Browse content similar to 17/09/2014. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Both sides in the independence referendum make their final | :00:00. | :00:12. | |
People are so excited about the prospect of having Scotland's's | :00:13. | :00:29. | |
future in Scotland's hands. We are reporting now because we love | :00:30. | :00:39. | |
We're live around the country as Scots prepare for the biggest | :00:40. | :00:45. | |
Thousands of polling stations are being set up across Scotland. Many | :00:46. | :00:57. | |
people will vote for the first time. The number of people in work | :00:58. | :01:01. | |
in Scotland reaches a record high. The campaign is over and in just | :01:02. | :01:29. | |
over 12 hours time people will answer the question, should Scotland | :01:30. | :01:36. | |
be an independent country? The campaigners have been out in force | :01:37. | :01:41. | |
across the country. Here is our Political Editor. Final hours before | :01:42. | :01:57. | |
the people decide. These people see independence | :01:58. | :02:05. | |
empowers the population. Activists say the campaign itself has | :02:06. | :02:08. | |
energised people. Everybody has come together. They are gathering all | :02:09. | :02:16. | |
over the country talking about this. Nothing will ever be the same after | :02:17. | :02:23. | |
that. It is incredible. We will all miss each other. We will miss the | :02:24. | :02:31. | |
campaign. It has brought ordinarily non-political Scottish people | :02:32. | :02:36. | |
together and motivated them. We feel as if we have the opportunity for a | :02:37. | :02:42. | |
participated in a democracy. Campaigners urge people to sign up | :02:43. | :02:47. | |
for independence. And canvassing the coming generation the deputy | :02:48. | :02:58. | |
argued. It has been an empowering campaign. I have never known a time | :02:59. | :03:01. | |
when people are so interested in politics. There is a real sense of | :03:02. | :03:09. | |
optimism and opportunity. People are realistic. They understand | :03:10. | :03:12. | |
independence is not a magic wand, but increasingly they know that if | :03:13. | :03:18. | |
they fought yes they take control of the powers that we need in Scotland | :03:19. | :03:22. | |
to make things better for the next generation. -- vote yes. Supporters | :03:23. | :03:36. | |
of the union gather for a Better Together rally. They insist they are | :03:37. | :03:43. | |
quiet majority. I have spoken to friends for the first time in my 70 | :03:44. | :03:48. | |
years I have a poster on my window. I would never have dreamt of doing | :03:49. | :03:55. | |
that. I have been an expat unit for 25 years. Thank goodness I am home | :03:56. | :04:03. | |
now. It is sad to think that in the next general election we will not | :04:04. | :04:08. | |
get the same percentage of voters. It has been terrific. It is | :04:09. | :04:14. | |
wonderful. Onstage Gordon Brown sees Scotland can have a more powerful | :04:15. | :04:19. | |
parliament in the UK able to protect the NHS. He says those who are not | :04:20. | :04:26. | |
-- those who are and decided should vote No. Have confidence to see we | :04:27. | :04:34. | |
have had no answers. They do not know what they are doing. They are | :04:35. | :04:40. | |
leading us into a trap. Have confidence and say to our friends, | :04:41. | :04:48. | |
for reasons of solidarity, sharing, justice, played in Scotland, the | :04:49. | :04:54. | |
only answer for Scotland's's seek and for Scotland's future is full | :04:55. | :05:07. | |
No. The campaign has been intense. Both campaign teams say it is about | :05:08. | :05:13. | |
the future. Which future? It is your choice. | :05:14. | :05:18. | |
Brian, the final day of campaigning is drawing to a close, but rallies | :05:19. | :05:22. | |
Rallies tonight. Energy and activity. And there has been the | :05:23. | :05:43. | |
quiet discourse of people in their homes and workplaces. Quietly making | :05:44. | :05:51. | |
up their minds. I guess by this stage, the 4.3 million people who | :05:52. | :05:56. | |
are registered to vote, most will have come to a conclusion. The pitch | :05:57. | :06:04. | |
today from the two camps is to say have the confidence to go with your | :06:05. | :06:09. | |
belief. They guess campaign is saying if you believe in a better | :06:10. | :06:13. | |
Scotland, go with independence. The other side is seeing if you have | :06:14. | :06:26. | |
doubts then you have two vote No. -- the Yes campaign. | :06:27. | :06:30. | |
What is your view on where the country stands now? | :06:31. | :06:38. | |
Both sides are offering a positive perspective. The independence | :06:39. | :06:42. | |
campaign says they can build a more prosperous and just society. On the | :06:43. | :06:46. | |
other hand, the argument that Scotland is better placed within the | :06:47. | :06:53. | |
UK. But equally they both have a negative pitch. This is a big choice | :06:54. | :06:59. | |
for the people of Scotland. On the one hand the prounion camp says | :07:00. | :07:01. | |
there are questions on the currency and the economy that have not been | :07:02. | :07:06. | |
answered. The other side says they have all stopped the Yes campaign | :07:07. | :07:11. | |
says the offer of more powers is not sustainable given the degree of | :07:12. | :07:18. | |
opposition from Tory backbenchers. There are two positives and two | :07:19. | :07:21. | |
negatives projecting forward these arguments. | :07:22. | :07:32. | |
The people of Scotland will deliver a verdict which resonate far louder | :07:33. | :07:35. | |
than any make a verdict which resonate far louder than any | :07:36. | :07:38. | |
microphone or megaphone. We will hear more from Brian later. | :07:39. | :07:49. | |
Local activists have been out and about trying to persuade last-minute | :07:50. | :07:55. | |
voters. One century ago this brought the | :07:56. | :08:02. | |
people together in opposition to Westminster imposed taxes. Today it | :08:03. | :08:08. | |
could split them apart. At the statute Better Together supporters | :08:09. | :08:12. | |
seek to persuade voters in this little community that the best way | :08:13. | :08:15. | |
forward is with the union. We are asking people if they had made up | :08:16. | :08:19. | |
their minds. There are still a lot of people who are undecided. There | :08:20. | :08:24. | |
is one day to go. Any information or help we can give is worthwhile. It | :08:25. | :08:30. | |
