17/09/2014 Reporting Scotland

Both sides in the independence referendum make their final

People are so excited about the prospect of having Scotland's's

future in Scotland's hands. We are reporting now because we love

We're live around the country as Scots prepare for the biggest

Thousands of polling stations are being set up across Scotland. Many

people will vote for the first time. The number of people in work

in Scotland reaches a record high. The campaign is over and in just

over 12 hours time people will answer the question, should Scotland

be an independent country? The campaigners have been out in force

across the country. Here is our Political Editor. Final hours before

the people decide. These people see independence

empowers the population. Activists say the campaign itself has

energised people. Everybody has come together. They are gathering all

over the country talking about this. Nothing will ever be the same after

that. It is incredible. We will all miss each other. We will miss the

campaign. It has brought ordinarily non-political Scottish people

together and motivated them. We feel as if we have the opportunity for a

participated in a democracy. Campaigners urge people to sign up

for independence. And canvassing the coming generation the deputy

argued. It has been an empowering campaign. I have never known a time

when people are so interested in politics. There is a real sense of

optimism and opportunity. People are realistic. They understand

independence is not a magic wand, but increasingly they know that if

they fought yes they take control of the powers that we need in Scotland

to make things better for the next generation. -- vote yes. Supporters

of the union gather for a Better Together rally. They insist they are

quiet majority. I have spoken to friends for the first time in my 70

years I have a poster on my window. I would never have dreamt of doing

that. I have been an expat unit for 25 years. Thank goodness I am home

now. It is sad to think that in the next general election we will not

get the same percentage of voters. It has been terrific. It is

wonderful. Onstage Gordon Brown sees Scotland can have a more powerful

parliament in the UK able to protect the NHS. He says those who are not

-- those who are and decided should vote No. Have confidence to see we

have had no answers. They do not know what they are doing. They are

leading us into a trap. Have confidence and say to our friends,

for reasons of solidarity, sharing, justice, played in Scotland, the

only answer for Scotland's's seek and for Scotland's future is full

No. The campaign has been intense. Both campaign teams say it is about

the future. Which future? It is your choice.

Brian, the final day of campaigning is drawing to a close, but rallies

Rallies tonight. Energy and activity. And there has been the

quiet discourse of people in their homes and workplaces. Quietly making

up their minds. I guess by this stage, the 4.3 million people who

are registered to vote, most will have come to a conclusion. The pitch

today from the two camps is to say have the confidence to go with your

belief. They guess campaign is saying if you believe in a better

Scotland, go with independence. The other side is seeing if you have

doubts then you have two vote No. -- the Yes campaign.

What is your view on where the country stands now?

Both sides are offering a positive perspective. The independence

campaign says they can build a more prosperous and just society. On the

other hand, the argument that Scotland is better placed within the

UK. But equally they both have a negative pitch. This is a big choice

for the people of Scotland. On the one hand the prounion camp says

there are questions on the currency and the economy that have not been

answered. The other side says they have all stopped the Yes campaign

says the offer of more powers is not sustainable given the degree of

opposition from Tory backbenchers. There are two positives and two

negatives projecting forward these arguments.

The people of Scotland will deliver a verdict which resonate far louder

than any make a verdict which resonate far louder than any

microphone or megaphone. We will hear more from Brian later.

Local activists have been out and about trying to persuade last-minute

voters. One century ago this brought the

people together in opposition to Westminster imposed taxes. Today it

could split them apart. At the statute Better Together supporters

seek to persuade voters in this little community that the best way

forward is with the union. We are asking people if they had made up

their minds. There are still a lot of people who are undecided. There

is one day to go. Any information or help we can give is worthwhile. It

is a big decision. There is no going back. Around the corner a rival

campaign targets potential yes supporters. They see the response

has been positive with many of those who have stopped displaying a thirst

for answers in thing reassured it says about the future has been their

purpose for days. Most of the people we have stopped

have said they are voting Yes. There has been the odd person shouting No.

