Alex Salmond takes his final First Minister's questions at Scottish Parliament

Alex Salmond undertook his final session of First Minister's questions at the Scottish Parliament today. There can be no doubt that his achievements have been staggering since he became leader of the Scottish National Party in 1990. At that time there was not a Scottish Parliament, Scotland was ruled by Malcolm Rifkind the Tory Secretary of State and the Scottish National Party had only four MP's (Members of Parliament) in Westminster, the UK Parliament. 

As Alex Salmond prepares to hand over leadership of the SNP (Scottish National Party) to Nicola Sturgeon, who will become Scotland's first female First Minister, he leaves the SNP in a very strong position. They are now the majority party in Scotland's Parliament and the opinion polls point to them increasing their majority next time. Indications are also that in next years UK General Election they will take a number of seats from the Labour Party in Scotland.

The SNP by getting elected as a majority party in the Scottish Parliament, a feat initially thought impossible under the system used in elections for that Parliament, brought about the vote on independence. It saw a 45% vote in favour of separation from the United Kingdom. The Party has seen a huge increase in membership since the referendum in September. The issue of independence remains firmly on the agenda. 

All of this bodes well for the SNP under the leadership of Nicola Sturgeon. She has made it clear the best is yet to come with the aim of advancing the interests of the people of Scotland, and moving the country on towards independence. The SNP assembles for its conference in Perth on Friday. Nicola Sturgeon will lay out her views on the future for Scotland. As for Alex Salmond? Fortunately there will be a lot more to come from him.