:00:00. > :00:00.The most powerful man in the world wades into the Scottish referendum.
:00:07. > :00:31.Will President Obama's intervention make any difference in Scotland?
:00:32. > :00:35.Tonight. Barak Obama's famous election slogan was Hope. Tonight,
:00:36. > :00:40.Barak Obama's famous election slogan was Hope.
:00:41. > :00:43.Tonight, No campaigners have quickly changed
:00:44. > :00:51.that to Nope, as the US president says America has a "deep interest"
:00:52. > :00:54.to vote in September's referendum. And there's boom times on the
:00:55. > :00:57.But why should Scottish voters care what's in America's best interest?
:00:58. > :01:01.And we'll be taking a look at new research into how under 18s intend
:01:02. > :01:04.Hibs and Hearts. Plus - the price doubled, it took
:01:05. > :01:06.And there's boom times on the horizon for the
:01:07. > :01:10.A football finance expert tells us crowds could double thanks to
:01:11. > :01:12.the presence of Rangers, Hibs and Hearts.
:01:13. > :01:15.Plus - the price doubled, it took twice as long as planned,
:01:16. > :01:20.But so too is an inquiry into the whole affair.
:01:21. > :01:22.The United States of America declared their independence from the
:01:23. > :01:27.UK over 200 years ago and they seem to have been doing OK since then.
:01:28. > :01:29.Yet the American president seems to think Scotland is better
:01:30. > :01:32.off staying part of the union that works "pretty well".
:01:33. > :01:35.He was standing beside David Cameron at a joint press conference
:01:36. > :01:38.at the G7 summit in Brussels, when he made his views
:01:39. > :01:44.In the case of Scotland, there's a referendum process in place and
:01:45. > :01:49.I would say that the United Kingdom has been
:01:50. > :01:54.From the outside at least it looks like things have worked pretty well.
:01:55. > :01:59.And we obviously have a deep interest in making sure one
:02:00. > :02:02.of the closest allies that we will ever have remains a strong, robust,
:02:03. > :02:16.No campaigners are cock-a-hoop, convinced the intervention
:02:17. > :02:24.of the most powerful person on the planet will boost their case.
:02:25. > :02:35.A great man. Well respected in Scotland. The fact that someone like
:02:36. > :02:42.President Obama is saying we need to think about working together,
:02:43. > :02:54.Unity, that is a powerful argument and people will listen to that.
:02:55. > :02:57.The First Minister, who has been a frequent visitor to
:02:58. > :03:00.the US in recent years, concealed his dissapointment by stressing that
:03:01. > :03:03.Obama said it was a matter for Scottish voters to decide.
:03:04. > :03:05.I think the President's remarks are well-judged.
:03:06. > :03:08.I mean this is a matter for the folks in Scotland, this is
:03:09. > :03:14.We're very, very aware that we're in a position that we can make that
:03:15. > :03:17.democratic choice as a nation in Scotland and we intend to do so.
:03:18. > :03:19.Many nations haven't had that opportunity.
:03:20. > :03:22.The United States didn't have that opportunity more than 200 years ago.
:03:23. > :03:25.So in summary, our message to President Obama, the leader
:03:26. > :03:30.I'm joined now in the studio by the ?two Blairs? -
:03:31. > :03:32.that's Blair McDougall, Campaign Director for Better
:03:33. > :03:35.Together, and Blair Jenkins, the Chief Executive for Yes Scotland.
:03:36. > :03:48.These were very carefully chosen words. Where you surprise, Blair
:03:49. > :03:51.Jenkins? I was surprised. The financial Times are reporting that
:03:52. > :03:58.the remarks were not spontaneous and Downing Street had requested them. I
:03:59. > :04:06.you surprise that he acquiesced to that request? Yes. That is what
:04:07. > :04:12.various people have said, that they would stay out of the debate.
:04:13. > :04:20.President Obama did say it was a debate for the people of Scotland.