Down the road that has been an early start to get this plain spot. This

is the rule vote being targeted. I am doing this because I have six

grandchildren. I am very worried about their future. I would not made

independence for Scotland, but not this way. I am making serious plans

to move if they Yes campaign wins. Both sides say the campaigns locally

have been good-natured. Despite the Pool A whether Yes campaign

supporters say it has been positive. Pars despite the bad weather. We ran

out of four bags of badgers and posters. These have been the real

grassroots campaigns. Local campaigners quietly trying to

persuade their neighbours to vote Yes No. We will find out the impact

on Friday morning. Of course Scotland already has

its own parliament at Holyrood If people vote for independence,

then it will gain full control over But if there's a No vote,

then more powers are still likely to Let's cross to Holyrood now and join

our referendum correspondent, Laura Bicker, who's been following

this campaign around the country. This is it. It is the final few

hours of the referendum campaign. I am joined by two men who have lived

and breathed it as much as I have for the last few months. Dennis

Canavan and Jim Murphy. A lot of people are undecided. Even a lot of

no voters have felt that the Better Together campaign has been negative.

Both sides of this argument wants what is best for the nation. What is

best for people, businesses. We are part of something bigger. It is

different from a nationalistic argument. We are better staying

together. That argument has come quite late on. Nine days before the

referendum. Some people had already cast their postal vote and you came

out with a timetable. It is accelerated evolution. We are only

12 hours away. We do not know which currency we would use in an

independent Scotland. Alex Salmond cannot tell us what currency we

would use. There are only 12 hours to go. A lot of people who have

given a Yes campaign the benefit of the doubt, those people have looked

again and said, they were thinking of voting for it, but neither is a

prospect of it happening, they want to know who will pay for the

pensions, what currency shall be used. Jim Murphy's big problem is

that this campaign has got a huge good ability problem. People simply

do not believe all the stuff that has come out at the last minute

about additional powers. It sounds like something that has been written

on the back of a cigarette packet. If there is uncertainty about

currency perhaps that is because Westminster politicians, your party

leader, has claimed into bed with the Tories and the Lib Dems, to gang

up against the First Minister of Scotland, who wants to have a

currency union, which would be in the interest of Scotland as well as

the UK. It is no wonder that more and more Labour voters are now

deciding to vote Yes tomorrow. 42% in their most recent poll I have

seen. Dennis caravan does have a point.

Does that mean that Labour may be in trouble?

# Wrote Dennis Canavan. That does not make me a Tory. Labour voters

now. All politicians are temporally. Tomorrow's decision is forever.

There is no going back. Do we really want to leave the British Army, Navy

and Air Force? Separate wealthier? A separate passport? A lot of people

who love the country look at the nuts and bolts and they have said,

no banks. Jim Murphy is going over old ground. You are going back over

old ground. There would have to be a separate army. Pensions, for

example. Hang on. The UK Government. Dennis Canavan, Jim Murphy. Just

hang on a second. Jim Murphy, hang on a second. Dennis Canavan. I will

be leading the negotiations. You must get this into your head. This

is not an SNP campaign. If you stop talking then you can both be heard.

This is not a campaign to make Alex Salmond the great reader of

Scotland. This is not asking people to vote Alex Salmond. This is not

the fault for the SNP. It is a vote to give the people of Scotland the

right to choose their own Government. There is a democratic

deficit at present. You have got a situation whereby there is only one

out of 59 parliamentary constituencies that has a Tory MP

and yet that is a Tory MP and yet that is for that Government to foist

upon us policies which we do not want, such as the bedroom tax. You

are quite happy with that. Conservatives and David Cameron I

want rid of the Tories and David Cameron. Even Alex Salmond is

temporary. All of these people are gone. Independence is forever. The

Yes campaign has not been able to answer those big questions about

currency, and tax. We have a guarantee of more power, without the

enormous risk and enormous uncertainty of breaking away from

the United Kingdom. David Cameron is temporary. We can get rid of him

next year, and have a Labour government inside the United Kingdom

with a more powerful Scotland. I will believe it when I see it. Quite

frankly, new Labour has let Scotland down. We have got nuclear weapons,

we have got the bedroom tax... We are tight for a time. Let him speak.

The people of Scotland have got a wonderful opportunity to build a

better Scotland. Yes, a more prosperous Scotland but also a

fairer Scotland and a Scotland that will pay its full part in the

international community to build a better world. Stop shouting. I am

going to leave it there. And going to leave it there. They are going to

be continuing for some time to come. We are going to attempt a

comeback to use Bill stop -- you any next half an hour. If we have

learned one thing is that shouting over one another will not work. It

is a passionate debate. We'll have more from Laura,

later in the programme. Now, this campaign took on new

impetus ten days ago thanks to an opinion poll which appeared to show

the Yes campaign had taken the lead. Since then, the two sides

have been neck and neck. I'm joined by Professor John Curtice

of Strathclyde University who's What do the polls say tonight? We

had three last week, which all put the Yes campaign on 48%. This

afternoon, we had a ball from a company which hitherto has been

rather favourable to the Yes campaign. Rather disappointing for

the Yes campaign. RTE present for the Yes campaign, 52% for the No

campaign. Not so long ago, another company which had the yes side at

42% are now saying that the Yes campaign are on 49%, now on 51%.

