14/09/2014 Sunday Politics Scotland


14/09/2014

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It is threatening the life of a second British hostage. David

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Cameron described the murder as an act of pure evil. President Obama

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said the US were shoulder to shoulder in grief. Alex Salmond says

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Scotland stands on the cusp of history as he predicts a historic

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and substantial victory on Thursday's referendum. The latest

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poll shows the two sides neck and neck. I will ask Tommy Sheridan

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about his vision for an independent Scotland. After last week's

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interventions by Gordon Brown and other leaders, I will ask George

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Galloway if it is enough. Coming up on

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Sunday Politics Scotland: The Scottish aid worker,

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David Haines, has been killed by extremists from Islamic State,

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and they've threatened the life Late last night, as most folk were

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preparing for bed, news broke that Islamic State extremists had carried

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out their threat to murder the The group released a video, similar

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to the ones in which two American journalists were decapitated,

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showing a masked man apparently beheading Mr Haines who was taken

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captive in Syria last year. The terrorist,

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who has a southern British accent, also threatened the life

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of a second hostage from the UK. Mr Haines is

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the third Westerner to be killed His family have paid tribute to

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his humanitarian work; they say he David Cameron described the murder

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as an act of pure evil, and said his heart went out to Mr Haines?

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family, who had shown extraordinary Mr Cameron went on to say,

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"We will do everything in our power to hunt down these murderers

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and ensure they face justice, Mr Haines was born in England

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and brought up in Scotland. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond

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condemned the killing on the Marr Well, it's an act of unspeakable

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barbarism that we have seen. Obviously our condolences go to the

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family members of David Haynes who have borne this with such fortitude

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in recent months -- David Alex Salmond was also asked

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whether he supported military action Haines there is no reason to believe

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whatsoever that China or Russia or any country will see their will to

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deal with this barbarism. There is a will for effective, international,

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legal action but it must come in that fashion, and I would urge that

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to be a consideration to develop a collective response to what is a

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threat to humanity. Our security correspondent

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Gordon Corera joins me now Gordon, as we speak, the Cobra

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emergency meeting is meeting yet again. It meets a lot these days. I

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would suggest that the options facing this committee and Mr Cameron

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are pretty limited. That's right. I think they are extremely limited.

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They have been all along in these hostage situations. We know, for

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instance, that British government policy is not to pay ransom is to

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kidnappers. Other Europeans states are thought to have done so to get

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hostages released, and also not to make substantive policy concessions

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to the groups, so while there might be contact, there won't be a lot of

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options left. We know the US in the past has looked at rescue missions

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and in July on operation to free the hostages, landing at the oil

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facility in Syria but finding no one there. If you look at the options,

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they are not great. That is the difficult situation which Cobra will

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have been discussing the last hour. Does this make it more likely,

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because it might have the direction the government was going in any way,

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that we join with the Americans in perhaps the regional allies in air

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strikes against Islamic State, not just in Iraq, but also in Syria. We

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heard from President Obama outlining his strategy against Islamic State

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last week when he talked about building a coalition, about

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authorising air strikes. And training troops. We are still

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waiting to hear what exact role the UK will play in that. We know it

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will play a role because it has been arming the fishmonger forces but the

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question is, will it actually conduct military strikes in Iraq --

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arming the passion are there. We have not got a clear answer from

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government and that is something where they are ours to discuss what

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was around the table. It's possible we might learn some more today as a

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result of the Cobra meeting, but I think the government will be wanting

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to not be seen to suddenly rushed to a completely different policy as a

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result of one incident, however terrible it is. Whether it hardens

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their reserve -- resolved to play more active role in the coalition,

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that's possible, but we have to wait see to get the detail. -- wait and

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see. What the whole country would like to see would be British and

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American special forces going in and getting these guys. I think that

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would unite the nation. But that is very difficult, isn't it? It is. As

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you saw with a rescue mission a few months ago, the problem is getting

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actionable intelligence on the ground at a particular moment. The

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theory is that the group of kidnappers are moving the hostages

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may be even every or few days, so you need intelligence and quickly

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and then you need to be able to get the team onto the ground into that

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time frame. That is clearly a possibility and something they will

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be looking at, but it certainly challenging, particularly when you

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have a group like this operating within its own state, effectively,

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and knowing that other people are looking very hard for it and doing

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everything they can to hide. Gordon, thank you very much.

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Clegg dropped everything and headed to Scotland when a poll last Sunday

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gave the YES vote its first ever lead in this prolonged referendum

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If their reaction looked like panic, that's because it was.

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Until last weekend, though the polls had been narrowing,

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the consensus was still that NO would carry the day.

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The new consensus is that it's too close to call.

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If we look back at the beginning of the year, public opinion in Scotland

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was fairly settled. The no campaign had a commanding lead across the

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opinion polls, excluding the undecided voters. At one point, at

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the end of last year, an average of 63% backed the no campaign and only

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37% supported a yes vote. As we move into 2014 and up to this week, you

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can see a clear trend emerging as the lead for the no campaign gets

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narrower and narrower and the average of the most recent polls has

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the contest hanging in the balance. There was a poll a week ago that put

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the Yes campaign in the lead for the first time, 51% against 49%, but

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that lead was not reflected in the other polls last week. For polls

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were published last night, one by Salvation, for the macro-2 campaign

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-- Better Together campaign, and there was another that gave a one

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percentage point different. ICM have the yes campaign back in the lead at

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54% and the no campaign at 46%, but their sample size was 705 Scottish

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adults, smaller than usual. Another suggests that the contest remains on

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a knife edge with 49.4% against 50.6%. When fed into the poll of

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polls the figures average out with yes at 49% and polls -- no at 51%.

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But some people think 18% are undecided, and it is how they vote

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gets -- when they get to the polling booths that could make all the

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difference. campaigner and Respect Party MP,

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George Galloway. Welcome to the Sunday Politics. Big

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business, big oil, big banks, the Tories, the Orange order, all

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against Scottish independence. You sure you are on right side? Yes,

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because the interests of working people are in staying together. This

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is a troubled moment in a marriage, a very long marriage, in which some

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good things and bad things have been achieved together. And there is no

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doubt that the crockery is being thrown around the house of the

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minute. But I believe that the underlying interests of working

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people are on working on the relationship rather than divorce. I

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have been divorced. It's a very messy, acrimonious, bitter affair

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and it's particularly bad for the children will stop that's why I am

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here. You talk about working people, and particularly Scottish working

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people, they seem to have concluded that the social democracy they want

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to create cannot now be done in a UK context. Why should they not have a

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shot of going it alone? Because the opposite will happen. Separation

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will cause a race to the bottom in taxation. Alex Salmond has already

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announced he will cut the taxes on companies, corporation tax, down to

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3% hello whatever it is in the rest of these islands. And business will

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only be attracted to come here, country of 5 million people on if

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there is low regulation, low public expenditure, low levels of taxation

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for them will stop you cannot have Scandinavian social democracy on

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Texan levels of taxation. The British government, as will be, the

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rest of the UK, they will race Alex Salmond to the bottom. If he cuts it

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by three, they will cut it by four. And so on. So whether some people

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cannot see it clearly yet or not, the interests of the working people

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on both sides of the border would be gravely damaged by separation. Let's

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take the interest of the working people. As you know, as well as

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anyone, the coalition is in fermenting both a series of cuts and

