We’re ‘devastated by’ news of Alex Salmond death, Westminster SNP leader Ian Blackford says

We spoke to Ian Blackford who was leader of the SNP in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022.

Ciaran Jenkins: Mr Blackford, what are your reflections on the news of Alex Salmond’s death?

Ian Blackford: Just very sad that Alex has been taken. I think we’re all pretty devastated by the news. And I think we can reflect on a man that gave so much to Scottish public life when he became the leader of the SNP. We were a marginal force in some respects, certainly in terms of political representation. Then he took us into government and of course led that campaign for Scottish independence, led us into that referendum where we came, let’s remember, very close to winning in 2014, and I think that will be the legacy that he will be remembered for. And let’s not forget the SNP’s been in government since 2007 and a lot of the thanks for that must go to Alex and the leadership he gave, particularly in those early years.

Ciaran Jenkins: People forget, don’t they, 2014 and that extraordinary movement with Alex Salmond as the figurehead that seemed to completely take over UK politics for a time. How did he do it?

Ian Blackford: When Alex became first minister in 2007, he had a party that was ready for government. He had a cabinet that I think excelled, a number of very strong characters, the likes of Nicola Sturgeon of course, who became first minister herself. John Swinney, Mike Russell, Kenny MacAskill, Alex Neil and so on. Roseanna Cunningham has done so well, too, in government. So it’s a government that was fit for purpose. And I think the people of Scotland responded to the leadership that the SNP were giving, not just under Alex, but the Team Scotland that we had at that time.

Ciaran Jenkins: But what were Alex Salmond’s particular talents? He was not a man that interviewers liked to interview and he had this way with words, didn’t he, and a certain charisma?

Ian Blackford: He did, he was a communicator. And I suppose if you think of it, when he was elected to parliament, he really hit the ground running. Ejected from parliament very early on because he took a stance against the budget and was thrown out. And I guess that really brought him into an audience, not just in Scotland but throughout the UK. And there’s no doubt that he had supreme communication skills. He was very good at seizing the moment. He was very strong in debate and in many respects he had a lot of natural leadership qualities. What he did do, certainly when he became first minister, was made sure that he operated as part of a team. He was very good at delegating to colleagues round about him. And it wasn’t just about the cabinet secretaries, it was about those that were supporting him. His staff, as well, played a key role in all of that.

Ciaran Jenkins: It was a formidable partnership, wasn’t it, that he had with Nicola Sturgeon? How much regret is there within the independence movement about how that relationship soured?

Ian Blackford: I think all of us, all of us I’ve been involved in that, would regret the way the things that happen, they happened for a reason, of course. But we all came into politics, whether you’re talking about Nicola or Alex or John Swinney or so many others, to lead the country, to lead the country towards independence. And that legacy that Alex leaves is a very strong movement for Scottish independence. Yes, we need to make sure that we can bring the movement together, that we can lead the people of Scotland. We’re living in a cost of living crisis, as we all know…

Ciaran Jenkins: At the end, Mr Blackford, Mr Salmond was one of the fierce critics of what that independence movement had become under the SNP. We talk about legacy today, but how do you define a legacy when it ended on such a contested note?

Ian Blackford: If you look at polling for independence, support for independence are still close to 50%. It is up to those of us that are here now to make sure that we take that on, that we deliver that vision as to what an independent Scotland will be, and we make sure that 2014 wasn’t the end of the story. It was a path on the roadmap, if you like. It was a map waypoint, and that we make sure that we deliver that legacy and Scotland becomes an independent country, as I believe it will do.

Ciaran Jenkins: Would you have liked to have seen Alex Salmond welcomed back into the fold?

Ian Blackford: I think what happened over the last few years has been well documented. There’s been a fork in the road that’s taken place with Alex and the SNP. And of course, I think, he established his own party, was entitled to do that. We can work together right across the independence movement to make sure that we deliver that independent Scotland that we want to see. But that fork in the road was one that was not possible to mend, I’m afraid.

Ciaran Jenkins: This was a lifetime, wasn’t it, devoted to that cause? When did you come to know that Alex Salmond had that special political quality, at least?

Ian Blackford: Very early on, we actually worked in adjacent offices in St Andrew’s Square in Edinburgh in the early 1980s, and I used to spend a lot of time in his company. He and I were both members of the 79 group of the SNP, the left-wing group. So I knew Alex very early on. And I think that strength of personality, that warmth that he has, the ability to engage with people is something that was very self-evident from a very early age, and it made sure that he was ready to assume the reins of political office when he stood up first as an MP, then as SNP leader.

Ciaran Jenkins: Given all that that’s happened, and the way things have panned out, how would you like him then to be remembered?

Ian Blackford: I think he should be remembered for taking the leadership that he did to the SNP in the independence movement. You talk about this being a lifetime’s work for Alex. I think back to the late 70s, early 80s, the SNP were down to two MPs. We were at 10 per cent in the polls. Alex took us from that position of being at the margins, if you like, of political life in Scotland to being the driving force. I suspect that couldn’t have been done without the strength of personality, his characteristics, his leadership that he gave to the party, to the government and to the country over that period.