:00:13. > :00:18.it is not Better Together, it is closer than ever, so says the First
:00:19. > :00:31.Minister Alex Salmond, and he will be here in the studio tonight.
:00:32. > :00:34.The Yes campaign got a real boost today with a YouGov poll
:00:35. > :00:37.showing the gap between Yes and No voters narrower than ever.
:00:38. > :00:39.But they are still six points behind.
:00:40. > :00:44.We've yet to see a poll that shows a majority in favour of independence.
:00:45. > :00:47.So have Yes Scotland really got the momentum they need
:00:48. > :00:51.I will be talking live in the studio with First Minister Alex Salmond.
:00:52. > :00:53.On the day the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has said
:00:54. > :00:56.his proposals for a independent Scotland would be "catastrophic".
:00:57. > :00:58.And the Treasury's permanent secretary have admitted they are
:00:59. > :01:07.making plans for the possibility of a Yes vote.
:01:08. > :01:10.I'll be talking to the First Minister in a few minutes
:01:11. > :01:12.or as he is known in the Better Together advert
:01:13. > :01:19.from last week, "that guy off the telly".
:01:20. > :01:22.But first here is a quick look at where the yes campaign has got to
:01:23. > :01:25.with just over two weeks to go before the vote.
:01:26. > :01:32.Another day, another stop on the campaign trail, but is time running
:01:33. > :01:36.out for Alex Salmond? He has 16 days to try and seal the deal ahead of
:01:37. > :01:42.what he describes as Scotland's date with destiny. That is it, there you
:01:43. > :01:46.are. Today, in Saint Andrews, he was again forced to defend his currency
:01:47. > :01:51.plans. This time from claims that Scotland would be an international
:01:52. > :01:56.outcast if they refuse to pay a share of the UK debt. Stuff and
:01:57. > :01:59.nonsense, said Alex Salmond. That cannot be a default, the debt has
:02:00. > :02:05.already been contractually accepted by the UK Treasury. The gap is
:02:06. > :02:10.narrowing. The YouGov opinion poll suggesting that there is as little
:02:11. > :02:13.as six points in it, but the Yes campaign are still consistently
:02:14. > :02:18.behind. The First Minister admitting today that he is still the underdog,
:02:19. > :02:23.perhaps not helped by his lacklustre performance in the first TV debate.
:02:24. > :02:25.He is widely considered to have won the second and is considered to have
:02:26. > :02:28.momentum on his side. I have heard the second and is considered to have
:02:29. > :02:34.momentum on his of one trick ponies, but this is the most extraordinary
:02:35. > :02:39.thing tonight. But whether Alex Salmond can close the gap is another
:02:40. > :02:43.matter. Independence? It has got to be a word I like. This week, the Yes
:02:44. > :02:50.campaign released the latest video but does it do enough to answer
:02:51. > :02:56.questions over pensions, and the EU? Danny Alexander has warned that EU
:02:57. > :03:02.membership would not be possible without a formal currency union.
:03:03. > :03:07.Alex Salmond has just two weeks to avoid what he has described might be
:03:08. > :03:12.the biggest hang in history. Alex Salmond joins me now. You must be
:03:13. > :03:17.very pleased with this YouGov poll. We are pleased with that, but it is
:03:18. > :03:21.not what have -- what matters, what matters is what is happening on the
:03:22. > :03:25.streets of the towns and cities of Scotland, and there, there is a
:03:26. > :03:31.tremendous surge towards yes. People previously voting no are coming
:03:32. > :03:35.forward to yes. We saw that in a meeting in Falkirk tonight. We still
:03:36. > :03:38.have some distance to travel, we are still the underdogs, we have a gap
:03:39. > :03:43.to close and that is what we are trying hard to do. You would have
:03:44. > :03:50.thought that you would've seen one opinion poll gave us -- gave you a
:03:51. > :03:54.majority. I have always thought it would take up until the ball. You
:03:55. > :03:59.spoke about the danger to the Scottish NHS if there is a No vote.