:04:21. > :04:28.He is a very influential agar. -- influential figure. He did say that
:04:29. > :04:36.it would be in the interests of America are so is to stay part of
:04:37. > :04:44.the UK. It is up to people to decide if they think of what President
:04:45. > :04:47.Obama says matters. Any rational person examining the history of the
:04:48. > :04:56.United States would look at 200 years of abiding union. The
:04:57. > :05:03.diversity of the UK makes us all stronger, including Scotland. The
:05:04. > :05:08.interesting thing about this is where everybody's ears will open.
:05:09. > :05:15.This has been a two-year campaign. Moments like this are important.
:05:16. > :05:33.Alex Salmond was critical of President Obama. Is this payback? I
:05:34. > :05:39.would doubt that. There are lots of questions people will be asking
:05:40. > :05:43.themselves. I do not think many people in Scotland will be asking
:05:44. > :05:52.themselves what would President Obama want. You think it is working,
:05:53. > :06:00.because you are handing out leaflets tonight where the face of President
:06:01. > :06:10.Obama on them. It matters what our friends and allies think. It does
:06:11. > :06:15.matter what the United States think. Just as earlier in the week, the
:06:16. > :06:19.Foreign Minister of Sweden expressed concerns about what was happening in
:06:20. > :06:28.Scotland. Whatever happens, we have to work with these people, so it
:06:29. > :06:39.does matter. President Obama is a fantastic campaigner Andrea glad to
:06:40. > :06:45.have him on our side. -- and we are glad to have him on our side.
:06:46. > :06:47.Edinburgh University has released new research this evening,
:06:48. > :06:51.looking at the voting behaviour of under 18s and how it?s been
:06:52. > :06:55.So how much of that debate is getting through to
:06:56. > :06:58.It will make interesting reading for both campaigns.
:06:59. > :07:02.Over the last year support for a Yes vote has risen from 23% to 29%,
:07:03. > :07:04.while the No vote has dropped 6% to 52%.
:07:05. > :07:07.If you strip out the undecideds it suggests 36%
:07:08. > :07:12.Although that still leaves the No vote in the lead with 64%.
:07:13. > :07:14.But possibly the most important aspect
:07:15. > :07:18.for the two campaigns is that under 18s are now more likely to vote,
:07:19. > :07:21.with 72% "very" or "rather likely" to vote, an increase from 66%.
:07:22. > :07:23.That's in line with the adult turnout.
:07:24. > :07:25.With me is the report?s lead author, Dr Jan Eichhorn,
:07:26. > :07:29.Chancellor's Fellow in Social Policy at University of Edinburgh.
:07:30. > :07:36.That is interesting, how engaged young voters are. Are they making up
:07:37. > :07:46.their own minds or I'll be mirroring what their parents are telling them?
:07:47. > :07:50.It is a substantial swing that it is not based on their parents doing
:07:51. > :07:55.anything different. There are still 40% to have a different view. They
:07:56. > :08:04.get their information from a large variety of sources, not just
:08:05. > :08:08.standard figures. Are they getting their information from different
:08:09. > :08:13.places and relying more on social media and less on traditional
:08:14. > :08:18.newspapers, for instance? They rely on social media and radio
:08:19. > :08:22.broadcasts. But the information they get from newspapers they value
:08:23. > :08:30.higher than they do that from social media. Do they have enough
:08:31. > :08:36.information to me at their minds? Other voters say they are lacking in
:08:37. > :08:43.information. To young people feel well informed? Not really. When they
:08:44. > :08:47.say more information, they probably need different information. Over 60%
:08:48. > :08:54.say they would like more information before they decide. Young people
:08:55. > :09:09.tell us that they want to discuss this in schools. They are interested
:09:10. > :09:15.in this, but are very political? It is a bit different. They are not
:09:16. > :09:19.party political. That is important. There is more party identification
:09:20. > :09:23.than we saw last year. Young people are as interested in politics as
:09:24. > :09:28.adults, but they are less likely to associate with a particular article
:09:29. > :09:31.party. It is the institutions that they traditionally do not associate
:09:32. > :09:33.with, but they do engage with politics.