is a big decision. There is no going back. Around the corner a rival | :08:31. | :08:39. | |
campaign targets potential yes supporters. They see the response | :08:40. | :08:44. | |
has been positive with many of those who have stopped displaying a thirst | :08:45. | :08:47. | |
for answers in thing reassured it says about the future has been their | :08:48. | :08:54. | |
purpose for days. Most of the people we have stopped | :08:55. | :09:01. | |
have said they are voting Yes. There has been the odd person shouting No. | :09:02. | :09:17. | |
Down the road that has been an early start to get this plain spot. This | :09:18. | :09:27. | |
is the rule vote being targeted. I am doing this because I have six | :09:28. | :09:34. | |
grandchildren. I am very worried about their future. I would not made | :09:35. | :09:37. | |
independence for Scotland, but not this way. I am making serious plans | :09:38. | :09:47. | |
to move if they Yes campaign wins. Both sides say the campaigns locally | :09:48. | :09:51. | |
have been good-natured. Despite the Pool A whether Yes campaign | :09:52. | :10:00. | |
supporters say it has been positive. Pars despite the bad weather. We ran | :10:01. | :10:13. | |
out of four bags of badgers and posters. These have been the real | :10:14. | :10:27. | |
grassroots campaigns. Local campaigners quietly trying to | :10:28. | :10:31. | |
persuade their neighbours to vote Yes No. We will find out the impact | :10:32. | :10:37. | |
on Friday morning. Of course Scotland already has | :10:38. | :10:42. | |
its own parliament at Holyrood If people vote for independence, | :10:43. | :10:45. | |
then it will gain full control over But if there's a No vote, | :10:46. | :10:48. | |
then more powers are still likely to Let's cross to Holyrood now and join | :10:49. | :10:52. | |
our referendum correspondent, Laura Bicker, who's been following | :10:53. | :10:55. | |
this campaign around the country. This is it. It is the final few | :10:56. | :11:10. | |
hours of the referendum campaign. I am joined by two men who have lived | :11:11. | :11:15. | |
and breathed it as much as I have for the last few months. Dennis | :11:16. | :11:22. | |
Canavan and Jim Murphy. A lot of people are undecided. Even a lot of | :11:23. | :11:30. | |
no voters have felt that the Better Together campaign has been negative. | :11:31. | :11:36. | |
Both sides of this argument wants what is best for the nation. What is | :11:37. | :11:47. | |
best for people, businesses. We are part of something bigger. It is | :11:48. | :11:54. | |
different from a nationalistic argument. We are better staying | :11:55. | :12:06. | |
together. That argument has come quite late on. Nine days before the | :12:07. | :12:13. | |
referendum. Some people had already cast their postal vote and you came | :12:14. | :12:17. | |
out with a timetable. It is accelerated evolution. We are only | :12:18. | :12:26. | |
12 hours away. We do not know which currency we would use in an | :12:27. | :12:34. | |
independent Scotland. Alex Salmond cannot tell us what currency we | :12:35. | :12:38. | |
would use. There are only 12 hours to go. A lot of people who have | :12:39. | :12:44. | |
given a Yes campaign the benefit of the doubt, those people have looked | :12:45. | :12:52. | |
again and said, they were thinking of voting for it, but neither is a | :12:53. | :12:56. | |
prospect of it happening, they want to know who will pay for the | :12:57. | :12:59. | |
pensions, what currency shall be used. Jim Murphy's big problem is | :13:00. | :13:10. | |
that this campaign has got a huge good ability problem. People simply | :13:11. | :13:16. | |
do not believe all the stuff that has come out at the last minute | :13:17. | :13:21. | |
about additional powers. It sounds like something that has been written | :13:22. | :13:28. | |
on the back of a cigarette packet. If there is uncertainty about | :13:29. | :13:35. | |
currency perhaps that is because Westminster politicians, your party | :13:36. | :13:41. | |
leader, has claimed into bed with the Tories and the Lib Dems, to gang | :13:42. | :13:47. | |
up against the First Minister of Scotland, who wants to have a | :13:48. | :13:51. | |
currency union, which would be in the interest of Scotland as well as | :13:52. | :13:56. | |
the UK. It is no wonder that more and more Labour voters are now | :13:57. | :14:02. | |
deciding to vote Yes tomorrow. 42% in their most recent poll I have | :14:03. | :14:07. | |
seen. Dennis caravan does have a point. | :14:08. | :14:10. | |
Does that mean that Labour may be in trouble? | :14:11. | :14:17. | |
# Wrote Dennis Canavan. That does not make me a Tory. Labour voters | :14:18. | :14:30. | |
now. All politicians are temporally. Tomorrow's decision is forever. | :14:31. | :14:37. | |
There is no going back. Do we really want to leave the British Army, Navy | :14:38. | :14:44. | |
and Air Force? Separate wealthier? A separate passport? A lot of people | :14:45. | :14:48. | |
who love the country look at the nuts and bolts and they have said, | :14:49. | :14:56. | |
no banks. Jim Murphy is going over old ground. You are going back over | :14:57. | :15:07. | |
old ground. There would have to be a separate army. Pensions, for | :15:08. | :15:20. | |
example. Hang on. The UK Government. Dennis Canavan, Jim Murphy. Just | :15:21. | :15:31. | |
hang on a second. Jim Murphy, hang on a second. Dennis Canavan. I will | :15:32. | :15:40. | |
be leading the negotiations. You must get this into your head. This | :15:41. | :15:47. | |
is not an SNP campaign. If you stop talking then you can both be heard. | :15:48. | :15:55. | |
This is not a campaign to make Alex Salmond the great reader of | :15:56. | :16:00. | |
Scotland. This is not asking people to vote Alex Salmond. This is not | :16:01. | :16:05. | |
the fault for the SNP. It is a vote to give the people of Scotland the | :16:06. | :16:10. | |
right to choose their own Government. There is a democratic | :16:11. | :16:18. | |
deficit at present. You have got a situation whereby there is only one | :16:19. | :16:22. | |
out of 59 parliamentary constituencies that has a Tory MP | :16:23. | :16:27. | |
and yet that is a Tory MP and yet that is for that Government to foist | :16:28. | :16:33. | |
upon us policies which we do not want, such as the bedroom tax. You | :16:34. | :16:37. | |
are quite happy with that. Conservatives and David Cameron I | :16:38. | :16:55. | |