:04:00. > :04:04.You said the Scottish Parliament has responsibility for their health
:04:05. > :04:07.service and that means that we can protect NHS budgets. What has
:04:08. > :04:12.changed in the last two years? What has changed is the move to a radical
:04:13. > :04:16.privatisation in the health and social care bill south of the border
:04:17. > :04:20.which takes away the command authority for the health service in
:04:21. > :04:24.England which opens up the possibility of widespread chartering
:04:25. > :04:27.which can then choose the NHS budget south of the border compared to what
:04:28. > :04:30.it would have been, and that has a knock-on effect on the Scottish
:04:31. > :04:35.health service. As I explained last week, we have administrative control
:04:36. > :04:40.of the health service, but not financial control, which makes it a
:04:41. > :04:43.very real threat to the future of the Scottish health service as
:04:44. > :04:47.Professor Allyson Pollock described in detail in the Sunday Herald this
:04:48. > :04:52.weekend, one of the most foremost experts on these matters. The way to
:04:53. > :04:55.solve that concern is to take financial and administrative control
:04:56. > :05:02.of Scotland's National health service and keep it in public hands.
:05:03. > :05:05.You say that if spending on the NHS in England goes down, less money
:05:06. > :05:10.comes to Scotland through the block grant, but health spending in
:05:11. > :05:13.England is going up, not down. The Labour Party in England say that
:05:14. > :05:16.spending on the health service has declined in two of the last That's
:05:17. > :05:19.all from the team here for now. Goodbye. Years. That has been backed
:05:20. > :05:23.up by the Office of National Statistics. We have taken the
:05:24. > :05:24.consequential 's and top them up to keep health spending in real terms
:05:25. > :05:27.increasing in Scotland. consequential 's and top them up to
:05:28. > :05:31.keep health spending If it continues down the road it is going in England
:05:32. > :05:37.that would be increasingly difficult in future. That was a choice made by
:05:38. > :05:40.the SNP government. Labour, and the run-up to the 2011 election would
:05:41. > :05:46.not give the same commitment to protecting the health service budget
:05:47. > :05:49.in real terms. In Wales, the health service budget under Labour has
:05:50. > :05:55.declined. They blame cutbacks from Westminster. To sustain enough
:05:56. > :05:59.fashion -- National Health Service in public hands, we need financial
:06:00. > :06:03.control as well as administrative control and we would like to give a
:06:04. > :06:07.constitutional guarantee and the Constitution of the new, independent
:06:08. > :06:11.Scotland. You want a guarantee that health care will be free at the
:06:12. > :06:16.point of delivery. Nobody can ever forced a devout Scotland to charge
:06:17. > :06:19.for health care. Your argument about the block grant reducing because the
:06:20. > :06:23.health service, if it was that the ridges in England, makes perfect
:06:24. > :06:28.sense, but nobody can make you charge. What would have to happen is
:06:29. > :06:31.the Scottish Government has to take money out of other public services
:06:32. > :06:34.to compensate for the health service. That is what we have done
:06:35. > :06:38.in the last four years because we have given the health service such
:06:39. > :06:42.overriding priority, but that becomes increasingly difficult. This
:06:43. > :06:48.train has broken that commitment in Wales, where Labour are in power. I
:06:49. > :06:51.do not ink that administration went into office with intention of
:06:52. > :06:54.cutting the health service budget in Wales in real terms but that is what
:06:55. > :06:59.is happening because of the pressure of general cutbacks from
:07:00. > :07:03.Westminster. We say that we need financial as well as administrative
:07:04. > :07:06.control, and the guarantee and the constitution of a newly independent
:07:07. > :07:10.Scotland, subject to the wishes of the people in the Constitutional
:07:11. > :07:14.Convention. Your government seems quite happy to use private health
:07:15. > :07:21.care providers. You have used them to cut waiting lists. Contracts have
:07:22. > :07:27.been given to Weight Watchers. It is less than 1% of the general spending
:07:28. > :07:31.the health service in Scotland, that to private contractors. In England
:07:32. > :07:36.it is already 6%, heading towards 10%, and if we believe what the
:07:37. > :07:41.Labour Party says in England, heading towards 20%. It is already
