05/06/2014 Scotland 2014

The most powerful man in the world wades into the Scottish referendum.

Will President Obama's intervention make any difference in Scotland?

Tonight. Barak Obama's famous election slogan was Hope. Tonight,

Barak Obama's famous election slogan was Hope.

Tonight, No campaigners have quickly changed

that to Nope, as the US president says America has a "deep interest"

to vote in September's referendum. And there's boom times on the

But why should Scottish voters care what's in America's best interest?

And we'll be taking a look at new research into how under 18s intend

Hibs and Hearts. Plus - the price doubled, it took

And there's boom times on the horizon for the

A football finance expert tells us crowds could double thanks to

the presence of Rangers, Hibs and Hearts.

Plus - the price doubled, it took twice as long as planned,

But so too is an inquiry into the whole affair.

The United States of America declared their independence from the

UK over 200 years ago and they seem to have been doing OK since then.

Yet the American president seems to think Scotland is better

off staying part of the union that works "pretty well".

He was standing beside David Cameron at a joint press conference

at the G7 summit in Brussels, when he made his views

In the case of Scotland, there's a referendum process in place and

I would say that the United Kingdom has been

From the outside at least it looks like things have worked pretty well.

And we obviously have a deep interest in making sure one

of the closest allies that we will ever have remains a strong, robust,

No campaigners are cock-a-hoop, convinced the intervention

of the most powerful person on the planet will boost their case.

A great man. Well respected in Scotland. The fact that someone like

President Obama is saying we need to think about working together,

Unity, that is a powerful argument and people will listen to that.

The First Minister, who has been a frequent visitor to

the US in recent years, concealed his dissapointment by stressing that

Obama said it was a matter for Scottish voters to decide.

I think the President's remarks are well-judged.

I mean this is a matter for the folks in Scotland, this is

We're very, very aware that we're in a position that we can make that

democratic choice as a nation in Scotland and we intend to do so.

Many nations haven't had that opportunity.

The United States didn't have that opportunity more than 200 years ago.

So in summary, our message to President Obama, the leader

I'm joined now in the studio by the ?two Blairs? -

that's Blair McDougall, Campaign Director for Better

Together, and Blair Jenkins, the Chief Executive for Yes Scotland.

These were very carefully chosen words. Where you surprise, Blair

Jenkins? I was surprised. The financial Times are reporting that

the remarks were not spontaneous and Downing Street had requested them. I

you surprise that he acquiesced to that request? Yes. That is what

various people have said, that they would stay out of the debate.

President Obama did say it was a debate for the people of Scotland.

He is a very influential agar. -- influential figure. He did say that

it would be in the interests of America are so is to stay part of

the UK. It is up to people to decide if they think of what President

Obama says matters. Any rational person examining the history of the

United States would look at 200 years of abiding union. The

diversity of the UK makes us all stronger, including Scotland. The

interesting thing about this is where everybody's ears will open.

This has been a two-year campaign. Moments like this are important.

Alex Salmond was critical of President Obama. Is this payback? I

would doubt that. There are lots of questions people will be asking

themselves. I do not think many people in Scotland will be asking

themselves what would President Obama want. You think it is working,

because you are handing out leaflets tonight where the face of President

Obama on them. It matters what our friends and allies think. It does

matter what the United States think. Just as earlier in the week, the

Foreign Minister of Sweden expressed concerns about what was happening in

Scotland. Whatever happens, we have to work with these people, so it

does matter. President Obama is a fantastic campaigner Andrea glad to

have him on our side. -- and we are glad to have him on our side.

Edinburgh University has released new research this evening,

looking at the voting behaviour of under 18s and how it?s been

So how much of that debate is getting through to

It will make interesting reading for both campaigns.

Over the last year support for a Yes vote has risen from 23% to 29%,

while the No vote has dropped 6% to 52%.

If you strip out the undecideds it suggests 36%

Although that still leaves the No vote in the lead with 64%.