:09:34. > :09:39.Blair Jenkins and Blair McDougall are still here.
:09:40. > :09:52.It says that you both still have a job to do to get the and eight teams
:09:53. > :10:00.to vote for you. Bass macro to get those -- to get the 18-year-olds to
:10:01. > :10:09.vote for you. We are treating them like adults, like citizens, because
:10:10. > :10:13.that is what they are. Also for those of us that support votes at
:10:14. > :10:16.16, if young people do not take part, people will look at it as an
:10:17. > :10:22.experiment and see they should not have had the vote in the first
:10:23. > :10:31.place. There will be some people in the Yes campaign, if the young
:10:32. > :10:37.people vote in the way that the survey suggests, will be kicking
:10:38. > :10:47.themselves, will they not? There is a high degree of interest. There
:10:48. > :10:52.will be a high turnout generally. When you look at their 16-24 age
:10:53. > :11:01.group that is where the Yes campaign is doing well. We think we are doing
:11:02. > :11:06.very well with young people. We have more work to do, but it is fantastic
:11:07. > :11:10.that this age group is getting so engaged in the entire discussion and
:11:11. > :11:20.debate. The main benefits from the referendum campaign will be a
:11:21. > :11:25.generation of young Scots who will have an outstanding generation of
:11:26. > :11:31.politicians. That is because of the number of people getting so
:11:32. > :11:37.involved. Let us hope so. It is 100 days until the referendum. The
:11:38. > :11:44.campaigns will move up a. You have not had a great couple of weeks in
:11:45. > :11:51.Better Together. There have been some mistakes. Quoting figures that
:11:52. > :11:59.the academics have disowned. The row over the Great Ormond Street
:12:00. > :12:12.Hospital. What are you going to do when we get to the hundred DA Points
:12:13. > :12:16.to try to change the momentum. What is happening is that people are now
:12:17. > :12:20.thinking this is real. People know this is not a decision that anyone
:12:21. > :12:23.else will make for them. We are going to try to get to people the
:12:24. > :12:31.fact that they need to make the decision. It is an irreversible
:12:32. > :12:36.decision. All of us want to do the right thing for Scotland. Our sense
:12:37. > :12:40.is that people are getting increasingly anxious about this,
:12:41. > :12:42.because they know it is a once-in-a-lifetime decision.
:12:43. > :12:46.Everything we do will be about making sure that people get the
:12:47. > :12:52.decision -- the information they need to make that decision. You
:12:53. > :12:59.still have not had a survey that puts you at head. You have got 100
:13:00. > :13:06.days to come up with a game changer. The big survey is the one in
:13:07. > :13:09.September. We will be focusing 100% on people who are currently
:13:10. > :13:14.undecided, to move them towards a Yes vote. The people understand the
:13:15. > :13:17.key point that Scotland is one of the wealthiest countries in the
:13:18. > :13:24.world, and why does it not feel that way, why is this a much child
:13:25. > :13:26.poverty, that is what moves people towards the Yes vote. They
:13:27. > :13:29.understand we are are wealthy country that can do a lot better.
:13:30. > :13:40.Thank you for joining us. It's all gone upside down in
:13:41. > :13:44.Scottish football in recent years. Next season?s Premiership will be
:13:45. > :13:49.without three of the biggest teams - They're all in the second tier
:13:50. > :13:53.Championship, and a football finance expert has told Scotland 2014 that
:13:54. > :13:56.Championship clubs could see their attendances double next season
:13:57. > :14:20.and possibly exceed average People question the quality, but
:14:21. > :14:29.when it comes to excitement Scottish football still delivers.