:07:42. > :07:46.six times the relative spending on private providers in England. It is
:07:47. > :07:52.not the point of principle, it is about how much of the budget you
:07:53. > :07:57.spend with them. We inherited 0.8%, and it is now 0.9% and in five of
:07:58. > :08:01.the last six years it has been less than that percentage that we
:08:02. > :08:07.inherited, but less than 1% is a different perspective than 6%, 10%,
:08:08. > :08:09.or 20%, which is where the health service south of the border is
:08:10. > :08:14.heading. And, if charging is introduced, as many people fear,
:08:15. > :08:18.including the Labour Party in England, that means that less money
:08:19. > :08:21.is spent on public provision, with the knock-on effect on the public
:08:22. > :08:29.finances, if we are foolish enough to allow the health service budget
:08:30. > :08:33.to be to them and by Westminster. -- to be determined by. If the Unionist
:08:34. > :08:38.party stick to their place to rule out a formal currency union, you do
:08:39. > :08:42.not think Scotland would be obliged to pay its share of the UK national
:08:43. > :08:45.debt, and you have been warned that that could push up the cost of
:08:46. > :08:48.borrowing for the government, which could mean that we'll have to pay
:08:49. > :08:55.more for mortgages, loans and credit cards. These are two different
:08:56. > :08:59.things entirely. If you are using sterling UK sterling interest
:09:00. > :09:03.rates. The issue of government borrowing is entirely separate.
:09:04. > :09:08.Gordon Brown is completely wrong today in the statements he made.
:09:09. > :09:11.There is no question of the port. The Treasury already accepted in the
:09:12. > :09:15.notice to the markets of the 30th of January, in the event of Scottish
:09:16. > :09:19.independence they would accept a contractual liability, for that debt
:09:20. > :09:27.which legally belongs to the Treasury 's, so there can be no
:09:28. > :09:32.default. And secondly... Sir Nicholas MacPherson, the Permanent
:09:33. > :09:37.Secretary reiterated that the UK takes the liability for the debt. It
:09:38. > :09:40.would not technically be a default. It is not a default, because the
:09:41. > :09:45.debt will be paid, that has already been said in the notice to the
:09:46. > :09:47.markets. In terms of the credibility and variety of this position, we
:09:48. > :09:53.have said that we will finance a share of the date, we will finance
:09:54. > :09:58.it, not take it, in return for a proper share of the financial assets
:09:59. > :10:03.of the country. The Unionist parties are not claiming that they can stop
:10:04. > :10:06.us, from using the pound, they have given up on that claim, what they
:10:07. > :10:10.are claiming is that they will take the financial assets of the bank of
:10:11. > :10:13.England which is a national asset, nationalised in 1946, which holds
:10:14. > :10:18.the currency reserves of the country, what is left of the gold
:10:19. > :10:24.reserves that Gordon Brown did not sell off, it holds 20% of the girls
:10:25. > :10:28.issued, and at Westminster lays claim to all of these assets held in
:10:29. > :10:32.the Bank of England, then we have not -- we have no moral liability
:10:33. > :10:37.for financing any share of the debt, it is as clear as night follows day,
:10:38. > :10:41.and nobody in any financial market would regard that as anything other
:10:42. > :10:46.than sensible common-sense, in terms of financial arrangement is. Gordon
:10:47. > :10:50.Brown said that we would become an international outcast. Danny
:10:51. > :10:54.Alexander today called a catastrophic. Let us look at what
:10:55. > :10:59.Crawford Beveridge, your economic adviser said. He said it would not
:11:00. > :11:03.technically be a deterrent. Because you did not own the debt in the
:11:04. > :11:06.first place, but then he said, credit ratings agencies would say
:11:07. > :11:10.that if it looks like a default, and it smells like a default, it raises
:11:11. > :11:14.the possibility of Scotland losing credibility with financial markets,
:11:15. > :11:19.and he thought that it would be morally difficult. Morally
:11:20. > :11:23.difficult, yes, but that quote went on to say that he thought it would
:11:24. > :11:29.be a positive thing. That is what he said. The moral position and a
:11:30. > :11:33.responsible position is the one that we are putting forward, that is to
:11:34. > :11:38.say that for a fair share of the assets of the country, jointly built
:11:39. > :11:42.up, we would finance a fair share of the liabilities, not because we
:11:43. > :11:46.legally have two but because it is the moral, responsible thing to do.