But possibly the most important aspect

for the two campaigns is that under 18s are now more likely to vote,

with 72% "very" or "rather likely" to vote, an increase from 66%.

That's in line with the adult turnout.

With me is the report?s lead author, Dr Jan Eichhorn,

Chancellor's Fellow in Social Policy at University of Edinburgh.

That is interesting, how engaged young voters are. Are they making up

their own minds or I'll be mirroring what their parents are telling them?

It is a substantial swing that it is not based on their parents doing

anything different. There are still 40% to have a different view. They

get their information from a large variety of sources, not just

standard figures. Are they getting their information from different

places and relying more on social media and less on traditional

newspapers, for instance? They rely on social media and radio

broadcasts. But the information they get from newspapers they value

higher than they do that from social media. Do they have enough

information to me at their minds? Other voters say they are lacking in

information. To young people feel well informed? Not really. When they

say more information, they probably need different information. Over 60%

say they would like more information before they decide. Young people

tell us that they want to discuss this in schools. They are interested

in this, but are very political? It is a bit different. They are not

party political. That is important. There is more party identification

than we saw last year. Young people are as interested in politics as

adults, but they are less likely to associate with a particular article

party. It is the institutions that they traditionally do not associate

with, but they do engage with politics.

Blair Jenkins and Blair McDougall are still here.

It says that you both still have a job to do to get the and eight teams

to vote for you. Bass macro to get those -- to get the 18-year-olds to

vote for you. We are treating them like adults, like citizens, because

that is what they are. Also for those of us that support votes at

16, if young people do not take part, people will look at it as an

experiment and see they should not have had the vote in the first

place. There will be some people in the Yes campaign, if the young

people vote in the way that the survey suggests, will be kicking

themselves, will they not? There is a high degree of interest. There

will be a high turnout generally. When you look at their 16-24 age

group that is where the Yes campaign is doing well. We think we are doing

very well with young people. We have more work to do, but it is fantastic

that this age group is getting so engaged in the entire discussion and

debate. The main benefits from the referendum campaign will be a

generation of young Scots who will have an outstanding generation of

politicians. That is because of the number of people getting so

involved. Let us hope so. It is 100 days until the referendum. The

campaigns will move up a. You have not had a great couple of weeks in

Better Together. There have been some mistakes. Quoting figures that

the academics have disowned. The row over the Great Ormond Street

Hospital. What are you going to do when we get to the hundred DA Points

to try to change the momentum. What is happening is that people are now

thinking this is real. People know this is not a decision that anyone

else will make for them. We are going to try to get to people the

fact that they need to make the decision. It is an irreversible

decision. All of us want to do the right thing for Scotland. Our sense

is that people are getting increasingly anxious about this,

because they know it is a once-in-a-lifetime decision.

Everything we do will be about making sure that people get the

decision -- the information they need to make that decision. You

still have not had a survey that puts you at head. You have got 100

days to come up with a game changer. The big survey is the one in

September. We will be focusing 100% on people who are currently

undecided, to move them towards a Yes vote. The people understand the

key point that Scotland is one of the wealthiest countries in the

world, and why does it not feel that way, why is this a much child

poverty, that is what moves people towards the Yes vote. They

understand we are are wealthy country that can do a lot better.

Thank you for joining us. It's all gone upside down in

Scottish football in recent years. Next season?s Premiership will be

without three of the biggest teams - They're all in the second tier

Championship, and a football finance expert has told Scotland 2014 that

Championship clubs could see their attendances double next season

and possibly exceed average People question the quality, but

when it comes to excitement Scottish football still delivers.

Scottish football's second tier, but could the Championship actually be

better than the Premiership next season? Three of Scotland's biggest

clubs are all in it. And a football finance expert says attendance could

outstrip the Premiership. It is entirely conceivable over the life

of the season that attendances in total will be between 50 and 100%

higher than last season. If you look at the Championship and the teams

that will be there, there is only about a 700 to 800 differential in

average attendances, it only needs a small increment in the Championship

or a small decline in the Premiership and it is likely the

Championship will exceed the current level. The biggest revenue source

for Scottish football clubs is ticket sales, just using some pretty

conservative figures you can see easily income going up between 200

and ?300,000 for the average Championship club. If you add in

additional match day sponsorship, merchandise, it could exceed three

to ?400,000 income which is significant.