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reforms in welfare, and labour, Westminster Labour, has only limited

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plans to reverse any of that. Surely if you want to preserve the welfare

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state as it is, independence is the way to do it. For the reasons I just

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explain, I don't believe that. But Ed Miliband will be along in a

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minute. He will be along in May. The polls indicate... They say he is

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only four or 5%, that is the average. Like the referendum, the

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next general election could be nip and tuck. I don't, myself, think

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that the time of David Cameron as Prime Minister is for much longer. I

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think there will be a Labour government in the spring and the

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Labour government in London and a stronger Scottish Parliament, super

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Devo Max, that is now on the table. That is the best arrangement of

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people in the country. But the people of Scotland surely cannot

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base a decision on independence on your feeling that Labour might win

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the next general election. It is my feeling. When the Tories were beaten

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on the bedroom tax last week in the house, it was written all over the

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faces of the government side not only that they were headed for

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defeat, but probably a massive fishy -- Fisher. I think the race to the

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bottom that I have proper size will mean that the welfare state will be

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a distant memory quite soon. The cuts and the run on the Scottish

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economy here in Edinburgh, the financial services industry, that

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will be gravely damage. The Ministry of Defence jobs in Scotland

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decimated, probably ended, more or less. It will be a time of cuts and

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austerity, maybe super austerity in an independent Scotland. You

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mentioned defence. What about nuclear weapons? The Tories and

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Labour will keep them. You are against them. Surely the only way to

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be rid of them in Scotland is by independence. But you are not rid of

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them by telling them down the river. The danger would be the same --

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telling them down the river. The danger would be the same. Nuclear

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radiation does not respect Alex Salmond's national boundaries. They

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would be committed to immediately joining NATO, which is bristling

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with nuclear weapons and is what -- involved in wars across the

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Atlantic. So anyone looking for a peace option will have to elect a

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government in Britain as a whole that will get rid of nuclear weapons

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and get out of military entanglements. We are in one again

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now. I have been up the whole night, till 5am, dealing with some of the

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consequences and implications of the grave international matter that you

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opened the show with. David Haines and the fate of the hostage still in

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their hands. There are many other hostages as well. And there are many

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people dying who are neither British nor American. I have, somehow, been

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drawn into this matter. And it showed me, again, that the world is

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interdependent. It is absolutely riven with division and hatred, and

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this is the worst possible time to be opting out of the world to set up

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a small mini-state on the promises of Alex Salmond of social democracy

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funded by Texan taxes. Let's, for the sake of the next question,

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assume that everything you have told us is true. Why is your side

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squandering a 20 point lead? I will have a great deal to say

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about that, whatever the result. This is very much a Scottish Labour

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project, is that not a condemnation of Scottish Labour? It is

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potentially on its deathbed. The country breaking up, the principal

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responsibility will be on them. And the pitiful, absolutely pitiful job

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that has been made of defending a 300-year-old relationship in this

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island by the Scottish Labour leadership is really terrible for me

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to behold, even though I'm no longer one of them. I don't know how they

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are going to get out of this deathbed. Do you agree that if this

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referendum is lost by your side, it will be because traditional

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working-class Labour voters, particularly in the west of

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Scotland, have abundant Labour and decided to vote for independence?

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Without a doubt, the number of Labour voters intending to vote yes

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is disturbingly high. Even just months ago during the European

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Parliament elections, swathes of people who didn't vote SNP will be

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voting yes on Thursday. That is a grave squandering of a great legacy

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of Scottish Labour history, which history will decree as

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unforgivable. If Labour is to get out of its deathbed in Scotland, it

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will have to become Labour again. Real Labour again. I am ready to

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help them with that. My goodness, they need help with it. I wonder if

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it isn't just a failure of Labour in Scotland. People all over Britain

:18:09.:18:13.

are increasingly fed up with the Westminster system, but it is only

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the Scots who currently have the chance to break free from it, so why

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shouldn't they? That is exactly right. They see a parliament of

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expenses cheats led by Lord snooty and the Bullingdon club elite,

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carrying through austerity for many but not for themselves and they are

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repulsed by it. They need change, but you can go backwards and call it

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change but it will be worse than the situation you have now. A lot of

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Scottish people don't buy that. It is a big gamble. If I were poised to

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put my family's life savings on the roulette table in Las Vegas, my wife

:18:58.:19:02.

would not be scaremongering if she pointed out the potential

:19:03.:19:06.

consequences if I'd lost. She would not be negative by telling me that

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is my children's money I am risking. If I jumped off this roof it would

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change my point of view, but it would be worse than the point of

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view I have now. There is another issue here because the Scots are

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being asked to gamble on the Westminster parties, which they are

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already suspicious of, of delivering home rule. Alistair Darling could

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not even tell me if Ed Balls had signed off on more income tax powers

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for Scotland, so that is a gamble for the Scots. I feel the British

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state has had such a shake out of all this that they would be beyond

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idiots, they would be insane now to risk all of this flaring up again

:19:52.:19:57.

because whatever happens, if we win on Thursday, it is going to be

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narrowly. It will be a severe fissure in Scotland. A great deal of

:20:04.:20:08.

unpleasantness that we are already aware of. That could turn but we're

:20:09.:20:14.

still. It would be dicing with death, playing with fire, to let

:20:15.:20:20.

Scottish people down after Thursday if we narrowly win. If you narrowly

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win, and if there are moves to this home rule Mr Brown has been talking

:20:26.:20:31.

about, England hasn't spoken yet on this. Whilst England would probably

:20:32.:20:38.

not want to stop -- stop Scotland getting this, they would say, what

:20:39.:20:44.

about us? It could delay the whole procedure. It is necessary, you are

:20:45.:20:52.

right. England should have home rule, and I screamed at Scottish

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Labour MPs going into the vote to introduce tuition fees in England. I

:20:58.:21:04.

told them this was a constitutional monstrosity, as well as a crime

:21:05.:21:08.

against young people in England. It was risking everything. We are led

:21:09.:21:15.

by idiots. Our leaders are not James Bonds, they are Austin powers. We

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need to change the leadership, not rip up a 300-year-old marriage.

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Thank you. It's been one of the longest and

:21:24.:21:29.

hardest fought political campaigns in history, with Alex Salmond firing

:21:30.:21:32.

the starting gun on the referendum Adam's been stitching together

:21:33.:21:35.

the key moments of the campaign. It is the other thing drawing people

:21:36.:21:50.

to the Scottish parliament, the new great tapestry of Scotland. It is

:21:51.:21:56.

the story of battles won and lost, Scottish moments, British moments,

:21:57.:22:02.

famous Scots, and not so famous Scots. There is even a panel

:22:03.:22:07.

dedicated to the rise of the SNP. Alex Salmond's majority in the

:22:08.:22:11.

elections in 2011 made the referendum inevitable. It became

:22:12.:22:16.

reality when he and David Cameron did a deal in Edinburgh one year

:22:17.:22:21.

later. The Scottish Government set out its plans for independence in

:22:22.:22:26.

this book, just a wish list to some, a sacred text to others. This White

:22:27.:22:35.

Paper is the most detailed improvements that any people have

:22:36.:22:40.

ever been offered in the world as a basis for becoming an independent

:22:41.:22:45.

country. The no campaign, called Better Together, united the Tories,

:22:46.:22:50.