:11:47. > :11:50.We are not daft. If the Unionist parties, and they don't think they
:11:51. > :11:54.will, went forward with this threat to take all of the assets of the
:11:55. > :11:58.Bank of England, including 27% of the girls, there would be no moral
:11:59. > :12:04.obligation never mind any legal obligation for finance any share of
:12:05. > :12:07.the debt. That would make everyone in Scotland ?1000 per year better
:12:08. > :12:11.off in terms of not having to finance that debt. The last thing
:12:12. > :12:16.that George Osborne is going to do is going to make everyone in
:12:17. > :12:18.Scotland ?1000 per year better off. That is why wouldn't have a
:12:19. > :12:26.common-sense agreement for a common currency. -- we would have. Mark
:12:27. > :12:32.Carney, the governor of the bank of them said that successful currency
:12:33. > :12:39.union requires some seeding of national sovereignty. You said you
:12:40. > :12:42.wanted corporation tax to be 3p lower than it is in the rest of the
:12:43. > :12:46.UK, in an independent Scotland, to attract more businesses to Scotland,
:12:47. > :12:50.away from the rest of the UK. Why would they agreed to allow you to
:12:51. > :12:55.cut corporation tax below the rate there when putting together a deal
:12:56. > :13:01.about monetary union? That is not how monetary union works. We have
:13:02. > :13:06.put forward the fiscal arrangements we have suggested in the fiscal
:13:07. > :13:09.commission working group. These consist of what is generally
:13:10. > :13:12.recognised as being necessary for a currency union, that is to say,
:13:13. > :13:16.coming to an agreement on debt levels and borrowing levels. That
:13:17. > :13:22.does not mean that you have to have the same corporate or individual
:13:23. > :13:27.taxation. But they will not want you to cut corporation tax. They will
:13:28. > :13:37.look after their fiscal policy and we will look after hours. In
:13:38. > :13:42.Belgium, they had a currency union of Luxembourg and Luxembourg became
:13:43. > :13:44.the most prosperous country in Europe over that time. They have had
:13:45. > :13:45.substantial differences in the most prosperous country in
:13:46. > :13:50.Europe over that time. They personal and corporate tax arrangements. The
:13:51. > :13:54.idea that you have to synchronise taxation for a successful currency
:13:55. > :13:56.union is simply not true. We know that is not true because the
:13:57. > :14:00.proposals that the fiscal commission working group put forward, with
:14:01. > :14:07.imminent economists like Joseph Stiglitz, Noble laureates, they meet
:14:08. > :14:11.the requirements of a framework for a successful currency union. We
:14:12. > :14:13.think it is common sense to have a common currency, so that Scotland
:14:14. > :14:18.keeps our currency, the pound sterling. And there would be control
:14:19. > :14:24.over foreign affairs, which the Scottish Government has no say over.