They are saying that the race is even coarser than we thought. On the

one hand, encouragement for now. Encouragement for the Yes campaign,

because the lead recorded by these opinions polls is too small for

anybody to be certain what the result is actually going to be in

little more than 24 hours time. Does opinion polling matter? Will voters

make up their minds at the last moment or change their mind at the

last moment? First of all, we know that the polls of the last fortnight

have changed the campaign, not least the degree to which the banks and

the businessmen and the No campaign have been talking about the alleged

affect of independence on the economy. This is countered by the

Yes campaign. The second thing we can anticipate is that now voters

know this is a vote which matters, and is a vote which is close, the

prospect for a high turnout are likely to be even greater, because

very people in Scotland will be unaware that it could well be the

case that their own fault will matter. Could the opinion polls have

got it completely wrong? The good will get it wrong. Given how close

they all are, we certainly can't discount the possibility of the Yes

campaign winning. There are concerns about whether the opinion polls have

asked enough people who don't normally vote, so they may be

underestimating support for the Yes campaign. They also think that

perhaps people who are going to vote for the No campaign may not be able

to admit that. We can't be sure that the opinion polls will prove

anything at the end of the day. We must leave that there. Thank you.

You're watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC.

Still to come on tonight's programme.

Thousands of polling stations are being set up across Scotland, all

gearing up to deal with more than 4 million people registered to vote

tomorrow. Many of them will be voting for the first time. We will

be live at the polling station to explain the process. And after the

electronic debacle of the Holyrood election seven years ago, machines

are back, but with humans firmly in control.

A record number of people are now in work in Scotland, and more than 3000

fewer are claiming unemployment benefit. Our correspondent has been

meeting some of those who have found a new job. 45,000 people in Scotland

enjoyed the sweet taste of success by finding a job between May and

June. Alexis was one of them. She has an apprenticeship and she thinks

she is one of the lucky ones. It was good, timing wise. I was leaving

school, and I was bit straight into a job. It is daunting, but I am

learning a lot. To date's figures show that the number of people on

jobseeker's allowance in Scotland was down by 3200. A Scottish

employment rate between May and July was down to 6%. That is slightly

below the UK average rate, which fell to 6.2% in the same period.

Lauren is only three weeks into her new job, and she knows only too well

that going through dozens of applications is tough work. It has

been a bit difficult, but I think we have been quite lucky with it. I

have done a lot of research, and I have done a lot of different

interviews, and I have known what I wanted and what companies to

target, and I have discovered and done my best. More people who were

unemployed have been finding jobs over the summer, but we have also

seen another group of people get work. There has also been an

increase in participation, in other words, people who weren't looking

for work before are now looking for work and have found. This is good

news. Also the unemployment rate in the UK in Scotland is well below

many other countries in the EU, so this is a positive development. Lots

of people have been getting jobs in all different sectors of the

economy. The question is, will be be taking on permanently or is this a

temporary boost? We are keen to expand and grow, keen to be the best

place to work, and the best place to buy, and I'm sure that if we do that

we will continue to grow and be successful. Those still looking for

work across the country will be hoping that the exhilaration in

employment continues. -- acceleration.

Police in West Lothian are treating an attack on a pensioner in

The 65-year-old was repeatedly stabbed in the house in Bathgate

in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Detectives want to hear from anyone who may have any information

about what they're describing as a cowardly and brutal attack.