Labour and the Lib Dems under the leadership of Alistair Darling. Then

:22:51.:22:55.

the Scottish people were bombarded with two years of photo

:22:56.:22:58.

opportunities and a lot of campaigning. For the no campaign,

:22:59.:23:03.

Jim Murphy went on tour but took a break when he was egged and his

:23:04.:23:09.

events were often hijacked by yes campaigners who were accused of

:23:10.:23:14.

being intimidating. In turn, they accused the no campaign of using

:23:15.:23:18.

scare tactics. Things heated up when the TV dinner -- during the TV

:23:19.:23:26.

debate. Fever pitch was reached one week ago when one poll suggested the

:23:27.:23:32.

yes campaign was in the lead for the first time. The three main

:23:33.:23:37.

Westminster leaders ditched PMQs to head north. I think people can feel

:23:38.:23:41.

it is like a general election, that you make a decision and five years

:23:42.:23:45.

later you can make another decision if you are fed up with the Tories,

:23:46.:23:49.

give them a kick... This is totally different. And Labour shelved not

:23:50.:23:59.

quite 100 MPs onto the train, Alex Salmond took a helicopter instead.

:24:00.:24:03.

This is about the formation of the NHS. A big theme of the yes campaign

:24:04.:24:09.

is that changes to the NHS in Linden -- in England would lead to

:24:10.:24:20.

privatisation in Scotland. Alex Salmond's plan to share the pound

:24:21.:24:26.

was trashed by big names. There were other big question is, what would

:24:27.:24:30.

happen to military hardware like Trident based on the Clyde? Would an

:24:31.:24:35.

independent Scotland be able to join the EU? And how much oil was left

:24:36.:24:40.

underneath the North Sea? This panel is about famous Scots, we

:24:41.:24:45.

have Annie Lennox, Stephen Hendry, Sean Connery. I cannot see Gordon

:24:46.:24:50.

Brown. These are big changes we are Sean Connery. I cannot see Gordon

:24:51.:24:54.

proposing to strengthen the Scottish parliament, but at the same time to

:24:55.:25:00.

stay as part of the UK. A regular on the campaign, he was front and

:25:01.:25:04.

centre when things got close, unveiling a timetable for more

:25:05.:25:08.

devolution. People wondered whether Ed Miliband was able to reach the

:25:09.:25:12.

parts of Scotland Labour leader should reach, and at Westminster

:25:13.:25:17.

some Tories pondered whether David Cameron could stay as prime minister

:25:18.:25:21.

if there was a yes vote. This tapestry is nonpartisan so it is a

:25:22.:25:26.

good place to get away from it all but it is crystallising voters'

:25:27.:25:32.

views. Look at what we have contributed to Great Britain, and I

:25:33.:25:41.

am British and I hope to be staying British. This is what people from

:25:42.:25:44.

Scotland have done, taken to the rest of the world in many cases and

:25:45.:25:48.

I think I am going to vote yes. I am so inspired by it. It has certainly

:25:49.:25:52.

inspired me to have a go at stitching. How long do you think it

:25:53.:25:58.

would take to do the whole thing? I would say to put aside maybe 30

:25:59.:26:02.

hours of stitching. Maybe by the time I am done, we will know more

:26:03.:26:06.

about how the fabric of the nation might be changing.

:26:07.:26:10.

And I've been joined by yes campaigner and convenor

:26:11.:26:13.

of Scotland's Solidarity socialist party, Tommy Sheridan.

:26:14.:26:15.

An economy dependent on oil, the Queen as head of state, membership

:26:16.:26:27.

of the world 's premier nuclear alliance of capitalist nations - is

:26:28.:26:33.

that the socialist Scotland you are fighting for? No, that is the SNP's

:26:34.:26:43.

prospectus and they are entitled to put forward their vision, but it is

:26:44.:26:47.

not mine or that of the majority of Scotland. We will find out in two

:26:48.:26:54.

years. On Thursday we are not voting for a political party, we are voting

:26:55.:26:58.

for our freedom as a country. That is why people are going to vote yes

:26:59.:27:04.

on Thursday. A lot of people are voting for what you call freedom

:27:05.:27:09.

because they think it will be more Scotland. You have already got free

:27:10.:27:13.

prescriptions, no tuition fees, free care for the elderly. You might not

:27:14.:27:18.

in future have that if public spending is overdependent on the

:27:19.:27:23.

price of oil, over which you have no control. We don't have to worry

:27:24.:27:27.

about one single resource, we already have 20% of the fishing

:27:28.:27:35.

stock in Europe. We already have 25% of the wind, wave and solar power

:27:36.:27:44.

generation. We, as an independent country, have huge resources,

:27:45.:27:49.

natural resources but also people resources. We have five first-class

:27:50.:27:54.

universities, food and beverages industry which is the envy of the

:27:55.:27:58.

world. We have the ability to produce the resources on the

:27:59.:28:02.

revenues that won't just maintain the health service and education but

:28:03.:28:06.

it will develop health and education. I don't want to stand

:28:07.:28:10.

still, I want to redistribute wealth. But all of the projections

:28:11.:28:14.

of public spending for an independent Scotland show that to

:28:15.:28:22.

keep spending at the current level you need a strong price of oil and

:28:23.:28:27.

you are dependent on this commodity which goes up and down and sideways.

:28:28.:28:33.

That is a gamble. I have got to laugh because I have been told the

:28:34.:28:38.

most pessimistic is that in 40 years the oil is running out, panic

:28:39.:28:45.

stations! If you were told by the BBC you could only guarantee

:28:46.:28:48.

employment for the next 40 years you would be over the moon. I am talking

:28:49.:28:54.

about in the next five. You need 50% of your revenues to come from oil to

:28:55.:29:00.

continue spending and that is not a guarantee. Of course it is, the

:29:01.:29:04.

minimum survival of the oil is 40 years. Please get your viewers to go

:29:05.:29:15.

onto the Internet and look at the website called oilandgas.com. The

:29:16.:29:27.

West Coast has 100 years of oil to be extracted. It hasn't been done

:29:28.:29:32.

because in 1981 Michael Heseltine said we cannot extract the oil

:29:33.:29:38.

because we have Trident going up and down there. Let's get rid of Trident

:29:39.:29:47.

and extract the oil. You are a trot right, why have you failed to learn

:29:48.:29:53.

his famous dictum, socialism in one country is impossible. Revolutions

:29:54.:29:58.

and change are not just single event. What will happen here on

:29:59.:30:03.

Thursday is a democratic revolution. The people are fed up of being

:30:04.:30:08.

patronised and lied to by this mob in Westminster who have used and

:30:09.:30:13.

abused us for far too long. The smaller people now have a voice.

:30:14.:30:19.

What about socialism in one country? Mr Trotsky warned you

:30:20.:30:28.

against that. The no campaign represents the past. The yes

:30:29.:30:32.

campaign represents the future. That is the truth of the matter. What we

:30:33.:30:36.

are going to do in an independent Scotland is tackle inequality and a

:30:37.:30:44.

scourge of low pay. If we vote no on Thursday, there will be more low pay

:30:45.:30:50.

on Friday, more poverty and food banks on Friday. I'm not going to be

:30:51.:30:53.

lectured by these big banks, you vote less -- yes and we will leave

:30:54.:31:03.

the country! The food banks will be the ones closing. If you got your

:31:04.:31:09.

way, for the type of Scotland you would like to see, state control of

:31:10.:31:14.

business, nationalisation of the Manx, the roads to Carlisle will be

:31:15.:31:17.

clogged with people Yes, hoping to come into Scotland,

:31:18.:31:28.

because in their hearts, the Scottish people know that England

:31:29.:31:33.

because in their hearts, the want to see the people having the

:31:34.:31:37.

bottle. The working class people in Liverpool, Newcastle, outside of

:31:38.:31:40.

