:00:00. > :00:00.Parliament. There we are going to leave Gordon Brown, because now on
:00:00. > :00:00.BBC News it's time for Scotland Decides. That's presented by Gavin
:00:00. > :00:27.Esler. Tonight, former Prime Minister,
:00:28. > :00:32.Gordon Brown, sets out a proposed timetable for the transfer of more
:00:33. > :00:36.power if Scotland votes no. His comments come just ten days before
:00:37. > :00:41.referendum day, as both sides in the Scottish referendum debate crank up
:00:42. > :00:49.their campaigns. I'll speak live to a leading member of Better Together,
:00:50. > :00:55.Douglas Alexander, to find out what the prounion parties are offering if
:00:56. > :00:58.there is a no vote. Good evening from Glasgow. Gordon Brown has added
:00:59. > :01:02.his voice to calls for greater powers for Scotland in the event of
:01:03. > :01:06.a no vote. He says a timetable should be published no later than
:01:07. > :01:11.October, with legislation put before Westminster by January. The former
:01:12. > :01:15.Prime Minister says the option is the alternative to an irreversible
:01:16. > :01:18.separation. The three main unionist parties are tomorrow expected to
:01:19. > :01:22.back the timetable announced. The form are Prime Minister has been
:01:23. > :01:28.talking to our political correspondent Glenn Campbell. What
:01:29. > :01:32.people want is a plan for a Scottish Parliament with stronger powers
:01:33. > :01:35.that's immediate, deliverable, comprehensive and has the majority
:01:36. > :01:40.support of the Scottish people. What I'm proposing is we set a timetable
:01:41. > :01:44.where we publish proposals that can be legislated in October. We consult
:01:45. > :01:49.on them in December. We have a Bill that is ready to go forward in
:01:50. > :01:54.January. So that people know that a "no" vote is a vote not for no
:01:55. > :01:58.change. It's a vote for a stronger Scottish Parliament with more powers
:01:59. > :02:02.over society and over the economy and over financial affairs and this,
:02:03. > :02:06.in my view, is not only what the majority of Scottish people want,
:02:07. > :02:09.it's a plan that is deliverable faster than anything that Alex
:02:10. > :02:11.Salmond can ever do. Does this have the full support of Labour, the
:02:12. > :02:18.Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats? I have put forward the
:02:19. > :02:22.proposals. El Miliband and Joanne Lamont have already indicated they
:02:23. > :02:25.support the proposals for both the timetable and the new powers that
:02:26. > :02:29.the Parliament would have. It's up to the other parties to respond. I
:02:30. > :02:33.believe myself that these are sensible proposals that people will
:02:34. > :02:37.warm to over the next few days. I'm assured that we don't need to go
:02:38. > :02:41.through the trauma and dislocation and disruption and uncertainty of
:02:42. > :02:45.industry pen to have the strongest `` independence, to have the
:02:46. > :02:50.strongest Scotland and have powers over the economy and finance that we
:02:51. > :02:55.have proposed while at the same time our pensions are UK pensions and we
:02:56. > :02:59.have a currency with a say in it from Scotland, in the UK, and we
:03:00. > :03:04.benefit from the resources of the UK as before. Gordon Brown. This was
:03:05. > :03:08.the reaction to Mr Brown's plans from the Finance Secretary, John
:03:09. > :03:11.Swinney talking earlier. It's a bit late in the day. People have heard
:03:12. > :03:14.this all before. Hundreds of thousands of people have voted
:03:15. > :03:19.already in the postal vote. That's all happened. What people will be, I
:03:20. > :03:24.think, seized of when they vote either by post in the remaining few
:03:25. > :03:29.days or in the referendum a week on Thursday, is to remember that in
:03:30. > :03:33.1979 we were told to vote no and we would get a Scottish Parliament and
:03:34. > :03:36.we got nothing. If we want a guarantee of real powers and control
:03:37. > :03:40.for Scotland then we have to vote yes. That is the guarantee. The
:03:41. > :03:43.crucial difference this time is it's Labour, the Conservatives and
:03:44. > :03:48.Liberal Democrats jointly suggesting this is possible. That wasn't the
:03:49. > :03:51.case in 1979. The Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives
:03:52. > :03:54.joined together in 2008 to establish the Commission and it reviewed the
:03:55. > :03:59.powers of the Scottish Parliament and made recommendations and they
:04:00. > :04:04.didn't even implement all of them of the Commission. We don't have to go
:04:05. > :04:09.back to 1989, but `` 1979, but a couple of years ago, when the three
:04:10. > :04:13.parties promised more control and didn't even deliver those.