In particular, we are keen to speak to and identified two men who we

believe may have been seen together in the area around three M on

Tuesday. They are described as male, white, both around five or ten in

height. Average build. Believed to be Scottish. Aged 20 to 40 years

old. Thick fog and poor visibility have

prevented investigators from moving the wreckage of a helicopter which

took off from West Lothian yesterday The two men on board were killed

when the private aircraft came An air accident investigation team

at the site has been unable to examine the wreckage because

of the weather conditions. Let's get the latest sport now

from Rhona. Stephen Gallacher says he wants to

soak up as much information as possible from former Ryder cup

players ahead of travelling to Gallacher is preparing for his first

Ryder Cup by taking part at the And it seems he couldn't

have picked a better venue. From Celtic Manor here's

our golf reporter Phil Goodlad. It may have the look of a normal

event, even a normal tour venue, but it is anything but. In a sport which

values its history, Celtic Manor stands out. Four years ago, Captain

Monty led Europe to a famous victory here. A source of inspiration, head

of Gleneagles. I ever watching. It looks brilliant. I can't wait.

Stephen Gallacher is here with his team-mates, surrounded by former

Ryder Cup players. Just as well, given his thirst for knowledge. We

are going for dinner tonight, and I know there will be dinner is asked.

I will go for a copy with Paul Murray, and economic asked these

guys and get their opinion. You can't replicate the pressure you

will be under. It is just a case of being ready for it. The Ryder Cup

standout for another reason. Not the best time for the Americans to find

out that there are water probes were not waterproof. Surely nothing

similar will happen next week. Lincoln always go wrong. Never say

never, but I would like to think we have minimised the chances of that.

It is the Ben -- venue for a spot of fine-tuning. A week today, the

golfing world will be at Gleneagles. Scotland's woman footballer is now

face a play-off to reach the World Cup next year in Canada. Needing to

win 31 or better to qualify, they conceded a goal inside the first ten

minutes, and things could have been even worse, but for a fine save from

their captain. Sweden did get a second goal late on, a fine finish,

which wrapped up the victory for the group winners.

The Celtic assistant manager John Collins says the club's ambitions

in Europe must now be to target the Europa League final next May.

After failing to qualify for the Champions League,

Celtic have flown to Austria to begin their Europa League campaign.

They take on Salzburg tomorrow evening,

The top two progress to the knockout phase.

Obviously, if you ask me, I would like to get to the final and win it.

The players would give you the same answer. That is what we will try and

do. We will give it our best shot. Rangers earned themselves a third

round League Cup trip to Falkirk on Tuesday, thanks to their 1-0 defeat

of Inverness at Ibrox last night. The only goal of the game came

from Rangers' highly-rated With just 12 minutes left -

a deflection off defender Josh Meekings helped the shot past

Dean Brill in the Inverness goal. Scotland's David Millar has been

asked to captain Team GB at the World Road Race Championships

later this month. It's a nine-man team

which includes the Tour de France It's an honour bestowed on Millar

as he will be leading the team in his last outing before he retires

at the end of the season. His final Scotland appearance was

at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. cloudy first some, but a clear

contrast between the West and the East. The cloud lingered, and there

were much cooler conditions here. Eight fair amount of cloud, and the

mist and fog readily reforming and slowly working its way further

westwards. Some patchy drizzle at times. Some see fog developing, and

all of those factors combined mean it is certainly not a cold night.

Temperatures of 10 Celsius to 14 Celsius. A cloudy start to the day.

Extensive mist and fog, slowly lifting across western part of the

country. Taking a while to clear in the East. Not clearing in the east

at all in some parts. Sunshine by the afternoon, and warm sunshine at

that. 22 Celsius in Ayrshire. Cooler weather is cloud and mist and fog,

and also some drizzle over the hills. Across the Highlands and

Islands, cloudy but to dry. 20 Celsius in the North. For the

Northern arts -- for the Northern Isles, it is a dry day. Across the

eastern parts, extensive mist. Looking ahead towards Friday, and

the arrival of a cold front means eight change in wind direction,

which will get rid of the mist and low cloud, although it does start

that way, and as we head to two of the afternoon, some outbreaks of

rain will slowly work their way south eastwards. A touch cooler. 19

Celsius. Looking ahead towards the weekend, high pressure starts to

build and once again from the Atlantic, and that means cooler,

fresher conditions than we have seen, and clear conditions across

the East Coast, with some sunshine, and Sunday is looking recently dry

and bright with reasonable spells of sunshine. With high pressure in

charge, it is staying dry. Polling stations will open all over

Scotland The turnout is expected to be

a record high, perhaps more that 80% of the

electorate, and thousands of people Local authorities around

the country have been setting up Our reporter Cameron Buttle is

at one tonight in the Scottish Borders - he's in

the village of Bowden near Melrose. This is what it has all been leading

two. Sports centres, schools, village halls. They are dealing up

to deal with the more than 4 million people who are registered to vote

tomorrow. This is a huge logistical exercise. In the Borders 95,000

people are registered to vote. Many of them will vote for the first

time. What should you expect if you come into the polling station?