London, they are saying good on the jocks that are taking on big

:31:41.:31:44.

business. When we are independent and investing in social housing, the

:31:45.:31:48.

people of England will say, we can do that as well, and they will

:31:49.:31:53.

rediscover the radical tradition. In wanting to build socialism in one

:31:54.:31:57.

country, it really means you are fighting for the few, rather than

:31:58.:32:00.

the many. You are bailing out of the socialist Battle for Britain. You

:32:01.:32:04.

think it will be easier to make it work. Think globally, act locally

:32:05.:32:12.

and we will build socialism in Scotland but I wanted across the

:32:13.:32:16.

world. I won my brothers and sisters in England and Wales to be

:32:17.:32:20.

encouraged by what we do so they can reject the Westminster consensus as

:32:21.:32:24.

well -- I want. We had the three Stooges coming up to London, three

:32:25.:32:29.

millionaires united on one thing, austerity. Doesn't matter whether Ed

:32:30.:32:32.

Miliband wins the next election, he said he would stick to the story

:32:33.:32:36.

spending cuts. Why vote for Ed Miliband? You wouldn't trust him to

:32:37.:32:42.

run a bath, not a country. Let's see if this is realistic, this great

:32:43.:32:46.

socialist vision. At the last Scottish election, the Socialist

:32:47.:32:50.

party got 8000 votes. The Conservatives got 30 times more

:32:51.:32:56.

votes. Where is the appetite in Scotland for your Marxist ideology

:32:57.:33:00.

question we might not win it. But do you know what, see in two years

:33:01.:33:03.

time. See when we have the Scottish general election. You won't -- you

:33:04.:33:18.

are saying you might win and you went to the Holyrood election and

:33:19.:33:24.

got 8000 Pope -- votes. The SNP won a democratic election and then won

:33:25.:33:27.

the 2011 election and you know why they won? Because they picked up the

:33:28.:33:31.

clothes that the Labour Party has thrown away. They picked up the

:33:32.:33:35.

close of social democracy and protecting the health service was --

:33:36.:33:43.

service. There are people in the SNP who believe in public ownership and

:33:44.:33:48.

people in the SNP who believe in the NHS should be written into a

:33:49.:33:50.

constitution as never for sale people in the the SNP that think the

:33:51.:33:55.

Royal mail should return to public ownership. That is there in black

:33:56.:33:59.

and white. Do you agree with George Galloway that this is potentially a

:34:00.:34:03.

crisis for Scottish Labour? Scottish Labour is finished. They are

:34:04.:34:08.

absolutely finished. George is right in that. Scottish Labour is

:34:09.:34:13.

finished. The irony of ironies is, Labour in Scotland has more chance

:34:14.:34:15.

of recovery in an independent Scotland that they have in a no

:34:16.:34:21.

vote. Labour in Scotland in an independent country will have to

:34:22.:34:25.

rediscover the traditions of Keir Hardie, the ideas of Jimmy Maxon,

:34:26.:34:29.

because right now, they are to the right of the SNP as a political

:34:30.:34:37.

party. I understand the socialist vision, but it is where the appetite

:34:38.:34:41.

is. And you look at the independence people in Scotland. One of your

:34:42.:34:47.

colleagues, Brian Souter, a man who fought against the appeal -- repeal

:34:48.:34:53.

of homosexual rights in Scotland. Another of your allies would seem to

:34:54.:34:56.

be Rupert Murdoch, the man who engineered your downfall. You say he

:34:57.:35:03.

engineered your downfall, but I'm still here and his newspaper has

:35:04.:35:08.

closed. Whether it Rupert Murdoch, Brian Souter, or any other

:35:09.:35:12.

millionaire supporting independence, I couldn't care less. This boat on

:35:13.:35:16.

Thursday is not about millionaires, it is about the millions. -- this

:35:17.:35:22.

vote. We will not be abused any young -- longer. Would you rather

:35:23.:35:27.

not have their support? I couldn't care about the support. You know who

:35:28.:35:32.

is supporting the union. It is the unions of the big businesses, the

:35:33.:35:36.

BNP, UKIP, they are the ones who support it. You are giving me a

:35:37.:35:43.

stray that has wandered into the campaign and are you seriously going

:35:44.:35:46.

to argue with me that the establishment isn't united to try

:35:47.:35:51.

and save the union? That is what they are trying to be. The BBC, you

:35:52.:35:55.

have been a disgrace in your coverage of the campaign. Not you

:35:56.:35:58.

personally. You don't have editorial control. The BBC coverage,

:35:59.:36:04.

generally, has been a disgrace and the people. Oil and gas, go and look

:36:05.:36:09.

at that, why is that not feature. Why is the idea of 100 years of oil

:36:10.:36:13.

not featured in the campaign. Because the BBC does not want to see

:36:14.:36:17.

it. Are you getting in your excuses if you lose? You better be kidding.

:36:18.:36:22.

Is this the face of somebody looking to lose. We are going to win, 60/40.

:36:23.:36:28.

Absolutely. There is a momentum that you guys are not seeing on the

:36:29.:36:33.

working-class housing estates. Working class people are fed up

:36:34.:36:37.

being taken for granted fed up with the lives of people dragging us into

:36:38.:36:46.

tax cuts, bedroom tax for the poor. They will have power on Thursday,

:36:47.:36:48.

and they will use You're watching Sunday Politics. We

:36:49.:37:13.

say goodbye to viewers and Scotland. Good morning and welcome to

:37:14.:37:17.

Sunday Politics Scotland. The Scottish Aid worker, David

:37:18.:37:19.

Haines, has been executed by Islamic State, and the group has

:37:20.:37:23.

threatened the life Both campaigns hit the streets

:37:24.:37:25.

in search We'll be talking to the

:37:26.:37:30.

First Minister and to Lord Reid Professor John Curtice will give

:37:31.:37:35.

his analysis Islamic State extremists have

:37:36.:37:39.

carried out their threat to kill Late last night, a video was

:37:40.:37:48.

released, appearing to show a Mr Haines, who was 44 years old

:37:49.:37:53.

grew up in Perth. He is

:37:54.:37:58.

the third Westerner to be killed Two American journalists

:37:59.:38:00.

have also been murdered. A man with a great passion for

:38:01.:38:16.

helping others, that is how colleagues describe David Janes

:38:17.:38:22.

pictured here in Croatia in 2003, he helped refugees moved back to their

:38:23.:38:27.

homes and rebuild their lives. -- David Haines. Many people do not

:38:28.:38:31.

know who to turn to. In doing this, our office goes across to Belgrade

:38:32.:38:37.

and meets the people so they can gain trust from us. David was

:38:38.:38:41.

working with a French charity when he was kidnapped in Syria 19 months

:38:42.:38:49.

ago. Holding a meeting of COBRA el layer, David Cameron condemned the

:38:50.:38:53.

attack describing it as an act of pure evil. The foreign office says

:38:54.:38:58.

it is no reason to doubt the man shown is David Haines in the video.

