Janet's Scotland Referendum Documentaries

sampling three of Scotland's most famous walks and talking to some

colourful characters along the way. I love Scotland. I've been coming

here for years ` walking, fishing, getting to know people and places. I

always thought that Scotland and I got on just fine. But now I'm not so

sure. This year on the 18th of September, the people of Scotland

will decide whether to leave the UK and become an independent country. I

want to understand what's going on. I can't help thinking that Scotland

doesn't like the rest of the UK. But, if so, why? Anyway, because I'm

passionate about Scotland, I've come here to find out what this

referendum is all about. I'll be visiting places between here in the

Scottish Borders and the north of Scotland, talking to locals, and

canvassing their opinions about independence. But I'll be doing it

my way. And that means walking. In fact, I'll be sampling three of

Scotland's most famous trails. This should be quite a walk.

The first of my three journeys is along the Southern Upland Way, which

starts in the west, north of Portpatrick, and runs 212 miles

right across the country to Cockburnspath. It's easy to see why

this stunning landscape has inspired countless artists and writers over

many centuries. But it conceals a dark history ` hinted at in English

words which originated in the Borders like "blackmail" and

"bereaved". Indeed, this region provided a haven for generations of

cross`border reivers and smugglers. And, up until the Treaty of Union

between Scotland and England in 1707, the Borders was a violent

frontier between the two countries. Over the centuries, ownership passed

between the warring factions numerous times. The Borders' bloody

history makes me wonder if the locals dislike the English. And, if

so, whether that sentiment will translate into votes for

independence come September. Or does the Borderers' proximity to England

make them more inclined to vote no? I'm meeting someone who's going to

help me understand how the locals tick. Some walk you've done there.

It's very windy. You know, Janet, it's really interesting that you

decided to start your walk here in Cockburnspath, because this is where

the Union really started. In 1503, which isn't a date you hear very

much, this was all Crown land and James IV married Margaret Tudor,

Henry VIII's sister. She was given Cockburnspath as part of a dowry.

This was supposed to usher in an era of eternal peace and friendship

between Scotland and England. And in Cockburnspath, if you go into the

village, there's a cross which commemorates that. It's got thistles

on two sides, roses on the other side, and it's a symbol of the union

that didn't happen for another century and continues still today.

This place has got a spirit and a character all of its own. They're a

completely different breed of people, the Borderers. And it's not

surprising. They've managed to ignore the fact that there is a

border for so many years, but also use it to their advantage when they

wanted to. I mean, these lands were completely lawless. There was no

government north or south that could control them.

The other thing about the Borders is that the border itself has shifted

so many times. And if you speak to the people who

live in the northern part of the English borders, they would quite

like to join in with quite a lot of what Scotland has. They will look

over the valley and say, "How come they get free higher education, free

prescriptions, "free bus passes, and we're stuck in this Little England

"that doesn't have these advantages? And yet the people north of the

border look south and go, "Well, actually, you're our friends, we

trade with you, "should we be separate?"

From the point of view of the people currently living in the Borders, how

would they take to being governed from Edinburgh?

I'm sure they would see it as no different from being governed from

London. It's one of the big things you hear down here, "Why should we

be told what to do by someone who doesn't live here?" There's this

independence`mindedness that they have.

Have you thought about the vote and which way you're going to vote?

I think, like so many people, I will decide the night before the polling

happens. I don't think it will come down to the logic and the policies

and all these things, because nobody knows what it's going to be like

after the vote, whether it's yes or no. You cannot unboil an egg.

I'm handing you the ballot paper and saying, Bruce, I want your cross,

which box is it going to go in today?

If it were today, I'd be voting yes. If you'd asked me last week, I'd

have said the balance was no. And it might change again between now and

September. Interesting. Bruce's dilemma has got me thinking about

what the people I meet will base their decisions on. So, I'll be

asking them in an entirely unscientific straw poll. Here in the

Borders, for example, the population's link with the land is

so strong, I wonder whether people will be casting their votes on the

basis of patriotic fervour, economic interest or something else? I'm at

Coldstream, where the River Tweed forms the border between Scotland

and England. Like Gretna Green, it used to be a favoured destination

for young couples eloping from England to get married. In a way, my

visit concerns matrimony, too. I'm meeting a very successful farmer to

find out if he'll be voting for Scotland to part from the rest of

the UK or renew its vows in the referendum. From my point of view,

currency worries me. Whether we're going to be able to have a single

currency. Membership of the EU, that's a big question for us

farming. In Scotland, our biggest market is England. To go and have a

different currency and put up a trade barrier across the border

wouldn't be very helpful for our industry. So that's a big worry. I

think I would have to make an assessment at the time but I'm

pretty happy with the situation we have at the moment and I think it

would be the wrong thing to split the Union up.

Anything that might make trading more difficult... You seem to be

worried about the bureaucracy. Could there be more paperwork? We don't

know. Even getting access to other countries... I have just filled in a

visa waiver to go to America. Is that still going to exist? All of

these things are concerns. My concerns is that when we are

exporting, we cannot say, OK, we have our prices in pounds. We go out

and do it in currencies. So if you go to Japan, you do it in Japanese

yen. And the same in all the other countries. I don't know what we're

going to base it on now. Are we going to have the pound? Are we

going to have a monetary union that suits both countries? Or are we

going to have a Scottish currency that can be devalued, and we don't

have backup on that? Some people might say, "You work in

a business that's strong. If it's that strong, surely it will survive

anyway?" Obviously Scotland is not going to disappear if we vote yes.

It's going to just be a transitional difficult time, I'm sure. How is

that in the short term going to be affected? And what is the short

term? It might be a period of years. That is very bad. A period of

uncertainty is very bad for commercial businesses. But they've

also recognised that in Scotland, and particularly this area, that we

have skills that are doing extremely well, which are almost dead. Are you

willing to tell me how you're going to vote? I'm worried about the

uncertainty. I like the status we have now. And, like Hamish, I will

actually go into that booth with an open mind. But at the moment I'm

happier with the status that we are in. I haven't made up my mind yet

because I want to hear all the arguments. I'm not hearing all the

arguments at the moment. I'm getting one side that's blustering, the

other side down south who are threatening. And I don't like any of

that. At the end of the first section near

the borders, where the main industries are textiles and farming,

the overwhelming impression I got from people I talk to was no thanks.

But that was just my impression. Now, I'm heading north, where I will

be sampling a great walk through the central belt. I'm walking along the

canal tow path. It runs for 35 miles between the River Falls near

Grangemouth in the east and bowling near the Clyde in the West. The

canal takes us through some of Scotland's's former industrial

heartlands, now home to some of the most deprived communities. It's an

area synonymous with rebirths and regeneration and one whose diverse

electorate will pay a key part in deciding Scotland's future. ``

play. The canal passes through Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. By

the Victorian era, Glasgow was the second city of the British Empire.

In the past 25 years, the city has transformed from a manufacturing

powerhouse to a largely service sector economy. Glasgow's

International financial services district, the so`called square

kilometre, provides employment for around 15,000 people and it puts the

city in the top 15 European financial centres. Call centres have

become an integral part of the local economy, employing 20,000 people and

earning Glasgow the tag of call centre capital of Europe. And

Glasgow has become Britain's biggest shopping destination outside London,

generating ?2.4 billion in sales and creating more than 150,000 jobs. In

the early 1970s, the Conservative government began withdrawing state

subsidy and closing down shipyards on the River Clyde. The policy

precipitated a fight back by trade union activists, one that propelled

their charismatic spokesman, Jimmy Reid, to international celebrity.

They can do what they want but we will not accept redundancies. One

year after he died in 2010, some of his supporters set up a left of

centre organisation in his honour. Tell me more about this area. It

seems to have had such a fantastic cast and it is such an important

part of Scotland's history. It is tied up with our identity. We have

so much pride in the fact that one in three of the world's vessels were

built here. It was filled with people with good jobs. It was a

proud community. And gradually, it has just died. Robin, what do you

say the decline dates from? What really killed it was Thatcher. It

was the monetary policy which meant that it just wasn't worth investing

in industry any more and you could make massive returns gambling in the

city of London. It took 30 years before people realised this was not

working but by that point, Scotland suffered severely. We lost our

entire industrial base. Do you think if Scotland vote yes, the people

here stand a better chance of having their interest placed higher up the

agenda? They would be happy to have their interest rates lower down the

agenda that they have in written right now. This is not a good place

to be a worker. Do you think the voters in this area holds the key to

the referendum? If Britain is kicking Scotland, they will be

kicking the workers. Rich people are voting no, the poor people are

voting yes. The question is if the poor people will turn out. They are

going to be no longer voting for two versions of the same thing in

Westminster. They will vote for something different. If poor people,

out and vote, Scotland will become independent. I had thought one

reason for independence was the Scots were fed up with the English?

Is it that simple? It has nothing to do with the English. One of my big

proposals is that I suggest we build a new town in the north of Scotland

and granted political asylum to anyone from England who wants to

live here. It's not that we don't like you. They are not a part of our

lives. The Six O'clock News that we see coming up from London might as

well be coming from France. It's not about the English. It's absolutely

not. Well, that is retold then. When I started my journey, I was

concerned that the referendum was Scotland's way of telling England

they don't like us. Back in Glasgow, Robin assured me that was not the

case. But I'm not convinced the message has got through to the

playwright I'm meeting next in his hometown, Falkirk.

that will be on the Edinburgh fringe a month before the referendum. I

wanted to do political theatre. It is political propaganda. I know

where you are coming from from how do you sell the idea of an

independent Scotland outside Scotland? `` from your badge. We

think you are doing it because you don't like us. I can see how it

might look like that, because if you are not part of the debate happening

in Scotland, which is a very deep and immersive and diverse one, it

looks like this thing that has erupted from nowhere that, you must

do it because you don't like us. For us, it is about democracy. It is

about controlling our economy and deciding on our government and the

future our country takes. We can't do that. My walk through the

industrial heartland of Scotland has been very different. Not least,

because, according to make not very scientific poll, people were more

positive towards the idea of independence. I have the impression

the Central Belt will be critical in deciding the outcome of the

referendum. And, that the vote of the working class is vital. I will

finish my walk in north`east Scotland. First, I have come here to

Aberdeen to see what impact the oil industry will have on the outcome.

How important is oil to the Scottish economy? It is very important. It is

important to the economy of the UK. It has contributed in tax revenues

approximately ?300 billion in today's terms. If Scotland decides

to go for independence, how important will the oil revenue be?

Not only the revenue. We'll provide about 200,000 jobs `` or ill. It

contributes about ?22 billion to the gross domestic product ``. Without

being a part of the Scottish economy, it would be difficult to

see how it with riot. `` how it would thrive. Scotland has 200 local

companies based in Scotland who operate in supplying servicing the

oil industry. They have developed an expertise that is marketable abroad

and half the revenue they earn is from international activity.

Scotland's companies are in packing nationally. I hope that would

continue if we were independent `` impacting. Which way will you vote

in September? It is difficult. It won't come down purely to economics,

but probably to sentiment and national pride. What is being said

is that we are being denied the status of a country. If that

alters, I would be happy to remain in the UK. Years and years of

striving to gain independence, it would be a shame to back from that

because of fears of what might happen and being accused of not

being able to look after the country better than the UK can look after

it. This disused railway line runs over 50 miles from the north`east of

Aberdeen all the way to phrase it. What has been bothering me since I

made this film is what is going to motivate people to vote in the

referendum `` Fraserbrough. Is it threats to livelihood, or will they

vote with their hearts? From the Borders to the Central Belt to the

north`east, wind turbines have been everywhere I have visited in

Scotland. The renewable energy sector forms a major part of the

national economy. Wind power is the fastest growing technology,

employing 11,500 people, and generating investment of over ?1.5

billion in 2012 alone. Back in Aberdeen, Alex the oilman said his

vote would be guided by sentiment and national pride, and not naked

economics. Yet the voting intentions of most of the people I've met on my

journey have been influenced by money, pure and simple. I'm about to

chat to a farmer who doubles as an apostle for renewable energy. In his

case, wind power. Would independence be a good or bad thing for windfarms

like yours is yellow dart? We would prefer that we didn't have

independence because of the underlying problems `` windfarms

like yours? What are the obstacles that need to be overcome? The main

thing is the fact that the tariffs come from Ofgem, why the Department

of energy and climate change in England. There is no administration

of that at all. If it is a sudden change over, there is going to be

chaos for a while. Do you think and independent Scotland could afford to

pay you the same subsidies, is that another worry is yellow there is a

never concerned `` another worry? A lot of that is coming from

offshore. The subsidies are twice as high as it is for these turbines. So

there would be concern as to how they'll get the money to pay for all

that. I am on the final stretch of the Formartine and Buchan Way, which

ends here at Fraserburgh. This small fishing town is deceptive. It's the

biggest shellfish port in Europe. Prawns and king scallops are the key

products. The whole town's economy revolves

around the harbour. Six out of ten of Fraserburgh's workforce, around

800 people, work in fishing`related jobs.

The stakes are high. I'm meeting a man who owns a fleet of ten fishing

boats. Do you get turbot? Yes. Brill? Brill as well. I love brill.

Turbot goes for an amazing price. Alan, how important is fishing to

this part of Scotland? Hugely important, especially Fraserburgh

here. You've got the whitefish vessels, prawn vessels, everything

comes into Fraserburgh. And Peterhead, for that matter, relies

on the fishing industry. It is a big employer. And it brings a lot of

money into the region. If Scotland votes for independence, how will it

affect Fraserburgh? We're kind of looking at that at the moment. We've

discussed that at a meeting up at the Whitefish Association on Friday.

And there's so much uncertainty, that's the thing. You know, many

people would say Europe's ruined the fishing industry but, at the same

time, we're tied in closely to them. So, it's the uncertainty of what

would happen if you're out of Europe for independence, what do we do with

the reciprocal agreements we've got? Do you think if Scotland is

independent and you have to bargain with the rest of Europe, you and

Norway together, is that good or bad? Maybe better. Some people would

say it's better because we always come back from Europe at the end of

the year thinking, we've had a bad deal. So, if we were with Norway, we

might think it would be better. The biggest fear is the hiatus of the

time that we come out. How long would it take to get back in there?

And if it was from a standing start, it might take some time. But if we

were allied with Norway in negotiating with Europe, some people

may say that would be better. I was worried that when I came to

Scotland, I might find that September's vote was down to whether

the Scottish hated the English. It turns out that I was completely

wrong. I also thought that the further north I got, the more I

would find people voting yes and I was wrong about that also. In the

Borders, the move amongst those I spoke to was generally against

independence. In the Central Belt, much more in favour. In the

north`east, it seemed pretty evenly split. This was my totally

unscientific straw poll. It might not reflect how people vote on the

18th of September. Whatever the outcome, I'll still be coming back

to enjoy your fabulous walks. Good luck.

The weekend is upon us and I am sure most of us are hoping for