:14:30. > :14:35.Scottish football's second tier, but could the Championship actually be
:14:36. > :14:43.better than the Premiership next season? Three of Scotland's biggest
:14:44. > :14:51.clubs are all in it. And a football finance expert says attendance could
:14:52. > :14:55.outstrip the Premiership. It is entirely conceivable over the life
:14:56. > :15:02.of the season that attendances in total will be between 50 and 100%
:15:03. > :15:07.higher than last season. If you look at the Championship and the teams
:15:08. > :15:12.that will be there, there is only about a 700 to 800 differential in
:15:13. > :15:16.average attendances, it only needs a small increment in the Championship
:15:17. > :15:18.or a small decline in the Premiership and it is likely the
:15:19. > :15:25.Championship will exceed the current level. The biggest revenue source
:15:26. > :15:31.for Scottish football clubs is ticket sales, just using some pretty
:15:32. > :15:36.conservative figures you can see easily income going up between 200
:15:37. > :15:41.and ?300,000 for the average Championship club. If you add in
:15:42. > :15:46.additional match day sponsorship, merchandise, it could exceed three
:15:47. > :15:51.to ?400,000 income which is significant.
:15:52. > :16:00.Scottish football used to be swimming in cash. The satellite
:16:01. > :16:07.broadcaster struck a deal to screen Scottish football, but in 2010 the
:16:08. > :16:13.plug was pulled. It went bust. Since then, Rangers have gone into
:16:14. > :16:18.meltdown, and Scottish football has got used to more stringent
:16:19. > :16:22.circumstances. Current TV money stands at roughly ?40 million per
:16:23. > :16:29.year. Despite a competitive Championship, they say if they do
:16:30. > :16:34.not expect the TV companies to shell out more. What we would expect is a
:16:35. > :16:39.much higher profile over the Championship going into next season.
:16:40. > :16:43.We will have to wait and see. We will have discussions with all of
:16:44. > :16:46.our broadcast partners and I am sure they will be aware that we have
:16:47. > :16:53.Edinburgh derbies in the second tier, four of them, and we now have
:16:54. > :16:57.gained the Dundee derbies back, swings and roundabouts, we will have
:16:58. > :17:05.to see what the broadcasters want to show.
:17:06. > :17:12.Kirkcaldy is the home of Raith Rovers, they will no longer
:17:13. > :17:18.division's Ramsden 's cup, but overall the last decade have been
:17:19. > :17:24.tough. Raith are now installing 600 new seats to cope with action
:17:25. > :17:29.demand. A perfect storm has come together and we've got three clubs
:17:30. > :17:32.that would normally be expecting to be in a Premier League who are now
:17:33. > :17:39.in the Championship. We have sold more season tickets up to the end of
:17:40. > :17:47.May than we've sold for last season. And we still have the other search
:17:48. > :17:54.that we expect in July. That is the other time that we sell tickets at
:17:55. > :17:59.the normal price. We are looking at probably record season-ticket sales
:18:00. > :18:02.for this club for next season. When Rangers disappeared from the
:18:03. > :18:08.Premiership, some people suggested Scottish football might be in for
:18:09. > :18:14.football Armageddon. I believe there are better today than there were ten
:18:15. > :18:20.years ago, and some of the recent financial failures come from those
:18:21. > :18:28.failures. It is not Armageddon, it is just adapting to new
:18:29. > :18:35.circumstances. These might not be the boom times, but if it is a
:18:36. > :18:59.football Armageddon, perhaps hell is not such a bad place to be.
:19:00. > :19:01.With us in our Edinburgh studio is the
:19:02. > :19:06.And here in the studio I'm joined by the football writer Graham Spiers.