:38:59.:39:02.

We are not showing any moving pictures from that film, but we are

:39:03.:39:07.

going to show a single image and a message from David's killer. You

:39:08.:39:14.

might find this distressing. This British man has to pay the price.

:39:15.:39:22.

David, whose parents live on air, went to Perth Academy. He has two

:39:23.:39:27.

children. Just 24 hours ago, his family appealed to the outdoors.

:39:28.:39:31.

Today they say he will be mist terribly and forever loved. --

:39:32.:39:34.

captors. Our guests of the day are the

:39:35.:39:36.

First Minister, Alex Salmond, and the former Labour cabinet

:39:37.:39:39.

minister, Lord Reid. We'll be asking them for

:39:40.:39:41.

their reaction in a few moments. Meanwhile, on the campaign trail,

:39:42.:39:44.

well, both sides have won, Alistair Darling says we should

:39:45.:39:46.

"be in no doubt" that Scotland will reject independence -

:39:47.:39:49.

and that that's based on Meanwhile Blair Jenkins,

:39:50.:39:52.

chief executive of the Yes campaign says based on his canvass returns,

:39:53.:39:56.

"I think we've got a Yes vote". We'll be trying to assess how

:39:57.:40:01.

confident each side really is But first let's remind ourselves

:40:02.:40:06.

of the campaign headlines this week in our referendum week in

:40:07.:40:11.

Sixty Seconds. The Chancellor promised a timetable

:40:12.:40:28.

for more personal Scotland on the day a new poll suggested the yes

:40:29.:40:31.

campaign was ahead for the first time. The First Minister said it was

:40:32.:40:36.

too little too late. Gordon Brown then suggested a timetable would

:40:37.:40:44.

start on the 19th of September. David Cameron and Ed Miliband mist

:40:45.:40:49.

Prime Minister 's questions to campaign in Scotland alongside Nick

:40:50.:40:56.

Clegg. The First Minister described their day as teams Scotland against

:40:57.:41:03.

team Westminster. Mark Carney said a currency union would be incompatible

:41:04.:41:08.

with sovereignty. RBS will move their registered headquarters from

:41:09.:41:15.

Edinburgh to London. Alex Salmond accuse the no side of coordinating

:41:16.:41:22.

business scare stories. He urged voters to opt for independence.

:41:23.:41:26.

Well, the First Minister, Alex Salmond,

:41:27.:41:28.

First of all, the news of that killing of the Scottish aid worker,

:41:29.:41:34.

You have had a meeting of your resilience committee. What has that

:41:35.:41:46.

decided? Firstly, let's express our condolences and solidarity with the

:41:47.:41:51.

family who have borne the difficulties of the last few months

:41:52.:41:55.

with tremendous dignity against the uncertainty of the fate of David

:41:56.:41:59.

Haines. Now we have seen this act of barbarism. There are a number of

:42:00.:42:07.

matters within the Scottish government Jude restriction, firstly

:42:08.:42:11.

there is the insurance of security and privacy for the family, a matter

:42:12.:42:17.

which we take very seriously. Secondly, there are some

:42:18.:42:21.

jurisdictional matter is that we need to deal with the Home Office,

:42:22.:42:28.

that will be done with officers to investigate and pursue the

:42:29.:42:32.

perpetrators of the crime. Thirdly and importantly there is the issue

:42:33.:42:35.

of community dig each in within Scotland. -- cohesion. No part of

:42:36.:42:46.

the Muslim community in Scotland is responsible for any part of this. If

:42:47.:42:53.

there is any sign whatsoever of aggravating offences in Scotland, it

:42:54.:42:57.

will be dealt with the full force of them all. We hold strong communities

:42:58.:43:05.

in Scotland together. When you were speaking to Andrew Marr earlier on,

:43:06.:43:10.

you seem to suggest that there might be a role for the United Nations and

:43:11.:43:15.

coordinating action on a legal basis about Islamic State. What I was

:43:16.:43:19.

unclear north was where using that there was a case for military action

:43:20.:43:24.

here as long as it is approved by the United Nations? I am pointing

:43:25.:43:31.

out two things. Firstly we will give continuing support to the foreign

:43:32.:43:36.

office and their efforts in terms of their position and jeopardy of any

:43:37.:43:39.

other hostage as we have done in the case of David Haines, tragically

:43:40.:43:44.

unsuccessful, but at the nonetheless in a matter like this, they deserve

:43:45.:43:48.

complete support and that is what we will do. Secondly, whatever strategy

:43:49.:43:54.

is devised, we have said there has been an absence of policy from not

:43:55.:44:00.

just the UK government but the United States in recent years,

:44:01.:44:03.

therefore it should be done by collective action. I was also

:44:04.:44:07.

pointing out that there was no suggestion, I cannot see any

:44:08.:44:11.

suggestion that China or Russia or any other major state would want to

:44:12.:44:15.

do anything other than respond to what is a challenge to humanity in

:44:16.:44:18.

terms of the barbarism of what we are seeing going on in Iraq and

:44:19.:44:24.

Syria at the moment. But that should be discussed collectively under the

:44:25.:44:29.

rule of international law. Should you win the referendum and become

:44:30.:44:35.

eventually First Minister of independent Scotland. The British

:44:36.:44:41.

government has always taken a very strong line against negotiation in

:44:42.:44:46.

cases like this or against paying ransom. With that also be your

:44:47.:44:52.

policy? I think that is the correct policy. I don't think that any

:44:53.:44:58.

democratic government can allow itself to have its policies

:44:59.:45:03.

interviewed with by terrorist acts. The reasons for that are obvious. It

:45:04.:45:07.

is also important to have a policy and strategy to be pursued. I think

:45:08.:45:14.

that is vitally important which is why I am suggesting the root of

:45:15.:45:18.

collective security would make common sense at the present moment,

:45:19.:45:22.

given the recent history of the last few years. The lack of collective

:45:23.:45:27.

security and international legality has caused so many problems which

:45:28.:45:33.

will stay with us for generations to come. You have been saying this

:45:34.:45:38.

morning that you expect to win the referendum. Is that based on a

:45:39.:45:42.

feeling in your heart or based on actual figures that the yes campaign

:45:43.:45:52.

have? No, it is based on the people around the communities, villages and

:45:53.:45:56.

cities in Scotland. I think anyone who has been in these communities

:45:57.:46:02.

over the last few days knows the movement has moved strongly towards

:46:03.:46:07.

yes. We take nothing for granted. I still believe we are the underdogs

:46:08.:46:10.

in this contest as we have been throughout. We are well aware of the

:46:11.:46:14.

massive influence and power that can be deployed against the bus. We have

:46:15.:46:22.

seen some of that lining up in the last week. -- against us. That

:46:23.:46:29.

movement is against us and towards a yes vote. You have talked about

:46:30.:46:34.

having a team Scotland. You mentioned earlier that perhaps

:46:35.:46:39.

Johann Lamont would take part in it or Michael Carmichael. Which sounds

:46:40.:46:42.

grand if you win the referendum. How will people like Johann Lamont and

:46:43.:46:50.

