:00:21. > :00:23.Tonight, the final countdown to referendum day with just
:00:24. > :00:30.With the polls showing it's still too close to call, Alex Salmond
:00:31. > :00:37.appeals to the electorate to take the future into their own hands.
:00:38. > :00:40.When people go into the polling station tomorrow and they want to
:00:41. > :00:43.vote for something, not against something...
:00:44. > :00:45.Standing by the union ` Better Together supporters give
:00:46. > :00:55.Speak like a to say no is for our children and the generations to
:00:56. > :00:58.come. We like Scotland, that is why we are voting no.
:00:59. > :01:03.We meet the woman who has the biggest job of all `
:01:04. > :01:15.After months of tireless and at times acrimonious campaigning,
:01:16. > :01:18.the opposing sides in the Scottish independence debate have just
:01:19. > :01:21.a matter of hours to convince those who remain undecided.
:01:22. > :01:24.Both sides have been out in force, making a final push for votes,
:01:25. > :01:27.with the campaign leaders addressing the last of the big rallies ahead
:01:28. > :01:32.In a moment, the message from Better Together.
:01:33. > :01:40.But first, this was the call from the First Minister and his deputy.
:01:41. > :01:45.We are seeing a festival of democracy in this campaign and that
:01:46. > :01:49.is a marvellous thing, that has changed Scotland fundamentally
:01:50. > :01:55.already for good. It is that sense of opportunity that we have. To
:01:56. > :01:59.build a more prosperous economy but also a more just society. And it is
:02:00. > :02:05.that positive vision that is propelling yes forward. Negativity
:02:06. > :02:08.cannot compete with that. When people go into the polling station,
:02:09. > :02:15.they want to vote for something and not against something. There is a
:02:16. > :02:18.real sense of optimism and opportunity, people are realistic
:02:19. > :02:23.and understand that independence is not a magic want but they know if we
:02:24. > :02:26.vote yes, we take control of the decisions and powers and resources
:02:27. > :02:32.we need in Scotland to build a better country for the next
:02:33. > :02:34.generation. To make sure we're not bystanders again in the decisions of
:02:35. > :02:37.governments in London. At a rally in Glasgow this morning
:02:38. > :02:40.the Better Together leader Alistair Darling, alongside
:02:41. > :02:42.the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned Scots that voting Yes
:02:43. > :02:53.provided no certainty at all. The risks of separation are very,
:02:54. > :02:59.very clear. Remember this ` when we go to the polls tomorrow, we're not
:03:00. > :03:03.voting for a one or a 1 term government, we are voting about
:03:04. > :03:11.Scotland's future forever. It is that important. If we vote to leave,
:03:12. > :03:16.there is no going back. ICT you this, if you have such a momentous
:03:17. > :03:19.decision to take, you need to have certainty and what is very clear at
:03:20. > :03:26.the end of this long campaign from the nationalists side, there is a
:03:27. > :03:34.certainty at all. Have confidence and say to our friends, for reasons
:03:35. > :03:40.of solidarity, sharing, justice, pride in Scotland, the only answer
:03:41. > :03:54.for Scotland's sake and for Scotland's future is to vote no.
:03:55. > :03:57.So with the polls still tight, both sides have been out
:03:58. > :03:59.in force on doorsteps and high streets today, trying to
:04:00. > :04:03.Christian Fraser was out and about with both sides in Livingston.
:04:04. > :04:07.The last day, the last push, and everything still to fight for.
:04:08. > :04:09.Since the weekend, millions of leaflets have been pushed through
:04:10. > :04:13.Opinion polls tell us there are tens of thousands who
:04:14. > :04:18.The men have made a decision and they are more fixed.
:04:19. > :04:23.The women are inclined to be looking at the whole scenario, and trying to
:04:24. > :04:29.make a judgement that they feel is honest and true for themselves.
:04:30. > :04:36.In Livingston, a Labour stronghold, the no campaign are out in force,
:04:37. > :04:40.working hard to make sure that the support stays strong.
:04:41. > :04:58.Are you, you decided while we are here, because of the campaigning?
:04:59. > :05:01.The campaigning and what I have read in the papers this morning,
:05:02. > :05:11.It is a frenzied day of activity on both sides but there is a plan.