:14:25. > :14:28.How would an independent Scotland have responded differently to the
:14:29. > :14:31.current crisis in Iraq and Syria? There would be a collective
:14:32. > :14:35.response, I cannot believe that it would be mooted that a Scottish
:14:36. > :14:38.government would have had a Parliamentary motion suggesting
:14:39. > :14:44.direct intervention in Syria last year. I do not think there was any
:14:45. > :14:49.canvassed support for that in the Scottish body politic. And an
:14:50. > :14:54.independent Scotland in my estimation would never get involved
:14:55. > :14:57.in an illegal war not sanctioned by the Security Council of the United
:14:58. > :15:07.Nations like the disastrous Iraq war. When they are acting
:15:08. > :15:12.collectively and properly within the rule of international law, we would
:15:13. > :15:16.support that. The UK Government, thus far, has acted within the rule
:15:17. > :15:21.of international law, but I would like a clear statement that that is
:15:22. > :15:24.what they intend to do in future. The United Nations should be
:15:25. > :15:28.mobilised farmer and the crisis that we have seen in Iraq and Syria than
:15:29. > :15:33.it has been, to date. We should depend on the trust in the collect
:15:34. > :15:36.live will of the United Nations. I don't think there was any evidence
:15:37. > :15:40.that there was good to be stalling and blocking in the United Nations
:15:41. > :15:43.because nations jointly face the threat of Islamic state and the
:15:44. > :15:47.terrorism going on in these countries, but why not use the trust
:15:48. > :15:51.in international institutions? We know what happens when we do not
:15:52. > :15:54.trust them, we see the results of illegal wars and illegal
:15:55. > :15:59.interventions, so why not trust in the rule of international law? And I
:16:00. > :16:02.know that an independent Scotland would see the rule of international
:16:03. > :16:04.law as paramount in deciding which intervention we took part in, and
:16:05. > :16:24.which we did not. it will be interesting. Well, maybe
:16:25. > :16:26.you could meet halfway. On the train, coming to Scotland, the Prime
:16:27. > :16:30.Minister could have half-time with one of the guard. Whether you meet,
:16:31. > :16:38.you have made it very clear that you're negotiating team, bat team
:16:39. > :16:41.Scotland will not just include SNP members. Alistair has already
:16:42. > :16:47.volunteered. Will you be inviting Gordon Brown to join you? I think a
:16:48. > :16:52.range of expertise will be invited. I invited Alistair Darling last week
:16:53. > :16:56.and former chancellors, former prime ministers would have the expertise.
:16:57. > :17:01.Gordon Brown would be the sort of person wanted. It is very important
:17:02. > :17:04.to stress this. There are two aspects. Whether we win the
:17:05. > :17:09.referendum, we want to find out that can make sure we have the best
:17:10. > :17:16.people available. We want to have Team Scotland. Secondly, and this
:17:17. > :17:21.came up as an answer to a question that was asked, whether we take
:17:22. > :17:24.other obligations after this referendum is decided. We hope that
:17:25. > :17:29.a yes vote will take forward the country. We will signal our clear
:17:30. > :17:32.intent to bring this country together after a yes vote and make
:17:33. > :17:38.sure we maximise the best possible talent that Scotland has available.
:17:39. > :17:43.That is what I will do as First Minister. That includes Gordon
:17:44. > :17:47.Brown? You are inviting him. Yes. There is much speculation that David
:17:48. > :17:51.Cameron might have too resigned as Prime Minister and the rest of the
:17:52. > :17:56.United Kingdom if you win. Do they get is true? He would not have to
:17:57. > :18:01.resign, but he might be under incredible pressure. That pressure
:18:02. > :18:05.would increase if the circumstances arose and he had not even come up to
:18:06. > :18:10.take part in a democratic television debate during the campaign. I think
:18:11. > :18:15.he wants said, always said to have said, that he did not want to be the
:18:16. > :18:20.Prime Minister who lost Scotland, like to see third lost America. If
:18:21. > :18:26.we leave to one side that Scotland is a property that you can lose or
:18:27. > :18:31.find, I think it'd be embarrassing to be in that position, without even
:18:32. > :18:38.coming up a democratic discussion of views. I think a lot of people in
:18:39. > :18:42.Scotland, is secondary to whether David Cameron does his job or not.
:18:43. > :18:46.What they want to see is that we have a parliament and the government
:18:47. > :18:48.of the choice of the people of Scotland and not happy situation
:18:49. > :18:53.which has prevailed for the best part of more than half a century
:18:54. > :18:58.that a majority of occasions, we do not get the government we choose.