:19:07. > :19:08.Andrew, the Championship is far more exciting than Premiership
:19:09. > :19:15.We have a couple of weeks with a lot of competition. We look forward to
:19:16. > :19:19.the clubs in the first tier being closer in competitive terms than
:19:20. > :19:23.they have been before. I am very excited about the SPL, but is good
:19:24. > :19:28.news that the Championship will have more resources and more clubs going
:19:29. > :19:33.in and Scottish football is overall strengthening. It has to be a good
:19:34. > :19:37.thing. Scottish football and in particular the first tier of it is
:19:38. > :19:41.the best supported leak in terms of the proportion of the population
:19:42. > :19:50.turning out anywhere in Europe. We to do ourselves down. The bottom
:19:51. > :19:53.line is that we know who will win the Premiership and that will be
:19:54. > :20:00.Celtic, but the Championship has three big clubs. I think the
:20:01. > :20:04.Premiership has been diminished by what has happened to Rangers and
:20:05. > :20:09.Hearts. It used to be a two horse race, and the only thing worse than
:20:10. > :20:13.that is a one horse race. The Premiership is diminished in that
:20:14. > :20:16.sense. The Championship will be hugely exciting, you could argue
:20:17. > :20:24.that three of Scotland's for top clubs or four biggest, Rangers, hips
:20:25. > :20:29.and Hearts will be there, bringing huge support, generating money. --
:20:30. > :20:35.Hibs. I don't think Championship would be a land of milk and honey
:20:36. > :20:42.but it will be quite exciting. There will be focused on that in the media
:20:43. > :20:46.and amongst economists, as much focus on the Championship as they
:20:47. > :20:51.Premiership, it will be full of intrigue. Money is always tight,
:20:52. > :20:59.Motherwell for example are trying to get ?1.5 million fan buyout, it
:21:00. > :21:03.looks like you are off that, and may be heading for a financial crisis,
:21:04. > :21:10.so it is not all milk and honey everywhere? No, there has been an
:21:11. > :21:13.adjustment across the game. At Motherwell, there is some good news,
:21:14. > :21:17.but there are also structural problems that we need to fix. Our
:21:18. > :21:21.season-ticket sales and like-for-like revenues are up about
:21:22. > :21:26.a third on last year, that is maybe to do with people buying them ahead
:21:27. > :21:30.of the European competition that we are looking forward to. But there is
:21:31. > :21:34.no doubt that all of the clubs have to secure themselves and we have a
:21:35. > :21:37.specific strategy to do that and we are keen for our fans to take part
:21:38. > :21:44.in it. Things have gone well at Motherwell. But we are looking to
:21:45. > :21:48.our fans to step up and all clubs will want that. I feel increasingly
:21:49. > :21:52.good about the state of Scottish football. It is a long way off if
:21:53. > :21:59.you are a hips or hearts fan, you don't want to be down a division,
:22:00. > :22:05.but it will be exciting. -- Hibs or Hearts. All of this talk about
:22:06. > :22:09.Armageddon, we could see all sorts of teams back in the top flight.
:22:10. > :22:18.Yellow like there has been a lot of unhappiness. The nearly duration of
:22:19. > :22:25.Hearts, Rangers having to re-formed. -- near liquidation. Hearts have in
:22:26. > :22:27.this calamity, there has been a lot of widespread unhappiness within the
:22:28. > :22:32.Scottish game and that is not something to be celebrated at all, I
:22:33. > :22:36.think it has been bad for the game, but I have been surprised at other
:22:37. > :22:40.good things, the Aberdeen story has been good, so has the Dundee United
:22:41. > :22:43.story. Since Johnson winning the cup, there are lots of things to be
:22:44. > :22:46.excited about. -- St Johnstone. Now here are a selection
:22:47. > :23:01.of the stories making headlines The Washington Post reports that
:23:02. > :23:05.Barack Obama once the United Kingdom to remain a strong and effective
:23:06. > :23:15.partner, but says ultimately the referendum is for us to decide.
:23:16. > :23:20.CNN reports the massacre of, some put the death targeting 400 and 500.
:23:21. > :23:23.The European Central Bank has imposed negative interest rates to
:23:24. > :23:30.-0.1%. And hundreds of the last sliding
:23:31. > :23:35.D-Day veterans have gathered to celebrate the anniversary.
:23:36. > :23:40.-- hundreds of surviving. And tonight Alison Rowat,
:23:41. > :23:43.the film writer and columnist And Jonathan
:23:44. > :23:52.and Graham are still here. You can look on Twitter and see that
:23:53. > :23:55.some people are saying about our's interference is a gift to you the
:23:56. > :24:01.yes campaign as Scots don't like being told what to do. Do you think
:24:02. > :24:07.that is right? I think so, to some extent. No drama
:24:08. > :24:12.Obama has definite cause a bit of an ardent, but when you look at his
:24:13. > :24:19.answer, it was calibrated to be taken either way. But I think it is
:24:20. > :24:23.significant and capital will be made out of it. No campaigners are
:24:24. > :24:27.delighted, they have been out on the streets of Glasgow handing out
:24:28. > :24:35.leaflets where they have changed hope to note.