:05:12. > :05:14.Each is targeting the areas they perceive can still be
:05:15. > :05:19.won, ensuring that every supporter goes out to vote.
:05:20. > :05:22.Do you think it will make a difference in this neighbourhood?
:05:23. > :05:35.Yes. to vote, so I think it will.
:05:36. > :05:39.Tomorrow the vote will come down to a gut instinct.
:05:40. > :05:42.For many, the last moment in the polling booth.
:05:43. > :05:44.What will they decide, faced with the choice.
:05:45. > :05:54.With me now to discuss the final day of campaigning is
:05:55. > :05:57.Shiraz Ahmed, who'sa Labour party activist who'll be voting no.
:05:58. > :05:59.And in Holyrood is the author and playwright Alan Bissett,
:06:00. > :06:17.Thank you for joining us. How has it been for you? Very intense. There
:06:18. > :06:22.was a very slow burn over the last 18 months but the last ten days have
:06:23. > :06:26.escalated and you can see the raw passion on display. I have been in
:06:27. > :06:31.Dundee and Edinburgh and Glasgow and on roadsides, there is a lot of
:06:32. > :06:39.passionate folk out there who deeply care. Alan, have you been enjoying
:06:40. > :06:44.yourself? Yes, I have been having the time of my life. Pretty
:06:45. > :06:48.exciting. This is a week we will all remember forever, but every side you
:06:49. > :06:53.are on. We will all have memories of this week. And it is important to
:06:54. > :06:58.remember that no matter which way the vote goes, history will judge
:06:59. > :07:06.Scotland on how we dealt with it afterwards. And it is important at
:07:07. > :07:08.this stage to weigh up the pros and cons and think carefully about
:07:09. > :07:14.footing but also think about how we will deal with disappointment and
:07:15. > :07:19.the victory and I feeling as both sides should agree to be generous in
:07:20. > :07:24.defeat and start to come back together. That is the stage were up
:07:25. > :07:30.by. Do you think your supporters will be generous in defeat?
:07:31. > :07:34.Absolutely, there has been passion on both sides but also a genuine
:07:35. > :07:39.sense that were both campaigning for what is best for Scotland and we
:07:40. > :07:43.might disagree and I have had conversations on doorsteps and the
:07:44. > :07:49.debates I have had, people from the yes side trying to convince me and I
:07:50. > :07:53.have discovered a great blow for this country and its people and I
:07:54. > :07:58.think Alan and myself are both fighting for a more socially just
:07:59. > :08:02.and more prosperous Scotland and there will be a need for
:08:03. > :08:05.reconciliation, of course. There are idiots on both sides who don't
:08:06. > :08:12.represent the wider movement and on Friday there will be reconciliation
:08:13. > :08:16.and they not concerned that there will not be, I think Scotland will
:08:17. > :08:20.be all the better it. The yes campaign, this will be picked over
:08:21. > :08:28.by history, is there anything you could have done differently? No!