:18:59. > :19:02.That is the essential argument independence in this campaign. If
:19:03. > :19:09.there is a no vote, will you have to step down as First Minister and
:19:10. > :19:12.leader of the SNP? No. I was elected as First Minister and my intention
:19:13. > :19:17.will be to discharge my duties and to serve a term. We are going to win
:19:18. > :19:25.the referendum, that is our indication. Polls question people
:19:26. > :19:29.who are on the register to vote. We know that there are hundreds of
:19:30. > :19:33.people who are voting to be first time in who are now actively
:19:34. > :19:37.participating in the political process. Yesterday in Dundee, they
:19:38. > :19:41.were queueing any registration office to register to vote. I went
:19:42. > :19:45.to the mosque in Dundee where people were registering to vote for the
:19:46. > :19:50.first time in our lives. They didn't have a high opinion of political
:19:51. > :19:53.parties, or didn't want to engage in the debate before, and believe me,
:19:54. > :19:58.these people are not registering to vote no, they are voting yes. They
:19:59. > :20:04.want to be part of the process. And then they speak, and speak they
:20:05. > :20:07.will, then that role but have David Cameron and the best of the
:20:08. > :20:11.Westminster league quaking in their boots. There is still the
:20:12. > :20:19.possibility that there could be a no vote. He used an interesting form of
:20:20. > :20:24.words, you said you would discharge your duties. Did that mean you would
:20:25. > :20:28.go through to 2016 and fight another election? I am not going to
:20:29. > :20:32.speculate on the political career of Alex Salmond. This is because this
:20:33. > :20:34.referendum is not to do with the career of Alex Salmond, this
:20:35. > :20:40.referendum is to do with it being the first aquatic opportunity to
:20:41. > :20:48.establish a democratic Scotland, -- democratic opportunity, and having
:20:49. > :20:52.the First Minister of their choice, not Alex Salmond or any other
:20:53. > :20:53.politician. Thank you very much coming in.
:20:54. > :20:54.Now, here are some other stories happening
:20:55. > :21:07.MUSIC PLAYS Al Jazeera reports are killing of at
:21:08. > :21:12.least six people in a numerous drone attack on a convoy believed to be
:21:13. > :21:19.carrying senior leaders in Somalia. The group denies the leader is one
:21:20. > :21:22.of the dead. On BBC Online, prosecutors say this boy's parents
:21:23. > :21:26.will face no future action and will be reunited with his son. The
:21:27. > :21:31.Telegraph lead to the merging with sports of a new Islamic State
:21:32. > :21:35.video, purportedly showing the beheading of US hostage.
:21:36. > :21:38.Listening to that interview with the First Minister, is the journalist
:21:39. > :21:40.and political commentator for the Sunday Herald, Iain Macwhirter,
:21:41. > :21:46.and the leading human rights lawyer and pro unionist QC, Derek Ogg.
:21:47. > :21:54.Thank you both very much coming here. Derek, you're not a natural
:21:55. > :21:59.supporter of the First Minister, not any Independence Referendum. What
:22:00. > :22:05.did you make of his cases evening? I voted SNP in the other referendums
:22:06. > :22:09.keep you get out. We are both strong Europeans. I think he sounded
:22:10. > :22:14.confident although he was saying we still have a long way to go, and
:22:15. > :22:21.that we were the underdogs. I think he sounded quite confident. Of
:22:22. > :22:27.course, the message that he and his pollsters say a heading home, better
:22:28. > :22:31.go hitting home, is to talk up the NHS, so good privatisation and that
:22:32. > :22:35.seems to be what a lot of people are saying they are worried about and
:22:36. > :22:40.that is why they might vote yes. You get the NHS that you vote for. In
:22:41. > :22:43.England and Wales if you vote for the Labour government you will not
:22:44. > :22:50.have that privatisation. It is democracy at work. Alex Salmond is
:22:51. > :22:54.confident, he says, that he will win, but still describes himself as
:22:55. > :22:57.the underdog, even though he is probably the most accessible edition
:22:58. > :23:05.country has seen for some time. He still likes to play the scrappy
:23:06. > :23:12.underdog -- politician. There has not been a single opinion poll to
:23:13. > :23:16.show him less in the league. The narrowing of the polling YouGov from
:23:17. > :23:20.22 points to six points in the space of the month, clearly something is
:23:21. > :23:24.happening. I think the First Minister is right that there is a
:23:25. > :23:28.ground swell of political engagement taking place in Scotland. I
:23:29. > :23:34.certainly have not seen this before in my political lifetime. There was
:23:35. > :23:37.a moment when people take charge of their own political destiny and I
:23:38. > :23:44.think that is happening at the moment. It does not necessary in the
:23:45. > :23:51.A mean that yes will roll home on the 18th, but politician -- politics
:23:52. > :23:57.is no longer the holes of the politicians. Do you want to go back
:23:58. > :24:01.to the half life of before, when Scotland's ambitions were limited by
:24:02. > :24:07.the Westminster establishment. There is an astonishing amount of
:24:08. > :24:12.engagement and SNP campaigners will also do like always say the polls do
:24:13. > :24:16.not reflect what we're seeing. Do you think there is some truth in
:24:17. > :24:22.that? Is a great yes vote that is not been contacted by pollsters? I
:24:23. > :24:25.think people who are nationalists are lifelong committed nationalists.