Scottish football used to be swimming in cash. The satellite

broadcaster struck a deal to screen Scottish football, but in 2010 the

plug was pulled. It went bust. Since then, Rangers have gone into

meltdown, and Scottish football has got used to more stringent

circumstances. Current TV money stands at roughly ?40 million per

year. Despite a competitive Championship, they say if they do

not expect the TV companies to shell out more. What we would expect is a

much higher profile over the Championship going into next season.

We will have to wait and see. We will have discussions with all of

our broadcast partners and I am sure they will be aware that we have

Edinburgh derbies in the second tier, four of them, and we now have

gained the Dundee derbies back, swings and roundabouts, we will have

to see what the broadcasters want to show.

Kirkcaldy is the home of Raith Rovers, they will no longer

division's Ramsden 's cup, but overall the last decade have been

tough. Raith are now installing 600 new seats to cope with action

demand. A perfect storm has come together and we've got three clubs

that would normally be expecting to be in a Premier League who are now

in the Championship. We have sold more season tickets up to the end of

May than we've sold for last season. And we still have the other search

that we expect in July. That is the other time that we sell tickets at

the normal price. We are looking at probably record season-ticket sales

for this club for next season. When Rangers disappeared from the

Premiership, some people suggested Scottish football might be in for

football Armageddon. I believe there are better today than there were ten

years ago, and some of the recent financial failures come from those

failures. It is not Armageddon, it is just adapting to new

circumstances. These might not be the boom times, but if it is a

football Armageddon, perhaps hell is not such a bad place to be.

With us in our Edinburgh studio is the

And here in the studio I'm joined by the football writer Graham Spiers.

Andrew, the Championship is far more exciting than Premiership

We have a couple of weeks with a lot of competition. We look forward to

the clubs in the first tier being closer in competitive terms than

they have been before. I am very excited about the SPL, but is good

news that the Championship will have more resources and more clubs going

in and Scottish football is overall strengthening. It has to be a good

thing. Scottish football and in particular the first tier of it is

the best supported leak in terms of the proportion of the population

turning out anywhere in Europe. We to do ourselves down. The bottom

line is that we know who will win the Premiership and that will be

Celtic, but the Championship has three big clubs. I think the

Premiership has been diminished by what has happened to Rangers and

Hearts. It used to be a two horse race, and the only thing worse than

that is a one horse race. The Premiership is diminished in that

sense. The Championship will be hugely exciting, you could argue

that three of Scotland's for top clubs or four biggest, Rangers, hips

and Hearts will be there, bringing huge support, generating money. --

Hibs. I don't think Championship would be a land of milk and honey

but it will be quite exciting. There will be focused on that in the media

and amongst economists, as much focus on the Championship as they

Premiership, it will be full of intrigue. Money is always tight,

Motherwell for example are trying to get ?1.5 million fan buyout, it

looks like you are off that, and may be heading for a financial crisis,

so it is not all milk and honey everywhere? No, there has been an

adjustment across the game. At Motherwell, there is some good news,

but there are also structural problems that we need to fix. Our

season-ticket sales and like-for-like revenues are up about

a third on last year, that is maybe to do with people buying them ahead

of the European competition that we are looking forward to. But there is

no doubt that all of the clubs have to secure themselves and we have a

specific strategy to do that and we are keen for our fans to take part

in it. Things have gone well at Motherwell. But we are looking to

our fans to step up and all clubs will want that. I feel increasingly

good about the state of Scottish football. It is a long way off if

you are a hips or hearts fan, you don't want to be down a division,

but it will be exciting. -- Hibs or Hearts. All of this talk about

Armageddon, we could see all sorts of teams back in the top flight.