want rid of the Tories and David Cameron. Even Alex Salmond is | :16:56. | :17:00. | |
temporary. All of these people are gone. Independence is forever. The | :17:01. | :17:05. | |
Yes campaign has not been able to answer those big questions about | :17:06. | :17:10. | |
currency, and tax. We have a guarantee of more power, without the | :17:11. | :17:16. | |
enormous risk and enormous uncertainty of breaking away from | :17:17. | :17:20. | |
the United Kingdom. David Cameron is temporary. We can get rid of him | :17:21. | :17:25. | |
next year, and have a Labour government inside the United Kingdom | :17:26. | :17:30. | |
with a more powerful Scotland. I will believe it when I see it. Quite | :17:31. | :17:36. | |
frankly, new Labour has let Scotland down. We have got nuclear weapons, | :17:37. | :17:47. | |
we have got the bedroom tax... We are tight for a time. Let him speak. | :17:48. | :17:55. | |
The people of Scotland have got a wonderful opportunity to build a | :17:56. | :17:59. | |
better Scotland. Yes, a more prosperous Scotland but also a | :18:00. | :18:02. | |
fairer Scotland and a Scotland that will pay its full part in the | :18:03. | :18:06. | |
international community to build a better world. Stop shouting. I am | :18:07. | :18:14. | |
going to leave it there. And going to leave it there. They are going to | :18:15. | :18:21. | |
be continuing for some time to come. We are going to attempt a | :18:22. | :18:28. | |
comeback to use Bill stop -- you any next half an hour. If we have | :18:29. | :18:35. | |
learned one thing is that shouting over one another will not work. It | :18:36. | :18:39. | |
is a passionate debate. We'll have more from Laura, | :18:40. | :18:41. | |
later in the programme. Now, this campaign took on new | :18:42. | :18:45. | |
impetus ten days ago thanks to an opinion poll which appeared to show | :18:46. | :18:48. | |
the Yes campaign had taken the lead. Since then, the two sides | :18:49. | :18:51. | |
have been neck and neck. I'm joined by Professor John Curtice | :18:52. | :18:55. | |
of Strathclyde University who's What do the polls say tonight? We | :18:56. | :19:15. | |
had three last week, which all put the Yes campaign on 48%. This | :19:16. | :19:20. | |
afternoon, we had a ball from a company which hitherto has been | :19:21. | :19:25. | |
rather favourable to the Yes campaign. Rather disappointing for | :19:26. | :19:28. | |
the Yes campaign. RTE present for the Yes campaign, 52% for the No | :19:29. | :19:40. | |
campaign. Not so long ago, another company which had the yes side at | :19:41. | :19:46. | |
42% are now saying that the Yes campaign are on 49%, now on 51%. | :19:47. | :19:51. | |
They are saying that the race is even coarser than we thought. On the | :19:52. | :19:59. | |
one hand, encouragement for now. Encouragement for the Yes campaign, | :20:00. | :20:03. | |
because the lead recorded by these opinions polls is too small for | :20:04. | :20:07. | |
anybody to be certain what the result is actually going to be in | :20:08. | :20:12. | |
little more than 24 hours time. Does opinion polling matter? Will voters | :20:13. | :20:18. | |
make up their minds at the last moment or change their mind at the | :20:19. | :20:23. | |
last moment? First of all, we know that the polls of the last fortnight | :20:24. | :20:27. | |
have changed the campaign, not least the degree to which the banks and | :20:28. | :20:31. | |
the businessmen and the No campaign have been talking about the alleged | :20:32. | :20:37. | |
affect of independence on the economy. This is countered by the | :20:38. | :20:41. | |
Yes campaign. The second thing we can anticipate is that now voters | :20:42. | :20:45. | |
know this is a vote which matters, and is a vote which is close, the | :20:46. | :20:50. | |
prospect for a high turnout are likely to be even greater, because | :20:51. | :20:54. | |
very people in Scotland will be unaware that it could well be the | :20:55. | :20:58. | |
case that their own fault will matter. Could the opinion polls have | :20:59. | :21:05. | |
got it completely wrong? The good will get it wrong. Given how close | :21:06. | :21:12. | |
they all are, we certainly can't discount the possibility of the Yes | :21:13. | :21:15. | |
campaign winning. There are concerns about whether the opinion polls have | :21:16. | :21:20. | |
asked enough people who don't normally vote, so they may be | :21:21. | :21:23. | |
underestimating support for the Yes campaign. They also think that | :21:24. | :21:28. | |
perhaps people who are going to vote for the No campaign may not be able | :21:29. | :21:33. | |
to admit that. We can't be sure that the opinion polls will prove | :21:34. | :21:36. | |
anything at the end of the day. We must leave that there. Thank you. | :21:37. | :21:40. | |
You're watching Reporting Scotland from the BBC. | :21:41. | :21:42. | |
Still to come on tonight's programme. | :21:43. | :21:47. | |
Thousands of polling stations are being set up across Scotland, all | :21:48. | :21:53. | |
gearing up to deal with more than 4 million people registered to vote | :21:54. | :21:56. | |
tomorrow. Many of them will be voting for the first time. We will | :21:57. | :22:01. | |
be live at the polling station to explain the process. And after the | :22:02. | :22:06. | |
electronic debacle of the Holyrood election seven years ago, machines | :22:07. | :22:09. | |
are back, but with humans firmly in control. | :22:10. | :22:17. | |
A record number of people are now in work in Scotland, and more than 3000 | :22:18. | :22:23. | |
fewer are claiming unemployment benefit. Our correspondent has been | :22:24. | :22:26. | |
meeting some of those who have found a new job. 45,000 people in Scotland | :22:27. | :22:35. | |
enjoyed the sweet taste of success by finding a job between May and | :22:36. | :22:39. | |
June. Alexis was one of them. She has an apprenticeship and she thinks | :22:40. | :22:45. | |
she is one of the lucky ones. It was good, timing wise. I was leaving | :22:46. | :22:49. | |
school, and I was bit straight into a job. It is daunting, but I am | :22:50. | :22:55. | |
learning a lot. To date's figures show that the number of people on | :22:56. | :22:59. | |
jobseeker's allowance in Scotland was down by 3200. A Scottish | :23:00. | :23:04. | |
employment rate between May and July was down to 6%. That is slightly | :23:05. | :23:09. | |