:24:26. > :24:30.I don't think any excitement anywhere to tell you the truth. That
:24:31. > :24:36.is one of the problems of the no campaign, and I am not a member of
:24:37. > :24:40.Better Together, but I'm going to vote no because I feel British. One
:24:41. > :24:44.of the problems of the no campaign is that they are selling a message
:24:45. > :24:49.that is negative, you can't get more negative than vote no. There is a
:24:50. > :24:52.core of people in the SNP you are genuinely excited he truthfully
:24:53. > :24:58.believe that Scotland will get their place if they are independent. That
:24:59. > :25:00.is not going to go away. That is where the excitement is. I don't
:25:01. > :25:07.think there is a huge conversion going on, I don't keep trust the
:25:08. > :25:11.polls. Where people stand, with a pen poised above the ballot paper on
:25:12. > :25:17.that day, I think that then, a lot of people will be saying it is a pig
:25:18. > :25:25.in a poke, and vote no. Somebody said tonight, a Bell Rock wrote they
:25:26. > :25:33.would feel ashamed to vote no, but that is what they are going to do.
:25:34. > :25:37.Well, the markets seem to be believing the polls. Sterling has
:25:38. > :25:45.taken a bit of a hit. The headline NEF A Financial Times -- the
:25:46. > :25:52.Financial Times is that it will take a hit. I think that is a consequence
:25:53. > :25:57.of the negativity of the no campaign and allowing it to be resting on one
:25:58. > :26:02.essential premise which is that they are not going to allow Scotland to
:26:03. > :26:07.use the pound as currency after independence. If they are proposing
:26:08. > :26:10.a chaotic disintegration of the United Kingdom financial situation,
:26:11. > :26:16.which is what they would be doing if they wanted to stop Scots using
:26:17. > :26:20.their own currency, that would fall just as badly on the rest of the UK
:26:21. > :26:25.as it would Scotland. That is what the markets are picking up on. That
:26:26. > :26:27.is why you are hearing that UK Government is involved in
:26:28. > :26:32.contingency planning for what might happen after a guest vote. Of course
:26:33. > :26:36.they will be doing that and they will be telegraphing that, most
:26:37. > :26:43.sensible solution to that would be to maintain currency and union in
:26:44. > :26:48.Scotland and England. That is the most equitable solution and the most
:26:49. > :26:52.stable solution. There is a duty of civil servants in Britain not to
:26:53. > :26:58.have contingency plans. It can only be a guess or a no vote. This has
:26:59. > :27:01.fascinated the secretary at the Treasury. They said they had no
:27:02. > :27:08.contingency plans because they did not countenance the yes vote. Today,
:27:09. > :27:13.they said they had contingency plans for their contingency plans, which
:27:14. > :27:16.sounds like a plan. They will take care of business if anything happens
:27:17. > :27:23.to be market. Will there be shock waves around the world? No, markets
:27:24. > :27:28.do go up and down for all sorts of regions -- reasons, the conflict in
:27:29. > :27:32.the Middle East, Oriel and pipelines, markets can go up and
:27:33. > :27:40.down for any reasons and the market sort itself out -- oil. If there was
:27:41. > :27:45.a guest vote, I think everyone who voted no will have two join Team
:27:46. > :27:49.Scotland. Thank you both very much. That is all from the night. Thank
:27:50. > :27:53.you for watching and I will be back at the same time tomorrow night.
:27:54. > :28:01.Please do join me then. Until then, have a very good evening.