Yellow like there has been a lot of unhappiness. The nearly duration of

Hearts, Rangers having to re-formed. -- near liquidation. Hearts have in

this calamity, there has been a lot of widespread unhappiness within the

Scottish game and that is not something to be celebrated at all, I

think it has been bad for the game, but I have been surprised at other

good things, the Aberdeen story has been good, so has the Dundee United

story. Since Johnson winning the cup, there are lots of things to be

excited about. -- St Johnstone. Now here are a selection

of the stories making headlines The Washington Post reports that

Barack Obama once the United Kingdom to remain a strong and effective

partner, but says ultimately the referendum is for us to decide.

CNN reports the massacre of, some put the death targeting 400 and 500.

The European Central Bank has imposed negative interest rates to

-0.1%. And hundreds of the last sliding

D-Day veterans have gathered to celebrate the anniversary.

-- hundreds of surviving. And tonight Alison Rowat,

the film writer and columnist And Jonathan

and Graham are still here. You can look on Twitter and see that

some people are saying about our's interference is a gift to you the

yes campaign as Scots don't like being told what to do. Do you think

that is right? I think so, to some extent. No drama

Obama has definite cause a bit of an ardent, but when you look at his

answer, it was calibrated to be taken either way. But I think it is

significant and capital will be made out of it. No campaigners are

delighted, they have been out on the streets of Glasgow handing out

leaflets where they have changed hope to note.

They are obviously making as much fun as they can, but is it serious?

Will it change your mind? No, not at all. I find it very challenging

trying to work out how I will vote. I don't care what President Obama

thinks. I had to think how relevant this was, for lots of people like me

this thing would be about social justice, eradication of poverty, it

has never entered my head what Barack Obama might think. Beyond the

vote, there could be implications for Trident and NATO and things like

that, if it is a yes vote. That is presumably what he cares about, not

housing benefit and things like that. He cares about the nuclear

submarines. Exactly. This phrase to use, United Ally, I think it will be

a propaganda tool. I cannot believe people walking down Princes street

will be thinking about President Obama. What side do you think about

our's pronouncement benefits most? , breathe the no campaign for nine.

What seems important this week, may not seem important in a month. It is

a big story for today, but in a sense it is also a celebrity

intervention. Let's move onto another big story,

and that the trams. At the weekend, they started on Saturday,

controversial trams, 40,000 tickets sold, some happy pictures online of

people going on their first tram ride. But Alex Salmond... There they

are, the joyous pictures of tram enthusiasts. But it went pear shaped

today, Alex Salmond: Fro a judge led inquiry. Is this necessary? I think

it has to be. There are so many questions about why it took so long,

about the budget. No matter what happens after September, you cannot

call yourself a functioning nation-state unless you can do these

big project and bring them in on budget. There will have to to be a

budget for this inquiry and we could probably write what was done with it

now. It was a big project that went over budget, that is what happens. I

think that as entered the lexicon of dark humour. Another Scottish clock

up, the Edinburgh tram system, the Scottish Parliament building,

Hamdan. It was horribly over budget, three years late, but because it was

so late that has to be an inquiry, but the inquiry could be summed up

in one sentence, it was a mess up. I was confused when I saw people

tweeting in celebration today that a Lego are bringing out some new mini

figures of women as scientists, there would be a palaeontologist,

and strong and a chemist and apparently this is very exciting.

It is good that there will be some Lego figures that don't wear

bikinis, but we are celebrating this now? Really? Lego has been found

behind the current in Toytown as there is always -- already a

palaeontologist Barbie and a vet all -- vet Barbie. I can't even remember

what a palaeontologist is, I'm glad they are now politically correct.

Thank you very much. But is it from us. You can always contact us on

twitter. We'll be back at the same time on

Monday as the campaigns mark another significant milestone on the road to

the referendum - that's 100 days. Allied leaders prepare to

commemorate the D-Day landings, but