below the UK average rate, which fell to 6.2% in the same period. | :23:10. | :23:18. | |
Lauren is only three weeks into her new job, and she knows only too well | :23:19. | :23:22. | |
that going through dozens of applications is tough work. It has | :23:23. | :23:26. | |
been a bit difficult, but I think we have been quite lucky with it. I | :23:27. | :23:31. | |
have done a lot of research, and I have done a lot of different | :23:32. | :23:33. | |
interviews, and I have known what I wanted and what companies to | :23:34. | :23:37. | |
target, and I have discovered and done my best. More people who were | :23:38. | :23:41. | |
unemployed have been finding jobs over the summer, but we have also | :23:42. | :23:45. | |
seen another group of people get work. There has also been an | :23:46. | :23:50. | |
increase in participation, in other words, people who weren't looking | :23:51. | :23:53. | |
for work before are now looking for work and have found. This is good | :23:54. | :23:58. | |
news. Also the unemployment rate in the UK in Scotland is well below | :23:59. | :24:02. | |
many other countries in the EU, so this is a positive development. Lots | :24:03. | :24:05. | |
of people have been getting jobs in all different sectors of the | :24:06. | :24:10. | |
economy. The question is, will be be taking on permanently or is this a | :24:11. | :24:16. | |
temporary boost? We are keen to expand and grow, keen to be the best | :24:17. | :24:21. | |
place to work, and the best place to buy, and I'm sure that if we do that | :24:22. | :24:25. | |
we will continue to grow and be successful. Those still looking for | :24:26. | :24:28. | |
work across the country will be hoping that the exhilaration in | :24:29. | :24:32. | |
employment continues. -- acceleration. | :24:33. | :24:36. | |
Police in West Lothian are treating an attack on a pensioner in | :24:37. | :24:39. | |
The 65-year-old was repeatedly stabbed in the house in Bathgate | :24:40. | :24:43. | |
in the early hours of yesterday morning. | :24:44. | :24:44. | |
Detectives want to hear from anyone who may have any information | :24:45. | :24:47. | |
about what they're describing as a cowardly and brutal attack. | :24:48. | :24:54. | |
In particular, we are keen to speak to and identified two men who we | :24:55. | :25:00. | |
believe may have been seen together in the area around three M on | :25:01. | :25:07. | |
Tuesday. They are described as male, white, both around five or ten in | :25:08. | :25:11. | |
height. Average build. Believed to be Scottish. Aged 20 to 40 years | :25:12. | :25:15. | |
old. Thick fog and poor visibility have | :25:16. | :25:16. | |
prevented investigators from moving the wreckage of a helicopter which | :25:17. | :25:19. | |
took off from West Lothian yesterday The two men on board were killed | :25:20. | :25:21. | |
when the private aircraft came An air accident investigation team | :25:22. | :25:26. | |
at the site has been unable to examine the wreckage because | :25:27. | :25:30. | |
of the weather conditions. Let's get the latest sport now | :25:31. | :25:36. | |
from Rhona. Stephen Gallacher says he wants to | :25:37. | :25:41. | |
soak up as much information as possible from former Ryder cup | :25:42. | :25:45. | |
players ahead of travelling to Gallacher is preparing for his first | :25:46. | :25:49. | |
Ryder Cup by taking part at the And it seems he couldn't | :25:50. | :25:53. | |
have picked a better venue. From Celtic Manor here's | :25:54. | :25:59. | |
our golf reporter Phil Goodlad. It may have the look of a normal | :26:00. | :26:15. | |
event, even a normal tour venue, but it is anything but. In a sport which | :26:16. | :26:20. | |
values its history, Celtic Manor stands out. Four years ago, Captain | :26:21. | :26:24. | |
Monty led Europe to a famous victory here. A source of inspiration, head | :26:25. | :26:31. | |
of Gleneagles. I ever watching. It looks brilliant. I can't wait. | :26:32. | :26:36. | |
Stephen Gallacher is here with his team-mates, surrounded by former | :26:37. | :26:41. | |
Ryder Cup players. Just as well, given his thirst for knowledge. We | :26:42. | :26:45. | |
are going for dinner tonight, and I know there will be dinner is asked. | :26:46. | :26:49. | |
I will go for a copy with Paul Murray, and economic asked these | :26:50. | :26:53. | |
guys and get their opinion. You can't replicate the pressure you | :26:54. | :26:57. | |
will be under. It is just a case of being ready for it. The Ryder Cup | :26:58. | :27:03. | |
standout for another reason. Not the best time for the Americans to find | :27:04. | :27:06. | |
out that there are water probes were not waterproof. Surely nothing | :27:07. | :27:14. | |
similar will happen next week. Lincoln always go wrong. Never say | :27:15. | :27:18. | |
never, but I would like to think we have minimised the chances of that. | :27:19. | :27:29. | |
It is the Ben -- venue for a spot of fine-tuning. A week today, the | :27:30. | :27:35. | |
golfing world will be at Gleneagles. Scotland's woman footballer is now | :27:36. | :27:41. | |
face a play-off to reach the World Cup next year in Canada. Needing to | :27:42. | :27:45. | |
win 31 or better to qualify, they conceded a goal inside the first ten | :27:46. | :27:50. | |
minutes, and things could have been even worse, but for a fine save from | :27:51. | :27:58. | |
their captain. Sweden did get a second goal late on, a fine finish, | :27:59. | :28:02. | |
which wrapped up the victory for the group winners. | :28:03. | :28:03. | |
The Celtic assistant manager John Collins says the club's ambitions | :28:04. | :28:06. | |
in Europe must now be to target the Europa League final next May. | :28:07. | :28:09. | |
After failing to qualify for the Champions League, | :28:10. | :28:11. | |
Celtic have flown to Austria to begin their Europa League campaign. | :28:12. | :28:14. | |
They take on Salzburg tomorrow evening, | :28:15. | :28:17. | |
The top two progress to the knockout phase. | :28:18. | :28:28. | |
Obviously, if you ask me, I would like to get to the final and win it. | :28:29. | :28:34. | |
The players would give you the same answer. That is what we will try and | :28:35. | :28:36. | |
do. We will give it our best shot. Rangers earned themselves a third | :28:37. | :28:40. | |
round League Cup trip to Falkirk on Tuesday, thanks to their 1-0 defeat | :28:41. | :28:43. | |
of Inverness at Ibrox last night. The only goal of the game came | :28:44. | :28:46. | |
