Spring Conference

I broke my conference duck at the weekend, and it proved to be a truly valuable experience.  I'm still mulling things over, there was an awful lot to take in after all, but I wanted to write a short post about the experience.
The first thing that really hit me was just how busy it was.  I've been to the SECC plenty of times, I've been involved with exhibitions there and been to events there before, but the constant tide of the yellow ribboned conference pass brigade was impressive.
I started my day queuing for my pass behind Angus Robertson, and quickly found myself engaged in lively debate with all the people around me.  This theme of friendliness, excitement and openness was one that continued throughout the weekend.
There was no contention in the passing of the morning's motions, but that was hardly surprising as there is a definite sense of togetherness and purpose in the party at the moment, which was evident throughout the weekend.  In contrast to the Lib Dem spring conference that's just gone where Nick Clegg was defeated on two motions, it shows where the momentum in British Politics is heading.  I say British because the cause of Scottish Nationalism is still a British issue, whether we like that or not.  Those British Politics are heading for the skip though, while we will walk away with our Scottish Politics intact and refurbished, ready for the challenges the world is facing now.
The actual business of the conference is already well documented.  Go watch Angus Robertson and Derek MacKay's speeches on the Independence Roadshow touring the branches currently on youtube, as they were both excellent and worthwhile.
I skipped the first round of fringe meetings to go to lunch with a relative, sorry!  But I paid for that by having to be in one of the four overspill rooms for Alex Salmond's speech.  Even in the overspill room, the atmosphere was bright and optimistic, fuelled by the First Minister's words and passion as well as our collective enthusiasm for this immense task we are now heading into.
And it is immense.  We still have a lot of persuading to do, but it is not a task we are not equal to.  We have time on our side, and we have positivity on our side.  We will soon be riding the wave of successes in the upcoming council elections, purely because the other parties are showing their tiredness and this is reflected by their slump in the polls across the board.  This is all much to the advantage of our cause, because the other parties simply can't match the energy and enthusiasm that was gathered in the SECC at the weekend.
Returning on Sunday it seemed as if people were more and not less energised after the hectic day before.  At lunchtime I attended an excellent debate on Votes at 16, which is an issue that needs to be tackled quickly if 16 year olds are going to get the chance to vote in 2014.  I  can't really see any viable counter to the proposal either, it's as simple as the cause of American Independence.  No taxation without representation!
This time I was quick off the mark so that I could grab a seat in the main hall for Nicola Sturgeon's speech.  Alex Salmond passed comment on her favourite tv show being Borgen as he introduced her to the hall, but joking aside, I am looking forward to a time when we can call her Prime Minister of Scotland.  I've always admired her, but the reasons for that were brought home to me as she spoke to the conference.  Tellingly, the largest round of acclaim came for her assertion  that "as a priority, rid this country, once and for all, of the obscenity of Trident nuclear weapons on the river Clyde."    No version of Devo-max, lite, plus or even 2.0 can deliver on this massively important issue, nor can it deliver on preventing our soldiers being sent to die or risk themselves in illegal wars.  This, to me, is a stronger argument than anything economic, because while Britain trumpets it's influence in the world by piggybacking on Trident and the "Special Relationship", Scotland could be creating it's own influence in the world as a Nuclear free and peaceable nation.  I know which I prefer.
All in all, my first conference was a highly enjoyable and envigorating experience which has galvanised my desire to get involved in making sure we have a yes vote in 2014!