:00:00. > :00:24.Scotland decides now, Referendum Today with Sarah Smith.
:00:25. > :00:31.Tonight, two leaders and two rival visions for the future of Scotland
:00:32. > :00:34.just days before voters decide. The Prime Minister says he wants
:00:35. > :00:41.Scotland to stay in the union with his head, heart and soul.
:00:42. > :00:45.The family is not a compromise or a second best. It is a magical
:00:46. > :00:53.identity that makes us more together than we can ever be apart. So please
:00:54. > :00:57.do not break this family apart. Alex Salmond says Thursday will be a
:00:58. > :01:01.once in a lifetime opportunity for Scotland as he stands alongside
:01:02. > :01:05.prominent business bankers. It's very substantial groups in
:01:06. > :01:08.Scottish business who say there is an opportunity from an independent
:01:09. > :01:15.Scotland, to create a prosperous economy but also a just society.
:01:16. > :01:21.Good evening from Glasgow. With just three days of campaigning to two
:01:22. > :01:25.before Thursday's referendum, both sides have intensified their battle
:01:26. > :01:28.to win votes. David Cameron has made an impassioned plea to voters to
:01:29. > :01:34.save the union and reject independence. The First Minister,
:01:35. > :01:37.Alex Salmond, accused his opponents of scaremongering and insisted a yes
:01:38. > :01:41.vote would be good for the economy. We'll discuss the day's events and
:01:42. > :01:44.what the final few days of the campaign might hold with political
:01:45. > :01:47.bloggers. Let's hear what both sides have been saying today. An appeal
:01:48. > :01:54.for voters from the Prime Minister who was speaking in Aberdeen.
:01:55. > :01:59.As you stand in the stillness of the polling booth, I hope you have asked
:02:00. > :02:05.yourself this, will my family and I truly will better off by going it
:02:06. > :02:09.alone? Will we really be more safe and secure? Do I really want to turn
:02:10. > :02:13.my back on the rest of Britain and why is it that so many people across
:02:14. > :02:19.the world are asking why would Scotland want to do that? Why?
:02:20. > :02:21.And if you don't know the answer to these questions, then please vote
:02:22. > :02:26.no. At the end of the day, all the
:02:27. > :02:30.arguments of this campaign can be reduced to a single fact ` we are
:02:31. > :02:41.better together. As you reach your final decision,
:02:42. > :02:50.please, please don't let anyone tell you you can't be a proud Scot and a
:02:51. > :03:05.proud Brit. APPLAUSE
:03:06. > :03:12.Please, don't lose faith in what this country is and what we can be.
:03:13. > :03:16.Don't forget what a great United Kingdom you are a part of, don't
:03:17. > :03:21.turn your backs on what is the best family in the nations in the world
:03:22. > :03:27.and the best hope for your family in this world. So please, from all of
:03:28. > :03:29.us, vote to stick together, vote to stay, vote to save our United
:03:30. > :03:35.Kingdom. Thank you.
:03:36. > :03:38.That was David Cameron in Aberdeen. Speaking in Edinburgh, Alex Salmond
:03:39. > :03:42.insisted there were plenty of companies who believed the yes vote
:03:43. > :03:45.would bolster Scotland's economy despite warnings to the contrary
:03:46. > :03:48.from banks and supermarkets. He spoke to the BBC's James Cook and a
:03:49. > :03:53.warning this clip contains flash photography.
:03:54. > :03:57.The fastest growing group in business has been Business for
:03:58. > :04:00.Scotland, supporting independence. We are demonstrating today, with
:04:01. > :04:04.some of the most serious business people in Scotland, men and women
:04:05. > :04:14.who're creating tens and thousands of jobs and careers, that there's
:04:15. > :04:21.very substantial groups of Scottish business, looking for a prosperous
:04:22. > :04:25.economy. There are negative things being said about Scotland. It was a
:04:26. > :04:31.nonsense to argue that the land of Adam Smith was incapable of grabbing
:04:32. > :04:34.our own finances and the demonstration from the Scottish job
:04:35. > :04:39.creators is people with plenty of confidence. You are almost
:04:40. > :04:43.suggesting that big oil, big businesses, big supermarkets,
:04:44. > :04:47.somehow don't have a mind of Nairn own `` their own, suggesting they
:04:48. > :04:50.have serious concerns about what an independent Scotland would look
:04:51. > :05:01.like, not least in terms of currency? I'd never suggest all big
:05:02. > :05:04.supermarkets did that. Many, Tesco, Aldi and others said they are never
:05:05. > :05:09.going to get involved in a political debate. One or two were gulled into
:05:10. > :05:16.the Prime Minister's scaremongering campaign. But I think these Scottish
:05:17. > :05:21.businesses were substantially confident. They see the future as
:05:22. > :05:24.creating a more prosperous economy but also see the importance of
:05:25. > :05:30.holding society together and creating a more just society.