from Rangers' highly-rated With just 12 minutes left - | :28:47. | :28:48. | |
a deflection off defender Josh Meekings helped the shot past | :28:49. | :28:54. | |
Dean Brill in the Inverness goal. Scotland's David Millar has been | :28:55. | :28:57. | |
asked to captain Team GB at the World Road Race Championships | :28:58. | :29:05. | |
later this month. It's a nine-man team | :29:06. | :29:09. | |
which includes the Tour de France It's an honour bestowed on Millar | :29:10. | :29:11. | |
as he will be leading the team in his last outing before he retires | :29:12. | :29:15. | |
at the end of the season. His final Scotland appearance was | :29:16. | :29:18. | |
at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. cloudy first some, but a clear | :29:19. | :29:50. | |
contrast between the West and the East. The cloud lingered, and there | :29:51. | :29:56. | |
were much cooler conditions here. Eight fair amount of cloud, and the | :29:57. | :30:02. | |
mist and fog readily reforming and slowly working its way further | :30:03. | :30:06. | |
westwards. Some patchy drizzle at times. Some see fog developing, and | :30:07. | :30:10. | |
all of those factors combined mean it is certainly not a cold night. | :30:11. | :30:16. | |
Temperatures of 10 Celsius to 14 Celsius. A cloudy start to the day. | :30:17. | :30:21. | |
Extensive mist and fog, slowly lifting across western part of the | :30:22. | :30:25. | |
country. Taking a while to clear in the East. Not clearing in the east | :30:26. | :30:32. | |
at all in some parts. Sunshine by the afternoon, and warm sunshine at | :30:33. | :30:37. | |
that. 22 Celsius in Ayrshire. Cooler weather is cloud and mist and fog, | :30:38. | :30:41. | |
and also some drizzle over the hills. Across the Highlands and | :30:42. | :30:48. | |
Islands, cloudy but to dry. 20 Celsius in the North. For the | :30:49. | :30:53. | |
Northern arts -- for the Northern Isles, it is a dry day. Across the | :30:54. | :31:01. | |
eastern parts, extensive mist. Looking ahead towards Friday, and | :31:02. | :31:06. | |
the arrival of a cold front means eight change in wind direction, | :31:07. | :31:09. | |
which will get rid of the mist and low cloud, although it does start | :31:10. | :31:13. | |
that way, and as we head to two of the afternoon, some outbreaks of | :31:14. | :31:16. | |
rain will slowly work their way south eastwards. A touch cooler. 19 | :31:17. | :31:22. | |
Celsius. Looking ahead towards the weekend, high pressure starts to | :31:23. | :31:26. | |
build and once again from the Atlantic, and that means cooler, | :31:27. | :31:29. | |
fresher conditions than we have seen, and clear conditions across | :31:30. | :31:33. | |
the East Coast, with some sunshine, and Sunday is looking recently dry | :31:34. | :31:37. | |
and bright with reasonable spells of sunshine. With high pressure in | :31:38. | :31:38. | |
charge, it is staying dry. Polling stations will open all over | :31:39. | :31:44. | |
Scotland The turnout is expected to be | :31:45. | :31:46. | |
a record high, perhaps more that 80% of the | :31:47. | :31:51. | |
electorate, and thousands of people Local authorities around | :31:52. | :31:54. | |
the country have been setting up Our reporter Cameron Buttle is | :31:55. | :31:59. | |
at one tonight in the Scottish Borders - he's in | :32:00. | :32:05. | |
the village of Bowden near Melrose. This is what it has all been leading | :32:06. | :32:22. | |
two. Sports centres, schools, village halls. They are dealing up | :32:23. | :32:27. | |
to deal with the more than 4 million people who are registered to vote | :32:28. | :32:31. | |
tomorrow. This is a huge logistical exercise. In the Borders 95,000 | :32:32. | :32:37. | |
people are registered to vote. Many of them will vote for the first | :32:38. | :32:41. | |
time. What should you expect if you come into the polling station? | :32:42. | :32:52. | |
The easiest way to find your polling station is to look on the front of | :32:53. | :32:56. | |
your polling card. You do not actually need your polling card or | :32:57. | :33:00. | |
any identification. But it does make the process easier. Then you will | :33:01. | :33:17. | |
get your ballot paper. There is no political party or candidate to | :33:18. | :33:22. | |
choose. Just one question. Should Scotland be an independent country? | :33:23. | :33:29. | |
You take your ballot paper over to the polling booth. You put your | :33:30. | :33:37. | |
cross or your tech, you folded up, and put it in the box. Bat or your | :33:38. | :33:55. | |
tick, you fold it up. No photography is allowed in the | :33:56. | :34:05. | |
polling station. The advice is not to leave it until | :34:06. | :34:11. | |
the last minute. Only those who were inside the polling station at 10pm | :34:12. | :34:19. | |
will be allowed to vote. Do not be scared. Come along. | :34:20. | :34:28. | |
Businesses large and small have been watching this debate closely. The | :34:29. | :34:31. | |
decision Scotland makes will affect the currency and taxation system | :34:32. | :34:33. | |
they operate in, as well as the markets they sell to. In recent | :34:34. | :34:36. | |
weeks, we've seen big hitters intervene on both sides, some | :34:37. | :34:43. | |
warning of the risks, some talking of the opportunities. We've been | :34:44. | :34:46. | |
hearing from two business leaders with very different views. Laura | :34:47. | :34:48. | |
Maxwell has more. Sir Brian Soutar - one of Scotland's | :34:49. | :34:52. | |
leading businessmen, and one of the Yes Campaign's biggest supporters. | :34:53. | :35:00. | |
His company, Stagecoach, carries two and a half million passengers a day | :35:01. | :35:06. | |
across the UK. It also has operations in North America. | :35:07. | :35:16. | |
The business is neutral in this referendum. Mr Soutar, an SNP donor, | :35:17. | :35:19. | |
The only way to get the powers we need is to vote Yes. If we just have | :35:20. | :35:35. | |
the confidence it would be a triumph of aspiration and hope over fear. | :35:36. | :35:56. | |
This company has had its headquarters in Glasgow for over a | :35:57. | :36:02. | |
century. A Yes vote could change that. It would not be fair to bring | :36:03. | :36:06. | |
people in when there is uncertainty about the business climate. There | :36:07. | :36:18. | |
will be a potential period of a couple of years when we will be | :36:19. | :36:25. | |