:08:29. > :08:32.Everybody in this campaign and also in the No campaign has put
:08:33. > :08:36.everything they possibly can enter it and there are activists are given
:08:37. > :08:41.their entire lives, people have been consumed by it and in a positive
:08:42. > :08:46.way. It has been life changing for everybody involved and who knows,
:08:47. > :08:50.ten years down the line, we can say we might have pushed that stronger
:08:51. > :08:53.or pulled back on that but the main thing is, everybody has given their
:08:54. > :08:59.heart and soul and you cannot say more than that. If there is the yes
:09:00. > :09:02.vote, the postmortem with the No campaign will last for a very long
:09:03. > :09:09.time. What could they have done differently? There will not be a yes
:09:10. > :09:14.vote, I believe it will be no, I don't budge faith in the recent
:09:15. > :09:17.opinion polls. I think we have recent elections to show you should
:09:18. > :09:23.be careful about taking opinion polls at face value so I believe it
:09:24. > :09:27.will be no. You don't think that that together left it late to come
:09:28. > :09:33.up with promises of more devolved power? The Labour Party introduced
:09:34. > :09:41.devolved power in March this year so we have introduced them and the
:09:42. > :09:49.Scotland act was in 2012. With more devolution to Scotland. That is a
:09:50. > :09:56.myth. This big panic. The MPs coming north over the last week because of
:09:57. > :10:03.that. Do you think there was a panicked reaction to the poll what
:10:04. > :10:07.that put the 'Yes' camp ahead? Yes, I was in London doing a show last
:10:08. > :10:17.week, those polls came out showing that 'Yes' was making games, the
:10:18. > :10:22.media was freaking out. We have been discussing this for three passionate
:10:23. > :10:25.years, longer, decades. One poll means that all of a sudden the
:10:26. > :10:33.London elite are paying attention and the washing up year to promise
:10:34. > :10:37.everything. That suggests to me that one member of the family hasn't got
:10:38. > :10:44.a clue what is going on with the other member. Now they know, that is
:10:45. > :10:48.great, but where were they? In the event that there is a 'Yes' vote,
:10:49. > :10:53.Alex Salmond has said that he wants people from Better Together, the
:10:54. > :10:58.whole country, to join together as he goes to Westminster to negotiate
:10:59. > :11:03.the Independence. Can you see Better Together supporters joining the
:11:04. > :11:09.team? I can see Scots uniting regardless of the result. Scots will
:11:10. > :11:15.unite from both camps. That is a bit of a myth, we are going to this
:11:16. > :11:25.referendum based on one person, Alex Salmond. You have lots of different
:11:26. > :11:33.groups in this. An avowed homophobic in that group. They want a blank
:11:34. > :11:37.slate, they all have different aspirations, I can't see someone
:11:38. > :11:44.like the Socialist party having the same agenda as some of the more
:11:45. > :11:49.right`wing folk in the SNP. The only person who has a mandate is Alex
:11:50. > :11:54.Salmond. There will be disappointed people which ever way it goes,
:11:55. > :11:58.people not involved in politics before now energised by this
:11:59. > :12:03.campaign, not finding the vote going their way, will that leave them
:12:04. > :12:07.disenchanted? There is a danger of that, a lot of people have become
:12:08. > :12:13.politically aware and conscious as a result of this campaign. They have
:12:14. > :12:22.found intelligence that they maybe didn't know they had. Suddenly,
:12:23. > :12:24.ordinary people, who didn't pay any attention to economics all their
:12:25. > :12:27.relationship to the British state are now full of this chapter, that
:12:28. > :12:35.is wonderful, a Democratic flowering. The whole of Scotland is
:12:36. > :12:40.open, Scotland are buffered Scottish people are talking to other. ``
:12:41. > :12:46.Scottish people are talking to each other. As disappointed as I will
:12:47. > :12:47.be... We'll have to leave it there, thank you for joining us.
:12:48. > :12:50.Finally tonight, let's hear from the woman with the biggest job
:12:51. > :12:54.Chief Counting Officer Mary Pitcaithly will announce the overall
:12:55. > :12:56.She's been speaking to Graham Satchell
:12:57. > :13:11.It is exciting but I'm focused on making sure the process goes well.
:13:12. > :13:15.If people don't like the result, I hope they at least trusted as
:13:16. > :13:22.accurate. It is my job to ensure that the integrity of the process,
:13:23. > :13:31.the robustness of the processes brings trust. Can I bring you the
:13:32. > :13:35.question about you, there is a possibility of you being replayed
:13:36. > :13:45.over a game for ever. 'No' I tried to think about that, I wouldn't be
:13:46. > :13:48.`` I try not to think about that, I just want the processes to go well,
:13:49. > :13:50.that is only one point in time for what will be a very long day.
:13:51. > :13:52.Stay with BBC News for the latest on the Scottish referendum.
:13:53. > :13:55.Tomorrow night I'll be joining Huw Edwards and Nick Robinson
:13:56. > :13:57.for a special programme "Scotland Decides, The Result".
:13:58. > :13:59.We'll have correspondents at counts across the country.
:14:00. > :14:03.That's here on BBC News from 10.35pm, and through the night.
:14:04. > :14:06.You can get the latest online and on your mobile device,
:14:07. > :14:11.including today, a look at how the polling organisations
:14:12. > :14:23.So now after weeks, and indeed months, of campaigning, it'll soon