one-way street

When I was born the idea of Scottish Independence was only for cranks, attracting the support of about 2% of the electorate, and it stayed a bit of joke, only good for by-election shocks and protest votes throughout my childhood.

By the time I cast my first vote in 1983, 12% of the electorate voted for the independence party. (I wasn't one of them.) Soon after my son was born, in 1997, they had the support 22% of the voters. ( I wasn't one of them.)

By the time we had a Scottish Parliament, 29% of the voters supported an Independence party ( I still wasn't one of them), and this turned into a barn-storming 45% twelve years later. (Finally, I was one of them.)

And when asked, 45% of the biggest active electorate ever recorded in this country confirmed that they meant it. I was one of them, and so was my son, casting his first vote.

This is a one-way street.