negotiating terms. Whether they are offshore or on the High Street | :36:26. | :36:29. | |
companies large and small have been wearing at the impact of the vote. | :36:30. | :36:34. | |
Accusations of scaremongering have been made by both sides. The | :36:35. | :36:43. | |
risk-takers see that we think Yes is a big opportunity for business in | :36:44. | :36:49. | |
Scotland. For people who are wondering who to listen to, you need | :36:50. | :36:54. | |
to look at the credentials. The difference with as is that we are | :36:55. | :36:57. | |
putting our money where our mouth is. From the Highlands to the | :36:58. | :37:04. | |
Borders, from the gas industry, to the food industry, this is about a | :37:05. | :37:12. | |
consistent concern over the consequences of moving towards an | :37:13. | :37:16. | |
independent Scotland from people that have created tens of thousands | :37:17. | :37:21. | |
of jobs. Whatever the outcome on Friday both sides of this debate are | :37:22. | :37:26. | |
united on one thing. That is that Scotland must remain open for | :37:27. | :37:35. | |
business. Let us go back to Holyrood. | :37:36. | :37:42. | |
You have been looking back at what you have seen and heard in Scotland | :37:43. | :37:48. | |
on the campaign trail. They are singing outside Holyrood at | :37:49. | :37:53. | |
the moment. This has been a lively, noisy, and at times passionate | :37:54. | :37:58. | |
debate, as we saw Elliott. Here are some of the moments from the last | :37:59. | :38:03. | |
few months. The referendum saw the return of | :38:04. | :38:10. | |
people in politics. Meetings were held in halls throughout the | :38:11. | :38:18. | |
country. A chance to hear questions. It was clear from the start that Yes | :38:19. | :38:26. | |
Scotland had recruited an army. A grassroots movement that just kept | :38:27. | :38:34. | |
on growing. Because there are so many people out | :38:35. | :38:38. | |
canvassing the entire area of Easterhouse is covered. | :38:39. | :38:52. | |
Better Together had technology. That household was strongly against | :38:53. | :39:00. | |
independence. They took time to grasp hold of a grassroots | :39:01. | :39:05. | |
campaign. It developed gradually. As both sides needed the arguments we | :39:06. | :39:09. | |
travelled the country to find out how people were voting at what they | :39:10. | :39:15. | |
were thinking. Doing it by car seemed to | :39:16. | :39:17. | |
conventional. neighbours. It will be a decision | :39:18. | :39:45. | |
for us. Everyone has their own opinion. Meanwhile big Yes campaign | :39:46. | :39:53. | |
turned their attention to those who do not usually thought. I have never | :39:54. | :40:11. | |
voted. -- who do not usually vote. We could not resist asking | :40:12. | :40:17. | |
youngsters. I would let Scotland have a free entry to the World Cup. | :40:18. | :40:23. | |
It has been a remarkable referendum with passion on both sides. My | :40:24. | :40:31. | |
grandfather was in the British Army. He might have been any Scottish | :40:32. | :40:39. | |
regiment. Something has happened in Scotland. Some may wish to forget | :40:40. | :40:44. | |
it. For others, being part of it has changed their lives. It is time to | :40:45. | :40:54. | |
where the kilt. The outcome is only hours away. Whatever the result | :40:55. | :40:58. | |
politics in this country may never be the same again. | :40:59. | :41:10. | |
It has been an incredible few months of this campaign. I turn once again | :41:11. | :41:17. | |
to two men at the centre of this campaign. Shouting does not mean you | :41:18. | :41:27. | |
are winning. I will start with Jim Murphy. You went around the country. | :41:28. | :41:37. | |
That was a bit of a grassroots campaign, but initially it did | :41:38. | :41:43. | |
struggle. Is it a matter of regret to wait that long to get | :41:44. | :41:50. | |
door-to-door? I had one Hundred St meetings across 100 towns. It was | :41:51. | :41:58. | |
just myself, my microphone and whoever turned up. I enjoyed most of | :41:59. | :42:07. | |
the campaign. People said if you've voted No you are a traitor. But was | :42:08. | :42:15. | |
on the edges. But was unfortunate. But generally I have enjoyed the | :42:16. | :42:19. | |
campaign. It has been passionate. I am proud of the way that they | :42:20. | :42:23. | |
involve thousands of people, particularly young people in | :42:24. | :42:28. | |
politics for the first time. Tomorrow I think most people will | :42:29. | :42:33. | |
vote No. Let us deal with the issue brought up by Jim Murphy. | :42:34. | :42:38. | |
Intimidation. It has been on both sides. The man next to you had an | :42:39. | :42:45. | |
egg thrown at him. I deplore the throwing of eggs or any other | :42:46. | :42:58. | |
missiles. In the Yes Scotland campaign at the very outset we aimed | :42:59. | :43:04. | |
to set up the most comprehensive and the most successful grassroots | :43:05. | :43:09. | |
community based campaign Scotland has ever seen. We had 300 groups of | :43:10. | :43:17. | |
community activists. From the Northern Isles right down to the | :43:18. | :43:24. | |
Borders. We have trained people who are maybe not doing public speaking, | :43:25. | :43:31. | |
but they are knocking on doors and making phone calls. But there is a | :43:32. | :43:36. | |
dearth of foot soldiers within your campaign, Jim Murphy. The biggest | :43:37. | :43:44. | |
group that I have seen has been the influx of the 100 or so Labour MPs | :43:45. | :43:48. | |
who were told on a three line whip to come up from Westminster and to | :43:49. | :43:54. | |
try and convert the Scots into voting No. In my constituency we had | :43:55. | :44:10. | |
120 volunteers. Every political campaign in his study has the odd | :44:11. | :44:24. | |
idiot. You cannot control everyone. Dennis Canavan, let me speak. Ed | :44:25. | :44:33. | |
Miliband came to Scotland. His meeting had to be cut short. That is | :44:34. | :44:37. | |
not acceptable. I do not care about people throwing eggs. But there has | :44:38. | :44:43. | |
been orchestrated intimidation across the country. It has not | :44:44. | :44:51. | |
happened on both sides. You can deliver as many leaflets as you | :44:52. | :44:56. | |
want, but when you cannot tell us what currency you will use, it is a | :44:57. | :45:06. | |
waste of paper. On Friday you will waken up to the realisation after a | :45:07. | :45:10. | |
guest thought that you will need to get into serious discussions instead | :45:11. | :45:13. | |
