Leanne Wood argues that the September spring of the referendum will lead a new democratic blossoming

Despite the obvious disappointment at the outcome of the referendum result, there is so much to be proud of. That the people of Scotland had the opportunity to decide their country’s future is remarkable. One day I hope we in Wales will have the same chance. The Yes campaign was a campaign of the people. It was bottom-up, grassroots, inclusive, community-oriented. ‘Yes’ was David. ‘No’ was Goliath.

It was a campaign that brought together young and old, energising many who, for so long, had given up all hope of change through the usual electoral process. Something special was created. It was a democratic revolution, the like I’ve not experienced before. That almost half the country opted for Scotland to become an independent state is a tremendous achievement, especially considering the gap in the polls just a few months before polling day.

This isn’t a time for a post-mortem despite our collective disappointment. The British state and its agents threw everything against the cause of Scottish independence. Their fear-mongering straddled between the lines of absurd and the offensive. A democratic process was polluted by threats and untruths. The message of hope may not have trumped such tactics this time, but it is unsustainable to keep bullying or frightening a nation into subservience.

The collective might of the British state and all that it has at its disposal was displayed during these few weeks in full. Does this pose a question about whether we in both Wales and Scotland might be better placed in our respective national causes by having simultaneous independence referenda in the future? How can the energy and strength built during the campaign now be built upon and nurtured to ensure the movement lives on? Can the newly politically-inspired sections of society continue to participate in the democratic process so that future success can be achieved? If they can, there is great hope for the future. It is encouraging that pro-independence parties are seeing unprecedented numbers of people joining them.

This shows the mood for radical change has not died.

For Wales and Scotland, the coming period is crucial in maximising a transfer of powers from Westminster to our countries. There has been talk in the past of devolving elements of social protection to Scotland although the bundling of most benefits into one, single universal payment may make it difficult for Unionists to make such a concession.

We contend that it is only with the full social and economic tools that come with being an independent country can we achieve the means of delivering an alternative to neo-liberal, austerity based politics. But any opportunities to gain control over any elements of social protection should be seized.

During a speech I gave to a Radical Independence in Glasgow earlier this year, I spoke of my hopes of Scotland emerging as a society that could become a beacon of social hope for all of us in these islands. I talked about the idea of solidarity through divergence, whereby Scotland’s pursuing of an alternative path to Westminster social policy would be beneficial to the wider left across these islands as we would have a tangible alternative to point to on our doorsteps.

That tangible alternative will not now be available to the extent that it could have been with an independent Scotland. But even new minimal powers in this area for Scotland could be a microcosmic example of what’s possible for Wales, but crucially too, for the people of Scotland themselves. By establishing the beginnings of a Scottish welfare state, a renewed call for an independent Scotland could emerge, with citizens demanding an entirely new Scottish welfare state.

The left in Scotland were instrumental in the last yes campaign and they will be in the next. The numbers of former Labour supporters who backed independence, against the will of their party leaders, has created an irreversible realignment in Scottish politics. For many now, Labour is seen to have diverged from the left. By positioning themselves with Etonians and bankers and against the people, Labour are seen as having sold their political soul at the altar of Unionism. They could well pay a heavy political price for doing so, and its effects may not be limited to just Scotland either.

Many of us were uneasy about the role played by the (Labour) Welsh First Minister in the ‘no’ campaign. The only concrete demand he made for Wales during the campaign was for weapons of mass destruction to be relocated to Welsh shores in the event of a ‘yes’ vote. He invented for himself the power to veto a currency union in line with the threatening, fear-mongering nature of the no campaign. Progressive left politics in these islands is now in the hands of our national movements, not with any of the Westminster establishment parties. A new state may not have been achieved this year. But a new democracy is born.

It is being cradled by the people and it will be nurtured by them into a renewed national cause.

Leanne Wood AM is leader of Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales