:00:00. > :00:00.that he can no longer control. We will have the latest on the
:00:00. > :00:14.crisis tomorrow, when Mark will report on Victory Day in Moscow.
:00:15. > :00:18.Tonight on Newsnight Scotland, we are being asked to go out an vote
:00:19. > :00:22.for the members of the European Parliament but why does little, if
:00:23. > :00:27.any of what the parties are saying have anything do the Parliament? Why
:00:28. > :00:32.are voters so reluctant to exercise their right as citizens of the EU?
:00:33. > :00:35.And willure Lokions ever be taken seriously by politicians or the
:00:36. > :00:41.public? -- and Will euro elections. The past
:00:42. > :00:44.few years have seen the usual dramatic increase in media coverage
:00:45. > :00:50.of Europe which is fair enough. But much of the Europe coverage seems to
:00:51. > :00:54.been slanted to domestic politics, either as a proxy battle over
:00:55. > :00:58.Scottish independence or EU membership or the next UK general
:00:59. > :01:05.election, is that what is it is about? First, Huw Williams reminds
:01:06. > :01:11.us of some of the odd venues parties have used to pitch their votes. My
:01:12. > :01:15.fellow friend, time to get your glad ration on, invite your friends over.
:01:16. > :01:20.Only hours till people across Europe get to vote for the creme de la
:01:21. > :01:26.creme of the continent's talent. I am talking of course about the
:01:27. > :01:30.European Parliamentary elections. On May 22nd. The Scottish Conservatives
:01:31. > :01:36.pitch is based on renegotiating a whole relationship with the European
:01:37. > :01:39.Union. Or else we are off. We need to ring-fence financial service,
:01:40. > :01:49.Glasgow, Edinburgh are affected by this. The EU tried to interfere to
:01:50. > :01:53.impose taxes. Ring-fence it. Deep water oil, E. You interfered. Pull
:01:54. > :01:57.it back, stop that happening I spent four years working for the Scottish
:01:58. > :02:02.fisherman's federation, an area where the EU has been anything but
:02:03. > :02:06.helpful. Stop it. Ring-fence it. There are six Scottish MEPs,
:02:07. > :02:10.everyone will be watching to see if the Greens can rob the Scottish
:02:11. > :02:14.Liberal Democrats of their place in the Parliament. The Green Party is
:02:15. > :02:19.offering the people of Scotland an opportunity to vote for the politics
:02:20. > :02:22.of hope. Politics that is stands against austerity, with people who
:02:23. > :02:27.are suffering from the economic crisis. It's a politics that stands
:02:28. > :02:33.with people who come to Scotland, to be part of our economy and our
:02:34. > :02:38.culture, it stands against the nuclear aggression and the failed
:02:39. > :02:40.systems of nuclear alliances. Last time round, in 2009, the for
:02:41. > :03:10.the first time ever in a Last time round, in 2009, the for
:03:11. > :03:16.make sure that we tackle tax evasion at the European level. We will try
:03:17. > :03:20.to solve the banking crisis. The Liberal Democrats, of course,
:03:21. > :03:23.aren't giving up without a fight. We are out with a strong message, we
:03:24. > :03:27.are saying to people this election is about jobs, and economic
:03:28. > :03:31.recovery, we believe as a party, that if we want to secure the jobs
:03:32. > :03:35.that are linked to Europe, over 300,000, if be want to secure our
:03:36. > :03:40.economic recovery we have to stay in Britain, and in the European Union.
:03:41. > :05:14.Even here will be watching to see if the euro election results give
:05:15. > :05:19.Even here will be watching to see if international politics at the
:05:20. > :05:24.university there. Christian Kaunert, give us context on this. All the
:05:25. > :05:28.debate in Britain, about the European elections seems to have
:05:29. > :05:32.virtually nothing to do with what the European Parliament does, or is
:05:33. > :05:38.likely to do over the next few years, is that the case all round
:05:39. > :05:41.Europe? Well, indeed it is very unfortunate that in Britain the
:05:42. > :05:46.debate is very much about whether Britain should be a member of the
:05:47. > :05:51.European Union, which incidentally Britain has been since 1973. It is
:05:52. > :05:56.not really so much about whether you know whether we should have more
:05:57. > :06:00.austerity, less austerity, whether the euro needs to be saved or any of
:06:01. > :06:05.those kind of issues that matter for most European countries at the
:06:06. > :06:08.moment. I wouldn't say that the debate in Britain is very
:06:09. > :06:15.representative for Europe as a whole. If you look at different
:06:16. > :06:18.national debates you can find quite peculiar national flavours, but what
:06:19. > :06:23.makes the debate in Britain a little bit outstanding here, is that
:06:24. > :06:26.introspecktive perspective, whether it is about whether Britain should
:06:27. > :06:30.be part of the European Union and not so much about what the European
:06:31. > :06:35.Union should be about, that is very much to be regretted and in fact,
:06:36. > :06:40.you could argue that debate between Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage, and
:06:41. > :06:45.align that, even emphasise that, that is very much about that instead
:06:46. > :06:49.of being about content. Lesley Riddoch, do you deprecate this?
:06:50. > :06:55.There appears to be no debate here about what the European Parliament
:06:56. > :06:58.should be doing. Well, sure, welcome to everyone who has fled the Nigel
:06:59. > :07:03.Farage zone on the other channel tonight, because that is really what
:07:04. > :07:09.has happened, the debate has been captured by what seems easier for
:07:10. > :07:13.journalists. It is not just Nigel Farage, even before Nigel Farage had
:07:14. > :07:16.ever been heard of, ahead of European elections, it was a debate
:07:17. > :07:22.about whether or not Britain should be in the European Union or not.
:07:23. > :07:25.Alex and I both came toe night from a debate where one person was not
:07:26. > :07:30.from Britain put it very well and said that you are stuck here
:07:31. > :07:34.discussing process, where the rest offure rope is discussing issue,
:07:35. > :07:40.another speaker said there is a vacuum here because we can't take
:07:41. > :07:43.our own democracy seriously, European Europe is too distant. He
:07:44. > :07:49.pointed out the number of correspondents already from papers
:07:50. > :07:57.and the BBC across Europe and in European countries has dwindled to
:07:58. > :08:02.nothing. We we know everything ability how a state in the US might
:08:03. > :08:05.vote in a Presidential election but nothing about how Angela Merkel
:08:06. > :08:10.might get re-elected. We are basically to an extent we are
:08:11. > :08:15.reaping what we have sown. I should say our European editor
:08:16. > :08:20.might take exception so what you just said. Is it inevitable any
:08:21. > :08:25.debate will have nothing do with the European Parliament and everything
:08:26. > :08:28.to do with domestic politics? It is not inevitable. It is the case in
:08:29. > :08:31.this country and think for a perfectly understandable and good
:08:32. > :08:35.reasons, after all most of the issues the European issues that
:08:36. > :08:39.affect people in the United Kingdom aren't really issued where the
:08:40. > :08:42.European Parliament is the pre-eminent organisation, they are
:08:43. > :08:45.issues that are discussed at heads of Government level, and with the
:08:46. > :08:48.Commission, it is not really a question of what the European
:08:49. > :08:50.Parliament does and people don't really see a link between the
:08:51. > :08:54.European Parliament and their ordinary live, and I think that is
:08:55. > :09:02.reasonable enough, it is after all the fourth tier of politics, there
:09:03. > :09:07.is only so much people can expected to take notice of. To put European
:09:08. > :09:13.elections on top of that and expect people to be fascinated by detail of
:09:14. > :09:26.the Common Agricultural Policy seems to be taking an optimistic view.
:09:27. > :09:29.Actually, there's a good reason for not being interested in the
:09:30. > :09:35.elections because the European Parliament doesn't actually do
:09:36. > :09:45.anything important. There seems to be a contradiction here. If we were
:09:46. > :09:50.to believe UKIP, the flip side of that argument is that the European
:09:51. > :09:57.Parliament has quite a lot to do with that policy because most
:09:58. > :10:05.legislation needs eco-decision of the European Parliament. If the
:10:06. > :10:11.European Union is so powerful, that there is a reason for UKIP to
:10:12. > :10:17.exist... The other side of that is the point Alex is making, which is
:10:18. > :10:23.that every big decision of the European Union which affects how the
:10:24. > :10:30.European Union will be has to be agreed by national governments,
:10:31. > :10:40.whether or not the European Parliament plays a more important
:10:41. > :10:49.than it used to. The aren't daft. -- electorate. Of course. But they are
:10:50. > :11:01.on equal footing for 80% of the legislation. There is a point
:11:02. > :11:04.there, a genuine issue about whether this isn't just asking people to
:11:05. > :11:10.vote for something which they know doesn't have much meaning for their
:11:11. > :11:18.lives. There is a contradiction about the big scary monster that
:11:19. > :11:23.UKIP is worried about Andy powerless institution we can dismiss. In fact,
:11:24. > :11:28.it is the case that the three main parties in the UK, none of them are
:11:29. > :11:32.members of a larger European group which is putting forward a
:11:33. > :11:35.presidential candidate. It's that lack of follow-through that makes
:11:36. > :11:39.incomprehensible to people to know what they are voting for. It looks
:11:40. > :11:46.like we are putting for a Parliament like Holly wrote, but it's not like
:11:47. > :11:50.that. It is great we would have -- it is great if we could have
:11:51. > :11:58.candidates with faces people could understand. Maybe a socialist future
:11:59. > :12:02.or green future. That would let people understand about the
:12:03. > :12:08.movements and pulses in European thinking which we had been excluded
:12:09. > :12:13.from because England is not very interested, frankly. The reality is
:12:14. > :12:22.this campaign has been all about UKIP, at least in the UK. Are they a
:12:23. > :12:25.flash in the pan? Yes no. They will clearly do extremely well,
:12:26. > :12:34.particularly in England. I suspect they will do better than many people
:12:35. > :12:38.Scotland. But it is perfectly reasonable for the press to use this
:12:39. > :12:44.in terms of the Westminster election and what impact UKIP can have on the
:12:45. > :12:52.2015 election, particularly the extent to which it will damage the
:12:53. > :12:59.conservative's chances. Remember, for every ten voters vote in 2015,
:13:00. > :13:05.no more than six were built in the European Parliament elections and
:13:06. > :13:09.again, UKIP voters are extremely motivated, so we can expect them to
:13:10. > :13:14.turn out in great numbers. They will proceed in terms of the Westminster
:13:15. > :13:19.but election will not disappear entirely. I would be surprised if
:13:20. > :13:23.they won seats in the Westminster election but they influence matters
:13:24. > :13:30.and they clearly have a constituency that takes a very pessimistic view
:13:31. > :13:36.Britain's present day, let alone its future circumstances. But there is
:13:37. > :13:45.room for a party that represents an alienated population. There was a
:13:46. > :13:51.survey yesterday saying 60% of people who said they would vote for
:13:52. > :13:54.UKIP in the European elections would consider it in the general
:13:55. > :14:03.elections. I presume you are trying to say is that related into a 10%
:14:04. > :14:07.UKIP vote, that would have serious consequences for the Conservatives
:14:08. > :14:16.in the general elections. Yes. It would make impossible for David
:14:17. > :14:21.Cameron to remain Prime Minister. It will be difficult enough for the
:14:22. > :14:25.Conservatives as it is. There is a micro picture in terms of the
:14:26. > :14:29.national polls and recovering economy which gives the
:14:30. > :14:36.Conservatives reason for hope in 2015, but the micro picture becomes
:14:37. > :14:40.difficult to see which seem to see which sees the Tories didn't win in
:14:41. > :14:49.2010 that they have a realistic chance of winning in 2015. What do
:14:50. > :14:54.you make of the UKIP phenomenon? One of the odd things of Europe is that
:14:55. > :15:01.if you ask a lot of people, should we get out of the European Union?
:15:02. > :15:08.Many will say yes. If you ask people, how important is Europe? It
:15:09. > :15:14.is way down the list, which is presumably be problem you came IP
:15:15. > :15:21.might have at the problem the Eurosceptics and Conservatives had
:15:22. > :15:25.for years. -- the problem UKIP. Europe seems to be important for
:15:26. > :15:31.voters. On the other hand, it doesn't seem to be so important to
:15:32. > :15:39.them. There is something here that is followed European integration
:15:40. > :15:46.over decades. It used to be permissive consensus. A lot of
:15:47. > :15:50.people are not too bothered about European integration and going along
:15:51. > :15:55.with it. In Britain, that has changed. You might have
:15:56. > :16:01.non-permissive consensus in Britain, where people are not favourable
:16:02. > :16:08.towards European integration but at the same time, it doesn't swing the
:16:09. > :16:12.vote. I wonder what you make of what Alex said and what influence I have
:16:13. > :16:17.on the independence referendum campaign because if you listen to a
:16:18. > :16:21.lot of people on the yes side, they try to paint it as a nightmare
:16:22. > :16:25.scenario of another Conservative government, will majority
:16:26. > :16:29.Conservative government in Britain. The better UKIP look like doing in
:16:30. > :16:33.the British general election, the less chance there is of a Tory
:16:34. > :16:39.government and less motivation people will have for voting yes.
:16:40. > :16:44.Look at some of the things UKIP have been saying and ask yourself if you
:16:45. > :16:55.can imagine these guys in government or even welding seats down! --
:16:56. > :17:00.holding. Alex isn't suggesting they would be in government. He is
:17:01. > :17:03.suggesting they might have sufficient votes to deprive the
:17:04. > :17:08.Conservative party of any chance of an overall majority. I am imagining
:17:09. > :17:13.the relevance of this is to try and ask how that might impact of the
:17:14. > :17:18.Scottish referendum. What I am trying to answer is the prospect of
:17:19. > :17:23.UKIP having any power, any which way, even being elected, even the
:17:24. > :17:28.fact we are sitting discussing this to light, is unbelievable to a lot
:17:29. > :17:32.of people who look at the kind of policies of the Mickey Mouse party
:17:33. > :17:38.that hasn't even had the time to take seriously what it would do with
:17:39. > :17:43.a Scottish Parliament, which it wanted to abolish, and is taking
:17:44. > :17:51.votes from working class people. We need to leak -- look at some depth
:17:52. > :17:55.at this party. Polls are suggesting they might get 10% of votes in
:17:56. > :18:04.Scotland than 30% of votes south of the border. One of the things that
:18:05. > :18:11.UKIP is seen to represent is a protest vote against people that
:18:12. > :18:21.don't like the Westminster/ Scottish elite. That's not unique to Britain,
:18:22. > :18:28.is it? Absolutely. If we look right across Europe, we see a number of
:18:29. > :18:41.parties right across UKIP. -- right across Europe. Then taking the
:18:42. > :18:45.solution to that problem, that foreigners are to blame, because of
:18:46. > :18:50.the Bulgarians and Romanians in Polish, we have that issue and that
:18:51. > :18:55.exists right across Europe. We are in tough economic times, so it is
:18:56. > :19:02.not too surprising. Why do you think UKIP doesn't do as it does in
:19:03. > :19:08.England? It is harder to break into a four party system than a three
:19:09. > :19:14.party system. UKIP is part of an internal Tory civil war and there
:19:15. > :19:20.are fewer Conservatives in Scotland. The people who think that there is
:19:21. > :19:24.no difference between Labour and the Tories and the Liberals in England
:19:25. > :19:31.are tentative Yuki Abbey and the people in Scotland who think there
:19:32. > :19:36.is no difference between... -- are tempted to vote UKIP.
:19:37. > :19:41.And lastly, a quick look at what'll be in the headlines tomorrow. Good
:19:42. > :19:44.Morning Scotland on BBC Radio Scotland will be looking at the
:19:45. > :19:47.Defence Secretary's latest view of what happens to Trident in the event
:19:48. > :19:50.of independence. Newsnet Scotland website says Johann Lamont is being
:19:51. > :19:54.challenged over figures on A waiting times she used in the
:19:55. > :20:03.Parliament today. And a look at some of the printed papers. Scottish law
:20:04. > :20:20.to tackle domestic abuse. We will have to take the rough with
:20:21. > :20:25.the smooth through this weekend. Friday is far from settled. Rain
:20:26. > :20:30.across northern areas in the form of showers. The best of the sunshine
:20:31. > :20:38.further south. This is a snapshot for 4pm. Sharp showers around and
:20:39. > :20:43.they could be slow-moving because the winds won't be particularly
:20:44. > :20:46.strong. Cloudy and cruel and showery across northern England. Sharp
:20:47. > :20:50.showers across eastern counties but many central and southern parts of
:20:51. > :20:56.England and Wales will see bright and breezy weather and a better day
:20:57. > :20:57.than Thursday. The odd shower around but it will