of trying to blast the people of Scotland. You will lead to quite out | :45:14. | :45:20. | |
of bed with the Tories. We are a very short on time. And so this. On | :45:21. | :45:33. | |
Friday morning after a guest thought will you see that the currency union | :45:34. | :45:40. | |
will be in the best interests of Scotland and the UK? -- after a Yes | :45:41. | :45:50. | |
vote. That will not happen. On Friday morning this building behind | :45:51. | :45:56. | |
us will have more power if you vote No. Change is coming. Status quo is | :45:57. | :46:01. | |
not on the ballot paper. I love my country. The majority of Scots do | :46:02. | :46:07. | |
not want separation. Gentlemen, thank you. Vote No tomorrow. That is | :46:08. | :46:19. | |
the only guarantee of more powers. I will try and end the conversation. | :46:20. | :46:26. | |
This is just a sample of how the debate has been across Scotland. Now | :46:27. | :46:31. | |
it is up to you. Go to the polling station to the polling station | :46:32. | :46:33. | |
tomorrow and put your cross in the box. | :46:34. | :46:43. | |
After a long and the mentis campaign local authorities will be hoping for | :46:44. | :46:44. | |
a calmer counting process. Safeguards were put in place | :46:45. | :46:49. | |
after the debacle of electronic counting in the | :46:50. | :46:51. | |
Holyrood election seven years ago. This time, machines are back but | :46:52. | :46:53. | |
in a very limited role, Here's our science correspondent, | :46:54. | :46:56. | |
Kenneth Macdonald. In terms of postal votes, we have | :46:57. | :47:13. | |
got 790,000 postal voters and almost all of them will return their votes, | :47:14. | :47:17. | |
so it is a very large number of postal boards. Those postal votes | :47:18. | :47:23. | |
will be the first to be counted. I have voted. I am not telling you how | :47:24. | :47:28. | |
I voted. Before this would get counted, it has to be verified that | :47:29. | :47:32. | |
it was actually me that voted, so what I have to do is sign in this | :47:33. | :47:38. | |
box here. The reason it is any box is it is not a question of so much | :47:39. | :47:45. | |
who checks my ballot paper as what. It will be a machine, comparing the | :47:46. | :47:50. | |
signature on the envelope with the one you gave if you apply for a | :47:51. | :47:54. | |
postal vote. Mentioning machines and voting in the same breath might | :47:55. | :48:01. | |
bring back some unpleasant memories. It could be 100,000 rejected ballot | :48:02. | :48:09. | |
papers across Scotland. In the end, it was more than 140,000. 7% of the | :48:10. | :48:18. | |
machines rejected votes. That will not be happening this time. For a | :48:19. | :48:21. | |
start, your vote will be counted like this, I be with people, by | :48:22. | :48:26. | |
hand, and when it comes to checking your signature, it will not be the | :48:27. | :48:30. | |
computer was medicine to reject it. The computer can accept the | :48:31. | :48:34. | |
signatures, and if there is any doubt at all, it will throw it out, | :48:35. | :48:40. | |
but not rejected. That is only so that there can be human intervention | :48:41. | :48:43. | |
at that stage. Perhaps surprisingly, there will not be the same signature | :48:44. | :48:48. | |
recognition software at every count. Each of Scotland's 32 areas | :48:49. | :48:54. | |
has been free which to choose. There are a number of suppliers, and I | :48:55. | :48:58. | |
think three or four main suppliers of the software, but it all does the | :48:59. | :49:02. | |
same job, and all of the people you're using these machines have had | :49:03. | :49:06. | |
training from the forensic science authorities to ensure that they | :49:07. | :49:10. | |
understand signature recognition. If you are choosing jurors are | :49:11. | :49:15. | |
sufficiently similar, and you got your date of birth right, your vote | :49:16. | :49:17. | |
will count. Both sides are rallying | :49:18. | :49:20. | |
their campaigners tonight. The first Minister will be in Perth, | :49:21. | :49:23. | |
where we can join The Better Together Campaign is in | :49:24. | :49:40. | |
Edinburgh, where we join our correspondent now. A big rally for | :49:41. | :49:45. | |
the No campaign is taking place here in the form of a gate. It is called | :49:46. | :49:50. | |
big show for now, and it will get underway in just about ten minutes | :49:51. | :49:56. | |
time. It will be kicked off by the comedian Rory Bremner, who is with | :49:57. | :50:00. | |
me now. What will you be saying? I wasn't expecting to be saying -- | :50:01. | :50:09. | |
doing this. I saw Tony Benn speak here, he was a passionate speaker | :50:10. | :50:13. | |
and I looked up what he had to say about Scottish independence, and he | :50:14. | :50:19. | |
said, my mother was Scottish, and if you told my mother one morning that | :50:20. | :50:22. | |
she was a foreigner, she would have been very upset. You had been | :50:23. | :50:30. | |
speaking about being passionate about being part of the union. What | :50:31. | :50:35. | |
are the mood been like for you? It has been fantastic. I was born here | :50:36. | :50:39. | |
and raised here, and spent one third of my life here, and the atmosphere | :50:40. | :50:44. | |
is exciting. People are talking everywhere, some people still making | :50:45. | :50:48. | |
up their minds. All I know is what swung it for me was the knowledge | :50:49. | :50:51. | |
that if we get a no vote on Friday morning, we will still have a | :50:52. | :50:58. | |
currency and be a member of the European Union. If we vote yes, we | :50:59. | :51:09. | |
will have some uncertainty. Do you think there is time to change | :51:10. | :51:12. | |
people's minds? There is always time. It is extraordinary, this | :51:13. | :51:18. | |
campaign. Have you ever thought that Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and | :51:19. | :51:21. | |
George Galloway would be on the same side? Bill Clinton and George | :51:22. | :51:28. | |
Galloway are in bed together. What does that tell you? Whatever the | :51:29. | :51:32. | |
result, we have to come together after this. I'm doing this, because | :51:33. | :51:38. | |
I believe in the United Kingdom, it fosters our athletes, and funds our | :51:39. | :51:41. | |
businesses, and represents us throughout the world. I believe that | :51:42. | :51:48. | |