The easiest way to find your polling station is to look on the front of

your polling card. You do not actually need your polling card or

any identification. But it does make the process easier. Then you will

get your ballot paper. There is no political party or candidate to

choose. Just one question. Should Scotland be an independent country?

You take your ballot paper over to the polling booth. You put your

cross or your tech, you folded up, and put it in the box. Bat or your

tick, you fold it up. No photography is allowed in the

polling station. The advice is not to leave it until

the last minute. Only those who were inside the polling station at 10pm

will be allowed to vote. Do not be scared. Come along.

Businesses large and small have been watching this debate closely. The

decision Scotland makes will affect the currency and taxation system

they operate in, as well as the markets they sell to. In recent

weeks, we've seen big hitters intervene on both sides, some

warning of the risks, some talking of the opportunities. We've been

hearing from two business leaders with very different views. Laura

Maxwell has more. Sir Brian Soutar - one of Scotland's

leading businessmen, and one of the Yes Campaign's biggest supporters.

His company, Stagecoach, carries two and a half million passengers a day

across the UK. It also has operations in North America.

The business is neutral in this referendum. Mr Soutar, an SNP donor,

The only way to get the powers we need is to vote Yes. If we just have

the confidence it would be a triumph of aspiration and hope over fear.

This company has had its headquarters in Glasgow for over a

century. A Yes vote could change that. It would not be fair to bring

people in when there is uncertainty about the business climate. There

will be a potential period of a couple of years when we will be

negotiating terms. Whether they are offshore or on the High Street

companies large and small have been wearing at the impact of the vote.

Accusations of scaremongering have been made by both sides. The

risk-takers see that we think Yes is a big opportunity for business in

Scotland. For people who are wondering who to listen to, you need

to look at the credentials. The difference with as is that we are

putting our money where our mouth is. From the Highlands to the

Borders, from the gas industry, to the food industry, this is about a

consistent concern over the consequences of moving towards an

independent Scotland from people that have created tens of thousands

of jobs. Whatever the outcome on Friday both sides of this debate are

united on one thing. That is that Scotland must remain open for

business. Let us go back to Holyrood.

You have been looking back at what you have seen and heard in Scotland

on the campaign trail. They are singing outside Holyrood at

the moment. This has been a lively, noisy, and at times passionate

debate, as we saw Elliott. Here are some of the moments from the last

few months. The referendum saw the return of

people in politics. Meetings were held in halls throughout the

country. A chance to hear questions. It was clear from the start that Yes

Scotland had recruited an army. A grassroots movement that just kept

on growing. Because there are so many people out

canvassing the entire area of Easterhouse is covered.

Better Together had technology. That household was strongly against

independence. They took time to grasp hold of a grassroots

campaign. It developed gradually. As both sides needed the arguments we

travelled the country to find out how people were voting at what they

were thinking. Doing it by car seemed to

conventional. neighbours. It will be a decision

for us. Everyone has their own opinion. Meanwhile big Yes campaign

turned their attention to those who do not usually thought. I have never

voted. -- who do not usually vote. We could not resist asking

youngsters. I would let Scotland have a free entry to the World Cup.

It has been a remarkable referendum with passion on both sides. My

grandfather was in the British Army. He might have been any Scottish

regiment. Something has happened in Scotland. Some may wish to forget

it. For others, being part of it has changed their lives. It is time to

where the kilt. The outcome is only hours away. Whatever the result

politics in this country may never be the same again.

It has been an incredible few months of this campaign. I turn once again

to two men at the centre of this campaign. Shouting does not mean you

are winning. I will start with Jim Murphy. You went around the country.

That was a bit of a grassroots campaign, but initially it did

struggle. Is it a matter of regret to wait that long to get

door-to-door? I had one Hundred St meetings across 100 towns. It was

just myself, my microphone and whoever turned up. I enjoyed most of

the campaign. People said if you've voted No you are a traitor. But was

on the edges. But was unfortunate. But generally I have enjoyed the

campaign. It has been passionate. I am proud of the way that they

involve thousands of people, particularly young people in

politics for the first time. Tomorrow I think most people will

vote No. Let us deal with the issue brought up by Jim Murphy.