:04:14. > :04:16.Fundamentally if people want a guarantee of taking Scotland's
:04:17. > :04:23.future into Scotland's hands, then they must vote yes in the referendum
:04:24. > :04:26.next Thursday. Glenn Campbell is in Loanhead where Gordon Brown has been
:04:27. > :04:33.speaking. How significant do you think this is from the former Prime
:04:34. > :04:36.Minister? I wonder to what extent Gordon Brown has bounced his
:04:37. > :04:40.colleagues in the campaign tonight, because Downing Street said it
:04:41. > :04:43.welcomed what it called a Labour initiative and was content with the
:04:44. > :04:47.proposed timetable. Gordon Brown himself has said that he's been
:04:48. > :04:54.pressing the Conservatives on this for some time. It is a timetable
:04:55. > :04:59.that he is proposing. He wants whoever is in power to move quickly
:05:00. > :05:05.after the next general election to legislate and he wants all parties
:05:06. > :05:09.to start immediately on September 19th to sit down and agree exactly
:05:10. > :05:14.what new powers would come to Scotland in the event of a "no"
:05:15. > :05:18.vote. We don't have that yet. He's keen on Labour's proposals, but
:05:19. > :05:22.there are competing and contrasting proposals from the Conservatives and
:05:23. > :05:25.the Liberal Democrats. They would need to come together and reach an
:05:26. > :05:31.agreement. We won't know that before the vote. Thank you. With me now
:05:32. > :05:35.here in the studio is the Shadow Foreign Secretary, and leading
:05:36. > :05:39.member of Better Together Douglas Alexander. Has Gordon Brown bounced
:05:40. > :05:44.the Prime Minister into this? No. What Gordon Brown has done is set
:05:45. > :05:47.out a timetable for legislation, a timetable for change. We hope that
:05:48. > :05:51.the proposal that has been developed by Scottish Labour will be received
:05:52. > :05:56.favourably by the other parties. I expect that we'll hear their
:05:57. > :06:01.response in the days ahead. It's very clear now, if people vote no on
:06:02. > :06:04.18th September, the work of delivering enhanced devolution would
:06:05. > :06:11.begin immediately. You say days ahead. People have begun voting.
:06:12. > :06:15.Certainly. It must be panic? No, quite the reverse. If you look at
:06:16. > :06:19.what Gordon Brown said this evening. This has been going on for months. A
:06:20. > :06:23.few days before the election and when people have already cast their
:06:24. > :06:27.vote, we are now hearing these new proposals? The plans of all three
:06:28. > :06:32.parties have already been set out. As we move to the 18th, the day on
:06:33. > :06:35.which the bulk of the people will cast their vote, I think there is
:06:36. > :06:38.clarity that can be brought. A number of us have been urging that
:06:39. > :06:41.and working for that. What Gordon Brown has done clearly tonight is to
:06:42. > :06:45.set out a timetable for change. What we would be seeing would be an
:06:46. > :06:50.immediate start of the process after a "no" vote. That would involve by
:06:51. > :06:54.the end of October, the publication of what is a command paper and that
:06:55. > :06:57.means the proposals of all three of the political parties within one
:06:58. > :07:01.month and by the end of November, there would be heads of agreement.