:05:31. > :05:34.With just a few days left, what are the polls suggesting? Throughout
:05:35. > :05:38.the,pain, we have been following the poll of polls calculated by the what
:05:39. > :05:42.Scotland thinks website. It's based on half a dozen surveys and
:05:43. > :05:48.suggestses the No Campaign is on 51% and the Yes Campaign on 49%.
:05:49. > :05:52.With me now in the studio are two bloggers from both sides of the
:05:53. > :05:55.debate. Duncan is a Labour activist and a No supporter and Andrew will
:05:56. > :05:59.be voting yes. Thank you for coming in. Duncan, that was a very
:06:00. > :06:03.passionate plea we heard from the Prime Minister this afternoon and he
:06:04. > :06:07.set out a positive vision for what the UK could be if some other better
:06:08. > :06:14.together supporters had been doing that earlier, the polls might not be
:06:15. > :06:17.as tight? A lot of people have been saying positive things, but
:06:18. > :06:21.unfortunately, we tend to get mired down, especially when it's been
:06:22. > :06:25.three years of this debate. I think what we have seen recently is a
:06:26. > :06:30.refresher, a lot of people have rejoined the campaign or come into
:06:31. > :06:33.the campaign and we have seen some of the things revisited and some
:06:34. > :06:36.important points about the positive aspects of the UK, about how we get
:06:37. > :06:41.the strength of the UK with the powers of the Scottish Parliament
:06:42. > :06:44.and these have v come back into the debate and that's welcome. A
:06:45. > :06:47.slightly new message from Alex Salmond. He's saying it's a once in
:06:48. > :06:51.a lifetime opportunity to vote for independence. Better together have
:06:52. > :06:54.been saying the referendum is for life, don't vote yes because you
:06:55. > :06:57.want to give the Tories a kicking. Alex Salmond is worried people are
:06:58. > :07:01.tempted by the devolution offer and they want to give that a try for a
:07:02. > :07:05.few years, he's telling them, this is your one chance to vote for
:07:06. > :07:08.independence? I don't accept that interpretation of why he's
:07:09. > :07:12.responding in this way. It's strange to hear David Cameron talking about
:07:13. > :07:16.saying it's for ever as if Scots don't know it's for ever, as if we
:07:17. > :07:22.haven't been paying attention. There are lots of blow`ins to the debate
:07:23. > :07:24.after the YouGov poll but I don't think they have been following this
:07:25. > :07:29.kind of debate and it's challenging for better together that many Scots
:07:30. > :07:35.have already reached the point where they are making up their mind and
:07:36. > :07:42.giving a very serious look at things. Scots understand the risks
:07:43. > :07:47.and opportunities and I find it odd David Cameron's preaching to us as
:07:48. > :07:51.if we haven't already add this `` had this discussion. Alex Salmond
:07:52. > :07:53.was positioned with some yes supporting business leaders today
:07:54. > :07:57.and I think that was by accident this close to the vote. We have had
:07:58. > :08:00.warnings from big businesses about why independent Scotland's economy
:08:01. > :08:03.might be at risk. He's trying to shore that up by positioning himself
:08:04. > :08:08.with Business Today. He must be worried? He's reflecting the fact
:08:09. > :08:12.that business is not a monolithic thing. Small and medium sized
:08:13. > :08:16.businesses and multinationals which operate in Scotland and operate in
:08:17. > :08:19.the UK and certainly I know folk that work in business and they have
:08:20. > :08:22.a range of different perspectives. There are risks and opportunities on
:08:23. > :08:24.independence, just as there are risks and tuns with staying in the
:08:25. > :08:36.union. I don't Scots take this devolution
:08:37. > :08:39.offer seriously. It has suddenly materialised from the ether and
:08:40. > :08:43.nobody is taking it seriously. Let's stick with business. There were a
:08:44. > :08:48.lot of warnings from big banks and other companies about the dangers of
:08:49. > :08:51.independence. Is there a danger this might backfire? Scots don't like
:08:52. > :08:54.being told what to do and if they think big business is ganging up and
:08:55. > :08:57.telling them you cannot be independent then they might just
:08:58. > :09:04.vote for it. That's a story that the SNP and the yes campaign have been
:09:05. > :09:07.putting across. When you look at standard life under Royal Bank Of
:09:08. > :09:11.Scotland where we keep our savings, you have Asda and sell the bulk ``
:09:12. > :09:15.and other scoop markets where we do our shop. The ease the people
:09:16. > :09:20.involved in every aspect of our lives and the for all businesses, I
:09:21. > :09:27.run a small business, the reality is that if you introduce different