Intimidation. It has been on both sides. The man next to you had an

egg thrown at him. I deplore the throwing of eggs or any other

missiles. In the Yes Scotland campaign at the very outset we aimed

to set up the most comprehensive and the most successful grassroots

community based campaign Scotland has ever seen. We had 300 groups of

community activists. From the Northern Isles right down to the

Borders. We have trained people who are maybe not doing public speaking,

but they are knocking on doors and making phone calls. But there is a

dearth of foot soldiers within your campaign, Jim Murphy. The biggest

group that I have seen has been the influx of the 100 or so Labour MPs

who were told on a three line whip to come up from Westminster and to

try and convert the Scots into voting No. In my constituency we had

120 volunteers. Every political campaign in his study has the odd

idiot. You cannot control everyone. Dennis Canavan, let me speak. Ed

Miliband came to Scotland. His meeting had to be cut short. That is

not acceptable. I do not care about people throwing eggs. But there has

been orchestrated intimidation across the country. It has not

happened on both sides. You can deliver as many leaflets as you

want, but when you cannot tell us what currency you will use, it is a

waste of paper. On Friday you will waken up to the realisation after a

guest thought that you will need to get into serious discussions instead

of trying to blast the people of Scotland. You will lead to quite out

of bed with the Tories. We are a very short on time. And so this. On

Friday morning after a guest thought will you see that the currency union

will be in the best interests of Scotland and the UK? -- after a Yes

vote. That will not happen. On Friday morning this building behind

us will have more power if you vote No. Change is coming. Status quo is

not on the ballot paper. I love my country. The majority of Scots do

not want separation. Gentlemen, thank you. Vote No tomorrow. That is

the only guarantee of more powers. I will try and end the conversation.

This is just a sample of how the debate has been across Scotland. Now

it is up to you. Go to the polling station to the polling station

tomorrow and put your cross in the box.

After a long and the mentis campaign local authorities will be hoping for

a calmer counting process. Safeguards were put in place

after the debacle of electronic counting in the

Holyrood election seven years ago. This time, machines are back but

in a very limited role, Here's our science correspondent,

Kenneth Macdonald. In terms of postal votes, we have

got 790,000 postal voters and almost all of them will return their votes,

so it is a very large number of postal boards. Those postal votes

will be the first to be counted. I have voted. I am not telling you how

I voted. Before this would get counted, it has to be verified that

it was actually me that voted, so what I have to do is sign in this

box here. The reason it is any box is it is not a question of so much

who checks my ballot paper as what. It will be a machine, comparing the

signature on the envelope with the one you gave if you apply for a

postal vote. Mentioning machines and voting in the same breath might

bring back some unpleasant memories. It could be 100,000 rejected ballot

papers across Scotland. In the end, it was more than 140,000. 7% of the

machines rejected votes. That will not be happening this time. For a

start, your vote will be counted like this, I be with people, by

hand, and when it comes to checking your signature, it will not be the

computer was medicine to reject it. The computer can accept the

signatures, and if there is any doubt at all, it will throw it out,

but not rejected. That is only so that there can be human intervention

at that stage. Perhaps surprisingly, there will not be the same signature

recognition software at every count. Each of Scotland's 32 areas

has been free which to choose. There are a number of suppliers, and I

think three or four main suppliers of the software, but it all does the

same job, and all of the people you're using these machines have had

training from the forensic science authorities to ensure that they

understand signature recognition. If you are choosing jurors are

sufficiently similar, and you got your date of birth right, your vote

will count. Both sides are rallying

their campaigners tonight. The first Minister will be in Perth,

where we can join The Better Together Campaign is in

Edinburgh, where we join our correspondent now. A big rally for

the No campaign is taking place here in the form of a gate. It is called

big show for now, and it will get underway in just about ten minutes

time. It will be kicked off by the comedian Rory Bremner, who is with

me now. What will you be saying? I wasn't expecting to be saying --

doing this. I saw Tony Benn speak here, he was a passionate speaker

and I looked up what he had to say about Scottish independence, and he

said, my mother was Scottish, and if you told my mother one morning that

she was a foreigner, she would have been very upset. You had been

speaking about being passionate about being part of the union. What

are the mood been like for you? It has been fantastic. I was born here

and raised here, and spent one third of my life here, and the atmosphere

is exciting. People are talking everywhere, some people still making

up their minds. All I know is what swung it for me was the knowledge

that if we get a no vote on Friday morning, we will still have a

currency and be a member of the European Union. If we vote yes, we

will have some uncertainty. Do you think there is time to change

people's minds? There is always time. It is extraordinary, this

campaign. Have you ever thought that Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and