:07:02. > :07:05.That is a white paper published and by January and during January, we
:07:06. > :07:08.would see legislation and a new Act to deliver the changes that people
:07:09. > :07:13.want. What we know is on offer now is a clear timetable from those of
:07:14. > :07:17.us who want Scotland to change within the United Kingdom, in
:07:18. > :07:20.contrast to grave uncertainties on basic issues. You say that these
:07:21. > :07:25.would be the changes that people want. Where is the beef? You have
:07:26. > :07:29.laid out a timetable, but what are the changes? What will people get?
:07:30. > :07:36.Changes to taxation and welfare and new powers in Scotland. My sense is
:07:37. > :07:38.there is a fundamental choice between irreversible separation and
:07:39. > :07:44.a stronger Scottish Parliament. What do people want in that? I would
:07:45. > :07:46.argue it's both a higher degree of accountability and that's what
:07:47. > :07:50.changes to income tax would deliver. At the same time, welfare powers.
:07:51. > :07:51.One of the biggest challenges of my constituency are young unemployed
:07:52. > :07:58.people. We think within the Parliament and the local authorities
:07:59. > :08:02.they could do more at matching young people without jobs to the skills
:08:03. > :08:04.that locals need. Why is it, with great respect to Gordon Brown, that
:08:05. > :08:07.Gordon Brown is announcing this? He's not the Prime Minister. He's
:08:08. > :08:11.not the leader of the Labour Party. He's not the leader of the Labour
:08:12. > :08:15.Party in Scotland and he's not the leader of Better Together? Joanne
:08:16. > :08:19.asked him to engage in dialogue with the Government to try to secure the
:08:20. > :08:24.timetable. Gordon Brown said this afternoon that he had been
:08:25. > :08:28.discussing these matters, so Joanne, who is our leader, charged Gordon
:08:29. > :08:32.with the responsibility. I don't think many people would dispute he's
:08:33. > :08:35.a prominent member of the Scottish Labour Party who has a commitment to
:08:36. > :08:39.Scotland beyond question and he's ideally placed to have set out the
:08:40. > :08:42.thinking and I hope and believe that we will see a favourable response
:08:43. > :08:47.from the other parties and then the Scottish voters will know, with
:08:48. > :08:52.clarity and certainty, the basis on which change will come to deliver a
:08:53. > :08:56.stronger Scottish Parliament within the United Kingdom, not the
:08:57. > :09:02.separation. Are you saying he's a vote winner? Absolutely. Absolutely.
:09:03. > :09:05.Whereas Ed bill manned isn't? He's the leader of the UK Labour Party.
:09:06. > :09:09.These proposals have been built and developed in Scotland. It will
:09:10. > :09:15.involve a process of consultation. Not just here in Scotland, but with
:09:16. > :09:20.the Scottish people, so we can have a new Act. Why has Better Together
:09:21. > :09:27.been so poor that up to a third of Labour voters are telling the polls
:09:28. > :09:30.they might vote "yes"? There is movement within the parties and
:09:31. > :09:34.there are many who are on the point of voting no. I'm not disputing the
:09:35. > :09:39.fact there will be shifts, but the fact are if you want secure UK
:09:40. > :09:42.pensions, as Gordon Brown argued and the strength of 64 million people
:09:43. > :09:47.standing behind the pensions, and the certainty of the UK pound and if
:09:48. > :09:50.you want the funding to protect our National Health Service then I think
:09:51. > :09:54.you'll vote no and those are powerful arguments.