Scotland is stronger inside the union, and that is what I have to | :51:49. | :51:52. | |
say tonight. Thank you for your time. You can see there are all | :51:53. | :51:58. | |
sorts of flags behind us. There is a rally on behalf of the Yes campaign | :51:59. | :52:04. | |
going on tonight, all ahead of the polls opening in a viewers. Thank | :52:05. | :52:14. | |
you, Lisa. Now we had to Perth. Our correspondent is with Yes Scotland. | :52:15. | :52:20. | |
What is the mood there tonight? Well, there is really quite an | :52:21. | :52:23. | |
upbeat atmosphere here, as I'm sure you can hear. There is a pipe going | :52:24. | :52:27. | |
behind me, and people have been turning up for the last hour with | :52:28. | :52:31. | |
some enormous salt tyres and massive flags. There had been babies in | :52:32. | :52:37. | |
prams, little kids with balloons. There is a real party atmosphere | :52:38. | :52:40. | |
here tonight, and the reason they are here at the constant all in | :52:41. | :52:45. | |
Perth is because it is here, a little later, that Alex Salmond will | :52:46. | :52:49. | |
be making his final speech of the campaign. He will be addressing | :52:50. | :52:52. | |
supporters here, thanking them for all the work they have done, and | :52:53. | :52:57. | |
talking about the grassroots campaign that we have heard so much | :52:58. | :53:01. | |
about already. Something that the Yes campaign are very proud of. They | :53:02. | :53:06. | |
say that the community led campaign on the ground has really been | :53:07. | :53:09. | |
phenomenal, and Alex Salmond will be talking more about that later, but | :53:10. | :53:13. | |
for now, let's talk to somebody who has been part of that campaign, a | :53:14. | :53:19. | |
very well known Scottish face. Here she is. Elaine, you have been out | :53:20. | :53:27. | |
and about as part of this campaign. What has it felt like? Glorious. | :53:28. | :53:32. | |
Wonderful. It is something I never thought I would see in my lifetime. | :53:33. | :53:37. | |
A lot of it, in spite of the Yes campaign, if you like. Most of the | :53:38. | :53:42. | |
things I have done have not been organised by official people. It has | :53:43. | :53:47. | |
all been done by normal people, people having meetings in their | :53:48. | :53:54. | |
communities. It is like a flowering, a thousand blossoms, and that is | :53:55. | :53:58. | |
what it feels like. What kind of reaction are you getting? We have | :53:59. | :54:05. | |
heard this campaign has been all about getting Labour voters to vote | :54:06. | :54:10. | |
yes? Initially, at the start, this has been over two years, a lot of | :54:11. | :54:19. | |
anger and apathy, a lot of frustration, and not believing that | :54:20. | :54:22. | |
there could be any difference, and I think that is what I have found the | :54:23. | :54:26. | |
most upsetting, that somewhere people had started to believe | :54:27. | :54:30. | |
nothing better was possible. I think what this has done, it is about real | :54:31. | :54:37. | |
hope and change and optimism, and for me, if we win, it will be the | :54:38. | :54:42. | |
people of all the communities that have made the big difference, and | :54:43. | :54:46. | |
they have exactly the same power, exactly the same fault as any big | :54:47. | :54:51. | |
business. Have you enjoyed it? It has been fun. I don't think I would | :54:52. | :54:59. | |
ever want to be a politician. As an actor, you want everyone to get on | :55:00. | :55:02. | |
together, and everyone to have a good time. When you are met with | :55:03. | :55:07. | |
aggression or the rough and humble of politics, I find that quite | :55:08. | :55:13. | |
difficult. It has been fun, and a wonderful experience. I am glad I | :55:14. | :55:16. | |
have lived long enough to see it. Thank you. I will let you go, | :55:17. | :55:24. | |
because you are in the warm up act here tonight. I am injured oozing | :55:25. | :55:36. | |
Nicola. -- I am introducing Nicola. The speech expected here later on | :55:37. | :55:37. | |
tonight. Banks. In less than 12 hours, | :55:38. | :55:45. | |
polling stations across Scotland will open and voters will decide | :55:46. | :55:49. | |
Scotland's political future. Brian Taylor, our political editor | :55:50. | :55:53. | |
has been following the twists Let's get his thoughts | :55:54. | :55:55. | |
on where we stand tonight. Brian, this has been | :55:56. | :55:59. | |
an enthralling contest. It has been incredible. I have never | :56:00. | :56:16. | |
seen such political engagement, and it is political engagement. I know | :56:17. | :56:20. | |
people say they are bored with politics, and they don't want to | :56:21. | :56:25. | |
turn up for a general election, but none the less they are turning out | :56:26. | :56:29. | |
for this one. They are hugely engaged, and why would they not be? | :56:30. | :56:32. | |
It is about the future of the country. There is a constitutional | :56:33. | :56:38. | |
choice about whether or not we should be an independent country. | :56:39. | :56:43. | |
Then you have, beyond that, you have heard in the interviews tonight, not | :56:44. | :56:48. | |
least that discussion, you have heard the argument about the nature | :56:49. | :56:53. | |
of the Scotland that good insular, either on independence or under the | :56:54. | :56:57. | |
option of remaining within the union. You had that 20 big going on | :56:58. | :57:06. | |
at the same time. And whatever the result, it is not over yet. It is | :57:07. | :57:13. | |
not. If it is a yes vote there would be a minimum of 18 months of | :57:14. | :57:21. | |
negotiations. If it is a no vote, then you have the proposal from the | :57:22. | :57:27. | |
various parties to enhance the powers of the Scottish parliament, | :57:28. | :57:30. | |
you have a debate to go on about that. Whoever wins, of course, to | :57:31. | :57:38. | |
morrow, will be delighted. Whoever loses, will be depressed and | :57:39. | :57:42. | |
downcast. I simply hope that people will respect the outcome and respect | :57:43. | :57:51. | |
each other. That is the big challenge, isn't it? Bringing people | :57:52. | :57:55. | |
together. The General Assembly was once known as Scotland's Parliament | :57:56. | :57:58. | |
in absentia. Many thanks, Brian. I'll be back with the headlines | :57:59. | :58:07. | |
at 8.00pm and the late bulletin Until then, from everyone on | :58:08. | :58:13. | |
the team, have a very good evening. | :58:14. | :58:22. |