George Galloway would be on the same side? Bill Clinton and George

Galloway are in bed together. What does that tell you? Whatever the

result, we have to come together after this. I'm doing this, because

I believe in the United Kingdom, it fosters our athletes, and funds our

businesses, and represents us throughout the world. I believe that

Scotland is stronger inside the union, and that is what I have to

say tonight. Thank you for your time. You can see there are all

sorts of flags behind us. There is a rally on behalf of the Yes campaign

going on tonight, all ahead of the polls opening in a viewers. Thank

you, Lisa. Now we had to Perth. Our correspondent is with Yes Scotland.

What is the mood there tonight? Well, there is really quite an

upbeat atmosphere here, as I'm sure you can hear. There is a pipe going

behind me, and people have been turning up for the last hour with

some enormous salt tyres and massive flags. There had been babies in

prams, little kids with balloons. There is a real party atmosphere

here tonight, and the reason they are here at the constant all in

Perth is because it is here, a little later, that Alex Salmond will

be making his final speech of the campaign. He will be addressing

supporters here, thanking them for all the work they have done, and

talking about the grassroots campaign that we have heard so much

about already. Something that the Yes campaign are very proud of. They

say that the community led campaign on the ground has really been

phenomenal, and Alex Salmond will be talking more about that later, but

for now, let's talk to somebody who has been part of that campaign, a

very well known Scottish face. Here she is. Elaine, you have been out

and about as part of this campaign. What has it felt like? Glorious.

Wonderful. It is something I never thought I would see in my lifetime.

A lot of it, in spite of the Yes campaign, if you like. Most of the

things I have done have not been organised by official people. It has

all been done by normal people, people having meetings in their

communities. It is like a flowering, a thousand blossoms, and that is

what it feels like. What kind of reaction are you getting? We have

heard this campaign has been all about getting Labour voters to vote

yes? Initially, at the start, this has been over two years, a lot of

anger and apathy, a lot of frustration, and not believing that

there could be any difference, and I think that is what I have found the

most upsetting, that somewhere people had started to believe

nothing better was possible. I think what this has done, it is about real

hope and change and optimism, and for me, if we win, it will be the

people of all the communities that have made the big difference, and

they have exactly the same power, exactly the same fault as any big

business. Have you enjoyed it? It has been fun. I don't think I would

ever want to be a politician. As an actor, you want everyone to get on

together, and everyone to have a good time. When you are met with

aggression or the rough and humble of politics, I find that quite

difficult. It has been fun, and a wonderful experience. I am glad I

have lived long enough to see it. Thank you. I will let you go,

because you are in the warm up act here tonight. I am injured oozing

Nicola. -- I am introducing Nicola. The speech expected here later on

tonight. Banks. In less than 12 hours,

polling stations across Scotland will open and voters will decide

Scotland's political future. Brian Taylor, our political editor

has been following the twists Let's get his thoughts

on where we stand tonight. Brian, this has been

an enthralling contest. It has been incredible. I have never

seen such political engagement, and it is political engagement. I know

people say they are bored with politics, and they don't want to

turn up for a general election, but none the less they are turning out

for this one. They are hugely engaged, and why would they not be?

It is about the future of the country. There is a constitutional

choice about whether or not we should be an independent country.

Then you have, beyond that, you have heard in the interviews tonight, not

least that discussion, you have heard the argument about the nature

of the Scotland that good insular, either on independence or under the

option of remaining within the union. You had that 20 big going on

at the same time. And whatever the result, it is not over yet. It is

not. If it is a yes vote there would be a minimum of 18 months of

negotiations. If it is a no vote, then you have the proposal from the

various parties to enhance the powers of the Scottish parliament,

you have a debate to go on about that. Whoever wins, of course, to

morrow, will be delighted. Whoever loses, will be depressed and

downcast. I simply hope that people will respect the outcome and respect

each other. That is the big challenge, isn't it? Bringing people

together. The General Assembly was once known as Scotland's Parliament

in absentia. Many thanks, Brian. I'll be back with the headlines

at 8.00pm and the late bulletin Until then, from everyone on

the team, have a very good evening.