:09:55. > :10:00.But we have both spoken to a lot of Labour voters, many of whom say it
:10:01. > :10:05.is a strategic error of yours to be too close to the Conservative Party
:10:06. > :10:09.which promotes austerity. Let me start with your earlier question,
:10:10. > :10:12.why are Scottish Labour taking this initiative and wires Gordon Brown
:10:13. > :10:16.leading the timetable tonight? Because we are leading, but of
:10:17. > :10:21.course we want to be able to provide certainty to voters in Scotland that
:10:22. > :10:26.would have `` whichever government is elected in May is coming, the
:10:27. > :10:30.Conservatives are not only behind in the polls but have problems with
:10:31. > :10:34.UKIP, Labour is moving ahead, but whichever party is in is in power in
:10:35. > :10:38.May, change is coming, which is a powerful message but requires, as we
:10:39. > :10:42.saw in the Calman commission, cross`party work. I will not give
:10:43. > :10:47.too much credence to John Swinney, who is a good friend of mine, who
:10:48. > :10:51.says, will cross`party work deliver change? We have a tradition of
:10:52. > :10:56.seeking consensus on constitutional change, that is what we did on the
:10:57. > :11:01.Constitutional Convention when the SNP stood outside, as we did with
:11:02. > :11:03.the common commission. We are setting out tonight timetable to
:11:04. > :11:08.deliver Scottish home rule within the UK. I believe that as a voter in
:11:09. > :11:19.a because what most Scots want is a sense that Scotland is moving
:11:20. > :11:21.forward with more powers in the Scottish Parliament, backed up by
:11:22. > :11:23.the strength, stability and security of the UK. But there are other
:11:24. > :11:26.people in the Yes campaign and the SNP who say, you have tried threats
:11:27. > :11:28.and now you are trying bribes. Better Together was launched two
:11:29. > :11:34.years ago with the message, we can have the best of both worlds. There
:11:35. > :11:39.is a fundamental choice here, do we walk away from the UK with the risk,
:11:40. > :11:42.uncertainty and doubt, or do we deliver change which balances
:11:43. > :11:49.security and stability of the UK with more powers for Scotland. And
:11:50. > :11:53.let's be clear, there is no sign of panic, because for the first time
:11:54. > :11:57.you are behind. This is the work of months, we have been working for
:11:58. > :12:00.months both as three parties to develop proposals, Joanne asked
:12:01. > :12:06.Gordon sometime ago to work to deliver a timetable for change,
:12:07. > :12:09.which has been set this evening. But why was the timetable today, so
:12:10. > :12:13.close to people voting? Because frankly people are now coming to the
:12:14. > :12:17.decision point. People talk to you about it in the street. People want
:12:18. > :12:22.certainty, and I believe tonight they are getting a timetable for the
:12:23. > :12:26.change most of us in Scotland want. This is a significant day in the
:12:27. > :12:31.referendum campaign. A final thought, was it also a mistake not
:12:32. > :12:35.to have another option on the ballot for more devolution? There is a
:12:36. > :12:39.fundamental question, in or out, state or walk away. Once the issue
:12:40. > :12:44.was resolved as Gordon Brown's timetable states tonight, I believe
:12:45. > :12:50.the other parties will also be clear on it, what we have confirmed
:12:51. > :12:55.tonight is the timetable by which we will have changing the UK rather
:12:56. > :12:59.than walking away from the UK. Thank you, Douglas Alexander.
:13:00. > :13:04.We will speak to leading figures from the Yes campaign later in the
:13:05. > :13:08.week. Stay with BBC news for the latest on the Scottish referendum.
:13:09. > :13:11.Tomorrow I will be in Edinburgh as the prounion parties give more
:13:12. > :13:17.details of what further devolution could take place after a no vote.
:13:18. > :13:20.You can get the latest online including our Scotland business
:13:21. > :13:27.editor Douglas Fraser looking at whether taxes might go up or down in
:13:28. > :13:31.an independent Scotland. And Sarah Smith will be back tomorrow evening
:13:32. > :13:35.with the latest from the campaign at 7:30pm and 9:30pm, and I will be
:13:36. > :13:39.reporting from Edinburgh. Until then, goodbye.
:13:40. > :13:46.Let's look at some other news. The second man has been arrested on
:13:47. > :13:49.suspicion of murdering missing teenager Alice Gross. The
:13:50. > :13:53.14`year`old from west London went missing at 11 days ago whilst
:13:54. > :13:58.walking along the Grand Union Canal in west London. Police say her
:13:59. > :13:59.disappearance remains a missing person 's