:24:36. > :24:42.They are obviously making as much fun as they can, but is it serious?
:24:43. > :24:48.Will it change your mind? No, not at all. I find it very challenging
:24:49. > :24:54.trying to work out how I will vote. I don't care what President Obama
:24:55. > :24:58.thinks. I had to think how relevant this was, for lots of people like me
:24:59. > :25:03.this thing would be about social justice, eradication of poverty, it
:25:04. > :25:07.has never entered my head what Barack Obama might think. Beyond the
:25:08. > :25:14.vote, there could be implications for Trident and NATO and things like
:25:15. > :25:19.that, if it is a yes vote. That is presumably what he cares about, not
:25:20. > :25:26.housing benefit and things like that. He cares about the nuclear
:25:27. > :25:31.submarines. Exactly. This phrase to use, United Ally, I think it will be
:25:32. > :25:35.a propaganda tool. I cannot believe people walking down Princes street
:25:36. > :25:42.will be thinking about President Obama. What side do you think about
:25:43. > :25:50.our's pronouncement benefits most? , breathe the no campaign for nine.
:25:51. > :25:58.What seems important this week, may not seem important in a month. It is
:25:59. > :26:04.a big story for today, but in a sense it is also a celebrity
:26:05. > :26:10.intervention. Let's move onto another big story,
:26:11. > :26:16.and that the trams. At the weekend, they started on Saturday,
:26:17. > :26:21.controversial trams, 40,000 tickets sold, some happy pictures online of
:26:22. > :26:28.people going on their first tram ride. But Alex Salmond... There they
:26:29. > :26:34.are, the joyous pictures of tram enthusiasts. But it went pear shaped
:26:35. > :26:41.today, Alex Salmond: Fro a judge led inquiry. Is this necessary? I think
:26:42. > :26:45.it has to be. There are so many questions about why it took so long,
:26:46. > :26:49.about the budget. No matter what happens after September, you cannot
:26:50. > :26:56.call yourself a functioning nation-state unless you can do these
:26:57. > :27:02.big project and bring them in on budget. There will have to to be a
:27:03. > :27:06.budget for this inquiry and we could probably write what was done with it
:27:07. > :27:13.now. It was a big project that went over budget, that is what happens. I
:27:14. > :27:17.think that as entered the lexicon of dark humour. Another Scottish clock
:27:18. > :27:26.up, the Edinburgh tram system, the Scottish Parliament building,
:27:27. > :27:33.Hamdan. It was horribly over budget, three years late, but because it was
:27:34. > :27:40.so late that has to be an inquiry, but the inquiry could be summed up
:27:41. > :27:44.in one sentence, it was a mess up. I was confused when I saw people
:27:45. > :27:48.tweeting in celebration today that a Lego are bringing out some new mini
:27:49. > :27:52.figures of women as scientists, there would be a palaeontologist,
:27:53. > :27:58.and strong and a chemist and apparently this is very exciting.
:27:59. > :28:04.It is good that there will be some Lego figures that don't wear
:28:05. > :28:14.bikinis, but we are celebrating this now? Really? Lego has been found
:28:15. > :28:20.behind the current in Toytown as there is always -- already a
:28:21. > :28:32.palaeontologist Barbie and a vet all -- vet Barbie. I can't even remember
:28:33. > :28:37.what a palaeontologist is, I'm glad they are now politically correct.
:28:38. > :28:39.Thank you very much. But is it from us. You can always contact us on
:28:40. > :28:43.twitter. We'll be back at the same time on
:28:44. > :28:46.Monday as the campaigns mark another significant milestone on the road to
:28:47. > :29:33.the referendum - that's 100 days. Allied leaders prepare to
:29:34. > :29:35.commemorate the D-Day landings, but