Salmond will remain at the table because the cause that he fought for still requires resolution.

If there is a figure in modern British politics with whom Salmond most compare it is that of the Irish constitutional nationalist Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-96). The similarities between the two men are uncanny.

Both led – in fact created – nationalist movements that came close to dismembering the British state. Both were charismatic, flamboyant figures far removed from the dull prototypes that populate ordinary politics (eg, Keir Starmer). Both were flawed yet adored by their supporters. Both had factious dealings with their political colleagues. Both had meteoric parliamentary careers that dominated conventional British politics.

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Both were felled by scandals they could have seen coming. Both had the resilience and certainly the arrogance to ignore the controversies surrounding them.

But there is much more – with a pertinent lesson for what happens next in British politics. Both Parnell and Salmond were more than nationalist leaders. Their constitutional nationalism – even if it had populist tinges in both cases – presented respectively an elegant political solution to the crisis of the mother British state.

In Parnell’s case, he offered to accept a form of Irish home rule within the British Empire that would have assuaged Irish sensibilities and allowed a resolution of the land hunger of the Catholic peasantry. Had this been accepted by the British establishment in the 1880s, the subsequent bloody history of the Emerald Isle might have been avoided.

As it was, the Parnell compromise was rejected by the Tory landed class and the Protestant ultras. Parnellism was not defeated by the man’s dalliance with the married Kitty O’Shea but by a section of the ruling British state who rejected any and all compromise with Irish nationalism. The crisis in Anglo-Irish relations remained unresolved and a generation later led to the 1919 Easter Rising followed by Sinn Fein’s UDI.

In Salmond’s case, the SNP proposal at the 2014 referendum was a study in compromise and proffered friendly relations between Scotland and the ailing, dysfunctional British state. Salmond proposed an independent Scotland that retained allegiance to the British crown and head of state; that maintained a common currency, with monetary policy and interest rates continuing to be set by the Bank of England; a common defence infrastructure; plus free movement of people, goods and services.

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In truth, his looks more like Parnell’s home rule model than classical independence. Had Salmond succeeded in September 2014, the result would have been a Scottish-English confederation in all but name – a partnership of equals. But, as in Parnell’s case, this was a compromise too far for the British establishment.

As we all know, the fragile majority for Scottish independence that Salmond had created – largely through the force of his own personality – was undermined at the last minute by a classic piece of British establishment manipulation.

The mainstream Unionist leaders suddenly (and duplicitously) offered their own version of “modern” home rule via the so-called Vow. The aim was to win over enough uncertain voters in order to kill the referendum.

But The Vow was a sham and genuine home rule – embodying a recognition of Scottish sovereignty and the creation of a genuine Anglo-Scottish political partnership of equals – was deliberately aborted.

The English establishment took its pyrrhic victory in the 2014 referendum as a signal that it could move on to creating a more English nationalist state as a cure for Britain’s underlying economic crisis.

The result was Brexit and the rise of Faragism. As Alex himself summed it up, in his very last speech before his death, the manipulated Scottish referendum result only presaged a “miserable” decade for England. Salmond’s 2014 project – effectively for creating a confederation of the British Islands – was rejected by the British establishment just as Parnell’s Irish home rule proposal was dismissed.

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In each case this establishment vendetta was coupled with jealousies within the nationalist movement itself. As a result, Parnell and Salmond saw their careers end in seeming failure.

But the true failure was actually the failure of the establishment to accept a solution to the British crisis. The perpetual crisis of the British state stems from its over-centralisation, lack of true democracy and a failure to modernise its economy. The desire of the Celtic fringes to depart is a result of this crisis, not its ultimate cause.

Both Parnell and Salmond comprehended this state of affairs and were prepared to compromise in order to resolve the existential crisis of Britishness. Had they succeeded, England itself would have been freed to resolve its own problems.

But the lordly landowners, the City spivs, the Thatcherite nouveau riche were not prepared to accept any compromise. They are even less willing to compromise now.

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As a result, the remaining bulwarks of the British state are decaying before our eyes. The Tory Party is a shell, industrial investment has collapsed, and the NHS is a joke. Parnell and Salmond have had the last laugh. Each was a brilliant parliamentarian who revelled in the theatricality of Westminster. Certainly, neither succumbed in any obvious manner to the blandishments of the Westminster establishment club.

Both were firebrands set remorselessly on gaining sovereignty for their imprisoned nations. Both opted to use Westminster as a stage to achieve this.

Seeing Salmond operate in the Commons – cajoling, back-slapping, denouncing, thundering, forensic in his speeches – was to watch a snake lure its prey, unlike other SNP MPs – you know who I mean – who quickly became politically neutered members of the club.

Parnell, in his era, famously reduced the Commons to chaos in order to get Irish demands noticed – a tactic Salmond also used on occasion, but not enough. Before he was voted out of Westminster in 2017, Salmond was talking about using more disruptive parliamentary tactics.

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But here’s the rub. To base a political strategy for gaining independence on the notion that you can beguile or intimidate the British Parliament into acceptance is fraught with peril. The British ruling class, when push comes to shove, will respond with intransigence, blackmail, fraud and ultimately violence to protect its interests.

Parnell and Salmond were great political actors (which I mean as a compliment), great strategists, and fiercely committed to their cause. They dared enter the lion’s den and pull the lion’s tail. But you need to shoot the lion – metaphorically – because you will never tame it.

So rest in peace Alex Salmond – but not too much, you still have work to do. Even in passing, your impact will continue to be debated, to divide and – yes – continue to inspire.

Because the Scottish cause does not die with you. As with the passing of Charles Stewart Parnell, it merely moves to a higher and ultimate phase.