Michael Carmichael supposed to negotiate a currency union? The

:46:51.:47:02.

reason I mentioned them was because they had already said that was their

:47:03.:47:07.

attitude. He said he would consider his duty to resign as Secretary of

:47:08.:47:14.

State. I said it is the sort of person we want to have within team

:47:15.:47:21.

Scotland. You cannot expect them to be negotiating policies they don't

:47:22.:47:25.

agree with. The circumstances of a yes vote, we would have a verdict

:47:26.:47:28.

from the sovereign will of the people of Scotland. On the

:47:29.:47:33.

circumstances of what is in the White Paper, the proposal we have

:47:34.:47:38.

put forward for the common currency. Everybody after the election and

:47:39.:47:41.

after the referendum except the verdict of the people, that has been

:47:42.:47:47.

run so many times in the past. I am certain in the case of JoAnn Lambert

:47:48.:47:52.

and Alistair, whoever may disagree about this, they will not disagree

:47:53.:47:56.

about the sovereign will of the people. -- Johann Lamont. They

:47:57.:48:06.

haven't just to sign up with the will of the Scottish people in the

:48:07.:48:10.

sense that they will have voted for independence, they have got to sign

:48:11.:48:14.

up for your proposed currency union with the UK even though they have

:48:15.:48:17.

been saying it is against the interests of Scotland. You are

:48:18.:48:21.

expecting them to sign up to the whole package. If you trace back the

:48:22.:48:31.

statements to Alistair, Alistair at one point was saying that the UK

:48:32.:48:35.

should not declared against a currency union. We know Alistair

:48:36.:48:40.

Darling said a currency union would be logical and desirable. Let's not

:48:41.:48:45.

misty what was said and done and posture in a campaign for what

:48:46.:48:50.

happens after the votes are counted and the results are in when everyone

:48:51.:48:54.

will want to move together as quickly as possible to establish a

:48:55.:48:58.

framework in which Scotland can get the best settlement possible. I

:48:59.:49:03.

think the day after the referendum and following a yes vote, then I

:49:04.:49:09.

think you will find a great deal of enthusiasm for putting past argument

:49:10.:49:13.

is behind us and getting on with the job for Scotland. Talking about

:49:14.:49:17.

posturing in a campaign to use your phrase, would it not be health and

:49:18.:49:24.

-- helpful, if you withdrew your promise, / threat suggestion that an

:49:25.:49:32.

independent Scotland would not take part of the UK's debts. That would

:49:33.:49:36.

give you more credibility with the financial markets. Can I point out

:49:37.:49:48.

that the legal position is that the debt remains with the UK government.

:49:49.:49:56.

They accepted that the continuing United Kingdom as they put it would

:49:57.:50:01.

have contractual liability for the debts. What we are offering to do is

:50:02.:50:05.

to finance our probable that share of the debt. -- a appropriate. A

:50:06.:50:20.

substantial proportion of the Treasury gilts, the debts that have

:50:21.:50:25.

been building up, we would have to also have a proportion of the

:50:26.:50:32.

assets. You say for example that... Uses Scotland will be welcomed into

:50:33.:50:36.

the European Union. Should you not get the currency union and not take

:50:37.:50:42.

on the debt, do you think the governments of the euro zone which

:50:43.:50:44.

have gone through all the treasure and stress and diplomatic effort to

:50:45.:50:50.

avoid and light default in Greece, the German government of Angela

:50:51.:50:57.

Merkel with this obsession would welcome Scotland into the European

:50:58.:51:00.

Union when the UK government is saying these people are refusing to

:51:01.:51:08.

pay a share of their debt? You use the word default. Let's be accurate

:51:09.:51:15.

about this. The default has been excepted by the UK government. Now

:51:16.:51:25.

one from any perspective will expect the people of Scotland to take on

:51:26.:51:29.

financing a fair share of the assets, the financial assets, held

:51:30.:51:34.

by the Bank of England unless Leslie were entitled to our fair share of

:51:35.:51:38.

the liability in terms of financing. Unless we were entitled to our share

:51:39.:51:48.

of the assets. -- we want a position where we accept our responsibility,

:51:49.:51:53.

a moral responsibility in my view, to take a share of the liabilities

:51:54.:51:57.

and the financing of these debts which have been built up by George

:51:58.:52:02.

Osborne and Alistair Darling. In turn we should have a share of the

:52:03.:52:06.

assets. In that position the two things will go together. Now one

:52:07.:52:14.

would look askance at that position. Thank you very much for joining us.

:52:15.:52:20.

And listening to that was John Reid who joins us now from our Edinburgh

:52:21.:52:34.

Studio. I wanted to get your thoughts on David Keynes. My

:52:35.:52:42.

condolences are sent to the family and friends of David Haynes.

:52:43.:52:55.

Terrorists do terrible things like this for two reasons, the first is

:52:56.:53:01.

to terrify, frighten and code people. The second is to divide,

:53:02.:53:08.

cause division within people. I hope our response will be resolution and

:53:09.:53:17.

secondly to unite. That is the best response to the terrorists, to

:53:18.:53:23.

defeat the aim. When I see Unite I mean to do what we have always done

:53:24.:53:29.

in these situations at a UK level. We won support from all parties in

:53:30.:53:36.

response to situations like this. Perhaps more importantly, to unite

:53:37.:53:41.

across the division of the referendum here in Scotland because

:53:42.:53:46.

whatever differences Alex Salmond and I have, and we have many, and

:53:47.:53:51.

however robust weekly debate over the next few days, I think it would

:53:52.:53:57.

be a signal back to those who wish to divide us if we resolved that

:53:58.:54:05.

this issue would not become an issue in the referendum. That we would

:54:06.:54:08.

become very careful when dealing with this and that we hereby send

:54:09.:54:15.

that signal and solace to, I hope, the family, that the whole country

:54:16.:54:25.

is united behind them and against the terrorists. One final point

:54:26.:54:29.

about unity, I believe entirely with Alex Salmond that we recognise in

:54:30.:54:35.

Scotland and throughout the UK that this is not a division between one

:54:36.:54:43.

religion and the rest. The dividing line here is between terrorists and

:54:44.:54:49.

others, between evil people and good people. The vast majority of Muslims

:54:50.:54:55.

in this country and throughout the UK will be as horrified as anyone

:54:56.:55:02.

else. Let no-one do the terrorist's work for them by dividing ourselves.

:55:03.:55:11.

Let's move on to the referendum. If yes win, it is very close now, if we

:55:12.:55:17.

can agree it is very close, it is only very close because a Lord of

:55:18.:55:26.

Labour voters are going to vote yes. This is because of an assumption

:55:27.:55:31.

that party leaders should dictate to people how they should vote. They

:55:32.:55:39.

can convince and they simply have not convinced. Saudi, I am having a

:55:40.:55:43.

problem heaving, especially if you entered up to me. There are 20%

:55:44.:55:52.

perhaps more of SNP people who are against separation which is even

:55:53.:55:56.

more amazing because that is the primary central core of the SNP

:55:57.:56:02.

beliefs. More important than an argument against the polls is the

:56:03.:56:08.

undisputed fact it looks very close. Because it is of salt -- because it

:56:09.:56:15.

is so close and of such huge consequences a couple of things come

:56:16.:56:20.

out. For heavens sake, do not use this as a protest vote. There are

:56:21.:56:29.