:09:28. > :09:31.regulation or currency risk, or any sort of export where it has
:09:32. > :09:36.previously been the home market, you introduce additional costs. It is
:09:37. > :09:42.simply honesty from these supermarkets to say distribution
:09:43. > :09:46.around Scotland is currently at a higher cost than distribution in the
:09:47. > :09:50.rest of the UK and that will be reflected in prices if we do vote
:09:51. > :09:54.for separation. Not all of the supermarkets say that, we should
:09:55. > :09:58.point out. Thanks for coming in to talk to was. For the half million
:09:59. > :10:04.pounds has been donated to the two rival campaigns in the referendum
:10:05. > :10:06.since last November. `` four and a half. Nor has been spent on this
:10:07. > :10:14.campaign and any other in Scotland's history. `` more. Over
:10:15. > :10:18.the last year, those with big money have been backing both sides of the
:10:19. > :10:22.debate. The total figure for political campaigning in Scotland
:10:23. > :10:26.has hit a record high. Today's figures show the total amounts given
:10:27. > :10:31.to the campaign organisations. Yes groups have received more than ?1.8
:10:32. > :10:34.million, and no campaigners have been given nearly two and no
:10:35. > :10:37.campaigners have been given nearly two and three quarters million
:10:38. > :10:40.pounds. Those figures don't even include donations to political
:10:41. > :10:44.parties. That dwarfs the spending the 2010 general election, where
:10:45. > :10:50.just over ?3 million were spent in total in Scotland. The question is,
:10:51. > :10:55.what is all the cash being spent on? Some of it of course goes on staff
:10:56. > :11:00.and offices, but the biggest chunk has gone directly on trying to win
:11:01. > :11:05.your vote. The billboard company prime site, who had been sticking up
:11:06. > :11:09.posters for both campaigns say the total amount of spending on outlaw
:11:10. > :11:14.advertising is around one and a half million pounds, with lots of that
:11:15. > :11:17.coming to them. We've never seen such high occupancy levels on
:11:18. > :11:23.billboards over the last 12 months, and this has had a huge impact on
:11:24. > :11:26.us. ?1.5 million is a lot of money to be spending, how much does it
:11:27. > :11:32.cost to put up one individual advert? We have backlit illuminated
:11:33. > :11:36.billboards, and they would be about ?1500 for two weeks, right up to
:11:37. > :11:42.digital screens which could, depending on the site, anywhere
:11:43. > :11:47.between ?1500 and up to ?10,000 again for a two`week period. And
:11:48. > :11:52.it's not just posters that have been eating up the campaign budgets. Over
:11:53. > :11:57.the last couple of months we've been inundated by material from the yes
:11:58. > :12:03.and the no campaigns. But this sort of publication doesn't come cheap.
:12:04. > :12:07.Is it really worth it? Will the referendum result effectively be
:12:08. > :12:10.decided by which campaign has spent the most money? Everything is
:12:11. > :12:15.important in this campaign. We realise that is very close and so
:12:16. > :12:17.billboards, posters, door`to`door canvassing, the amount of stock we
:12:18. > :12:22.are getting throughout letterboxes right now is quite incredible but it
:12:23. > :12:26.does look like with social media for example it is less important how
:12:27. > :12:29.much money you have and more important about how you get that
:12:30. > :12:34.message out and how many other people can re`tweet that message.
:12:35. > :12:37.Although spending has been hugely significant in this campaign, in a
:12:38. > :12:45.digital age, influencing voters is no longer just a straightforward
:12:46. > :12:50.matter of flashing the most cash. Stay with BBC News the latest on the
:12:51. > :12:53.Scottish referendum. Tomorrow, Christian Fraser will be live in
:12:54. > :12:58.Aberdeenshire, finding out about the impact of the referendum result on
:12:59. > :13:00.the fishing industry. You can get the latest online including our
:13:01. > :13:04.correspondent Glenn Campbell looking at Scotland's future in Europe if
:13:05. > :13:11.there is a yes vote at Scotland's future in Europe if there is a
:13:12. > :13:14.that's all from a fortnight. I will be back again tomorrow night. Until
:13:15. > :13:26.then, goodbye. The headlines this evening on BBC
:13:27. > :13:29.News. Alex Salmond tells business leaders that independence would
:13:30. > :13:32.bring Scotland a prosperous economy but in a speech in Aberdeen, the
:13:33. > :13:36.Prime Minister warns that a Scottish exit would be forever. The Foreign
:13:37. > :13:39.Secretary Philip Hammond says Britain will play a leading role in
:13:40. > :13:42.tackling Islamic State terrorists.