1000 ways to protest. Gambling with the future of your country, children

:56:30.:56:34.

and grandchildren is not one of them. The second is because of the

:56:35.:56:40.

consequences, very simple. If you do not know, if you genuinely don't

:56:41.:56:45.

know, thought no, don't risk the future of Europe country on the

:56:46.:56:53.

basis of something upon which you are not entirely persuaded. But hang

:56:54.:56:58.

on a minute, it was the Scottish Labour Party who went around for

:56:59.:57:03.

years saying we are the people who will defend Scotland against those

:57:04.:57:07.

Tories down in London. You can hardly be terribly surprised if the

:57:08.:57:17.

want to defend themselves by voting against London. The central question

:57:18.:57:28.

is not the movement in the polls, the central question is, what is the

:57:29.:57:35.

choice that faces people? The choice in the next few days has become

:57:36.:57:40.

clearer, the choice is whether we can be a rich diverse nation with

:57:41.:57:43.

the pride in our history, culture and orders and our control,

:57:44.:57:51.

geographic entity and historic entity, but be part of the bigger

:57:52.:57:56.

state that brings financial opportunity, greater security and so

:57:57.:58:01.

on, or on the other hand say those borders will be inviolable and we

:58:02.:58:07.

will separate with old risk to pensions, currency, jobs, investment

:58:08.:58:14.

and so on that are obvious. What is annoying Alex Salmond and I listen

:58:15.:58:19.

to him tearfully, it is now becoming obvious that those dangers are real.

:58:20.:58:25.

He has gone through a number of stages digging a hole for himself.

:58:26.:58:29.

The first was to deny the risk existed. Everybody was wrong. The

:58:30.:58:40.

second stage was to threaten retaliation so the Nationalists have

:58:41.:58:44.

said if you see this there will be a day of reckoning but today he is

:58:45.:58:48.

threatening the fault if they do not get there way. I did not say he was

:58:49.:58:55.

threatening the fault. I said the German government had avoided a

:58:56.:59:04.

default in Greece, Mr Salmond says it is not legally a default that he

:59:05.:59:10.

is suggesting he might do. We will see at the rest of the world regard

:59:11.:59:15.

it as the default if you say we will not be our day -- Shear off the

:59:16.:59:23.

debts. If you send that signal to the world, on top of threatening

:59:24.:59:27.

those who are giving employment, investment and jobs to this country

:59:28.:59:34.

providing a law towards pensions, on top of the inherent risks of

:59:35.:59:38.

separation itself years digging deeper into the hole. Your campaign,

:59:39.:59:45.

there has been much said about the timetable of extra powers and

:59:46.:59:50.

devolution. I am completely confused about what these extra powers are.

:59:51.:59:55.

One example on the issue of income tax, the Conservative party is

:59:56.:59:59.

considering devolving all powers over income tax. The Labour Party is

:00:00.:00:06.

considering devolving a little bit more powers. What will this

:00:07.:00:11.

accelerating timetable going to be accelerating? Your policy on the

:00:12.:00:17.

Tories policy? The timetable with which we will agree on the specifics

:00:18.:00:24.

of policies. So we have an excel at each and of something that actually

:00:25.:00:29.

you do not agree on? We do agree there should be further income tax

:00:30.:00:36.

powers. We do agree on the devolution of further income tax. I

:00:37.:00:43.

want to know exactly what it is this accelerated timetable is going to

:00:44.:00:47.

get me. I do not want to know you are going to agree something with

:00:48.:00:55.

the Tories at a later date. If you let me explain. There will be a

:00:56.:01:00.

substantial devolution of power over income tax and other taxes on top of

:01:01.:01:05.

what has already been agreed in the Calman commission. There is common

:01:06.:01:10.

agreement across the parties there should be a devolution of power over

:01:11.:01:13.

well there should be a devolution of power over wealthier to get rid of

:01:14.:01:20.

the dreaded bedroom tax. Why is this important? It is not just because of

:01:21.:01:26.

this campaign. This was announced months ago. Not only does it make

:01:27.:01:31.

the Scottish government more powerful but more responsible and

:01:32.:01:35.

accountable. If you are spending money but do not have the

:01:36.:01:40.

responsibility of raising money you are not a truly responsible

:01:41.:01:44.

parliament. All that has changed is that we are not somehow in the last

:01:45.:01:49.

week saying these are areas which will be devolved, we are setting a

:01:50.:01:55.

timetable so that those agreed in general can set out the specific

:01:56.:02:01.

ones. Before you can set out the rules of a club you have to decide

:02:02.:02:07.

if there is going to be a club. Sorry to entered up. I know you and

:02:08.:02:13.

Alex Salmond have been affecting to not you me when I entered up. Sorry

:02:14.:02:19.

to have to leave it there. Thank you for joining us.

:02:20.:02:29.

I'm joined now by Professor John Curtice, psephologist

:02:30.:02:32.

and professor of politics from Strathclyde University.

:02:33.:02:43.

It is looking very close at the moment. Undoubtably a tight race. We

:02:44.:02:49.

should bear in mind we have only had one poll that unambiguously puts one

:02:50.:02:59.

side ahead. At the moment we are getting rather more polls putting no

:03:00.:03:04.

ahead than yes ahead which suggests the balance of probabilities are

:03:05.:03:11.

that the no side are still ahead but not with a significantly. The other

:03:12.:03:17.

thing that is really odd, you look at some of the polls and there has

:03:18.:03:23.

been a huge shift from no to yes Auberon four weeks. Some other

:03:24.:03:36.

polling companies which were showing yes being quite close are detecting

:03:37.:03:43.

very little or no shift whatsoever. Yes. There has been a consistent

:03:44.:03:48.

discrepancy between the opinion polls and now they have largely

:03:49.:03:52.

converged. Virtually every single poster is now putting the yes side

:03:53.:03:58.

up or very close to the all-time high. There has not been a big swing

:03:59.:04:07.

and that is intriguing. One answer is that they were right all along or

:04:08.:04:12.

another technical one that if there has been some movement then some of

:04:13.:04:16.

the opinion polls which were rather more where exaggerating and those on

:04:17.:04:20.

the high side were underestimating. Evidently have converged something

:04:21.:04:28.

not short of 50/50 we have to accept we are in that kind of race. Is

:04:29.:04:33.

there a possibility, presumably there will be more polls before the

:04:34.:04:38.

day, aren't they are likely to be big shifts in the polls before the

:04:39.:04:47.

actual vote? It is possible. In 1972 in the general election there was a

:04:48.:04:52.

late swing which allowed Edward Heath to unexpectedly become prime

:04:53.:04:56.

minister. What we do know now is that although the yes side have made

:04:57.:05:05.

progress, there is no necessary momentum. In a sense, the last week

:05:06.:05:11.

has probably been a draw. Now remain narrowly ahead which is where they

:05:12.:05:17.

have been for quite a while. We do not know how many people are still

:05:18.:05:24.

undecided. One poll had 17%, another 10%.

:05:25.:05:34.

There are not many people who do not know what they are going to do.

:05:35.:05:46.

Depending on how you answer the question, the either tell you what

:05:47.:05:49.

their inclination is or the don't know. Turnout, both sides obviously

:05:50.:06:03.

will be trying to mobilise their people. There has been a view that

:06:04.:06:08.

the yes side are better organised. Does that make any difference unless

:06:09.:06:18.

it is much closer than it is? We are now sufficiently close that if you

:06:19.:06:21.

were in the Better Together campaign you would be worried that there is a

:06:22.:06:29.

stronger side for the yes side. We are beginning to talk about the

:06:30.:06:35.

figures being around 48, 40 94 yes. The ability to get the vote out on

:06:36.:06:43.

the day cooped be crucial. 49 four yes. Yes voters are just that bit

:06:44.:06:51.

more motivated. What is clear from the polls is that, the most

:06:52.:06:57.

important group in the referendum, the undecided people, the average in

:06:58.:07:08.

the opinion polls as being no. The yes side have to worry about if the

:07:09.:07:16.

turnout does increase, those people go to the polls. That will not be an

:07:17.:07:21.

advantage to them. Thank you very much. There will be questions later.

:07:22.:07:26.

You're watching Sunday Politics Scotland. Stay with us to see and

:07:27.:07:31.

hear the reaction from better together. Let's now go to the news.

:07:32.:07:34.

There has been international condemnation following the murder

:07:35.:07:40.

of David Haines, after the release of a video appearing to show the

:07:41.:07:43.

The 44-year-old aid worker was seized in Syria in 2013.

:07:44.:07:48.

He was being held by Islamic State militants, who have already killed

:07:49.:07:53.

David Cameron described Mr Haines' murder as an act of "pure evil".

:07:54.:07:58.

Alex Salmond said it was an "act of unspeakable barbarism".

:07:59.:08:00.

On this programme, Alex Salmond spoke about the importance of

:08:01.:08:02.

community cohesion, saying no part of Scotland's Muslim community was

:08:03.:08:05.

responsible for atrocities that were committed.

:08:06.:08:10.

It's the last weekend of campaigning

:08:11.:08:11.

in the independence referendum, and both sides will be

:08:12.:08:13.

Pro-independence supporters are trying to appeal to

:08:14.:08:17.

the older population with a message from Winnie Ewing,

:08:18.:08:20.

regarded by nationalists as a key figure in their movement.

:08:21.:08:24.

Meanwhile, those in Better Together are appealing to the those who still

:08:25.:08:27.

have to make up their minds before they vote on Thursday.

:08:28.:08:30.

A number of new opinion polls have been published, suggesting

:08:31.:08:33.

That's the news, now let's take a look at

:08:34.:08:38.

A dry story for most of us today but mixed fortunes in terms of sunshine.

:08:39.:08:52.

The best of it through the Northwest Highlands. The South West Breitling

:08:53.:08:57.

as well. For eastern Scotland more in the way of cloud. -- brightening.

:08:58.:09:10.

Sunshine in the north-west. Our next update is 6:50 p.m.. I will hand you

:09:11.:09:12.

back to Gordon. We know what is coming up in the

:09:13.:09:19.

Week Ahead. I'm joined by our guests Tom Gordon,

:09:20.:09:23.

political editor at the Herald, and by Alex Massie, freelance

:09:24.:09:25.

journalist and commentator. This is where I asked you where you

:09:26.:09:39.

think this is going. And you say it is too close to call. It reminds me

:09:40.:09:47.

of what was said about the film industry, no one knows. Both seem

:09:48.:09:54.

genuinely convinced that the numbers are on their side. Canvass returns

:09:55.:09:59.

for both the yes and no campaigns. I have spoken to both sides and the do

:10:00.:10:05.

seem... You say, you always say that. They say, no, our canvass

:10:06.:10:10.

returns show that we are going to win this. Somebody is going to look

:10:11.:10:18.

foolish on Friday morning. We have been told we have been to the doors,

:10:19.:10:28.

people are solid. You say to the yes side and they say we have been

:10:29.:10:31.

consistently ahead for the last ten days or so. We are talking about

:10:32.:10:38.

20,000 cantons runs a day. It does not look like a panto on either

:10:39.:10:44.

part. -- canvass returns. What do you make of it? It is possible that

:10:45.:10:49.

voters are lying to both campaigns. I agree with Tom that anything could

:10:50.:10:56.

happen on Thursday. Most people have a hunch I read up feeling. That

:10:57.:11:04.

tends to confirm the outcome that they would like to see happen, no

:11:05.:11:09.

voters have a quiet small conviction that everything will be all right in

:11:10.:11:14.

the end. Yes voters are convinced deep inside them that all these no

:11:15.:11:18.

voters are secret yes voters and they will have their conversion

:11:19.:11:22.

moment as they walk into the polling station and all will be well. The

:11:23.:11:26.

truth is that nobody really knows what will happen. What is your

:11:27.:11:34.

guess? Six months ago, in January I said it would be 53-47 now. I think

:11:35.:11:43.

it might still be a no vote. But it could be closer than that. Do you

:11:44.:11:48.

have a hunch? I have always thought it would be exceptionally close. It

:11:49.:11:53.

would be down to 1% or 2%, but I did not know who far. I think there is

:11:54.:12:01.

still time for warble. People going to the polling booth and thinking...

:12:02.:12:06.

You mean the polls were showing a yes" back. In their referendum in

:12:07.:12:18.

sovereign tree. -- sovereignty. In the last second, the no side

:12:19.:12:24.

recovered and the one x 50.6%. There is still scope for that. They have a

:12:25.:12:30.

lot of energetic supporters. What you think they need to do over the

:12:31.:12:35.

next few days? I do not think there is very much for them to do. They

:12:36.:12:39.

have exhausted everything they can do. I would expect more of the same,

:12:40.:12:49.

to be honest. We will have the yes campaign talking up team Scotland.

:12:50.:12:54.

They will see vote for your imagined future. We will have the no side

:12:55.:12:59.

focusing on the economic uncertainties of voting yes. It is

:13:00.:13:03.

too late to have any last-minute change of direction. I do not think

:13:04.:13:08.

we should expect any great surprises in the last 100 hours. You are

:13:09.:13:14.

nodding. I would agree wholeheartedly with that. Maybe a

:13:15.:13:17.

few months ago they could have said vote no and you can take the oil.

:13:18.:13:24.

Something dramatic like that. Did it surprise you? Last Sunday, George

:13:25.:13:29.

Osborne seem to be saying, there is this enormous new thing we are

:13:30.:13:35.

announcing. Then it became just a timetable for stuff we had not

:13:36.:13:40.

agreed upon. They should have said, they should have made a no for Devo

:13:41.:13:47.

Max. It was always crystal clear throughout the campaign that if you

:13:48.:13:52.

vote now you get this reviewed package of reforms. They cannot

:13:53.:13:56.

agree on a single tax and the still don't agree. We do not know the

:13:57.:14:00.

timetable even if we agree a bunch of powers on a no vote, we will not

:14:01.:14:08.

know when those will comment. The process takes eight years long. When

:14:09.:14:14.

these new powers come into effect is anyone's guess. It is not brilliant

:14:15.:14:22.

politics. It is in the way a cucumber does not look like a

:14:23.:14:26.

tomato. The Conservatives, the Strathclyde commission is the most

:14:27.:14:32.

auto of these. They did not think a new Scotland Bill would be required

:14:33.:14:36.

or would be ready in time for the first queen's speech after the next

:14:37.:14:41.

UK election. It will have to be that. We will have to leave it

:14:42.:14:44.

there. Thank you both very much indeed.

:14:45.:14:48.

I'll be back at the same time next week.

:14:49.:14:53.

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