:00:37. > :00:44.Afternoon, folks. Welcome to the Sunday Politics.
:00:44. > :00:47.Is Labour playing catch-up on the welfare benefits cap? Or does its
:00:47. > :00:51.idea of regional caps put it back in contention? We ask Shadow
:00:52. > :00:54.Welfare spokesman Liam Byrne. Just how big is Stephen Hester's
:00:54. > :01:03.bonus and should the Government block it? Treasury Chief Secretary
:01:03. > :01:07.Danny Alexander joins us for the Sunday Interview.
:01:07. > :01:10.And on Sunday Politics Scotland: We are off and running in the great
:01:10. > :01:14.referendum challenge - but in which directions, and do you have the
:01:14. > :01:18.stamina to keep up for the next two and half years? Come and have a
:01:18. > :01:20.breather behind the bike sheds with We are talking to the deputy First
:01:20. > :01:23.Minister Nicola Sturgeon and the leader of the Scottish Tories Ruth
:01:23. > :01:33.Davidson for their take on where we've reached so far. Also the
:01:33. > :01:33.
:01:33. > :24:58.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1404 seconds
:24:58. > :25:05.launch of the new Civic Scotland The Chancellor will announce budget
:25:05. > :25:13.decisions when the budget comes. As a country we have done and balance
:25:13. > :25:23.to system. If we can go further with that we can it also do more
:25:23. > :25:30.
:25:30. > :25:37.with their income tax balance. I do want to go further and faster.
:25:37. > :25:41.It is British policy to keep the eurozone of intact. The Germans now
:25:41. > :25:51.think that their economic policy of Greece should be run by Brussels.
:25:51. > :25:51.
:25:51. > :26:01.Do you support that? What is needed is a fiscal compact. That is the
:26:01. > :26:03.
:26:03. > :26:09.right thing for them to be doing. Countries who want to be part of
:26:09. > :26:13.the euro needs to recognise that that involves fiscal constraints.
:26:13. > :26:23.That will apply to the United Kingdom as long as Scott and stays
:26:23. > :26:34.
:26:34. > :26:40.Good afternoon. The Holyrood press pack regroup for
:26:40. > :26:44.the campaigns ahead. We are joined by Nicola Sturgeon to
:26:44. > :26:50.discuss strategy on the Norns and unnose.
:26:50. > :26:54.And will also be joined by Ruth Davidson.
:26:54. > :26:59.And as Civic Scotland makes his entrance, we will be joined by a
:26:59. > :27:04.spokesperson from the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland
:27:04. > :27:08.does not have a position on independence, it does not have a
:27:08. > :27:13.position on the status quo. The Church of Scotland will want to
:27:13. > :27:19.participate in encouraging debate, but it is unlikely that the Church
:27:19. > :27:24.will take a fixed position. It was not just Scottish eyes or UK
:27:24. > :27:28.eyes watching events at Edinburgh this week. There was a large
:27:28. > :27:32.contingent of journalists from other parts of Europe and further
:27:32. > :27:42.afield. Many were wondering what events here in Scotland might mean
:27:42. > :27:50.
:27:50. > :27:56.Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country? This is
:27:56. > :28:05.the document in which the Scottish Secretary laid out his plans for a
:28:05. > :28:13.devolution referendum. Now it is the turn of the SNP.
:28:13. > :28:22.Japan, China, Russia, Canada - these were just some of the
:28:22. > :28:32.countries keen to understand what is going on. The UK seems to be
:28:32. > :28:35.
:28:36. > :28:44.breaking up after the outcome of a Scottish independence referendum.
:28:44. > :28:54.There would be some impact on the Japanese political system.
:28:54. > :28:57.
:28:57. > :29:03.success should be in our own hands. Anytime you talk about separation
:29:03. > :29:06.you have states that a wrestling with this issue. There are places
:29:06. > :29:12.in the Middle East would like to see less input from their old
:29:12. > :29:19.masters. Even if we do not agree with that it would be a blueprint
:29:19. > :29:28.for what happens next. In the law you see precedent. If Alex
:29:28. > :29:37.Salmond's gamble pays off a whole lot of people will look at that.
:29:37. > :29:47.The press pack then headed up to Edinburgh Castle. Reporters mingled,
:29:47. > :29:50.
:29:50. > :30:00.discussing their take on events. How concerned would you be about a
:30:00. > :30:04.
:30:04. > :30:12.potential v2 from European Union states -- a potential veto? I would
:30:12. > :30:22.prefer to take the words of the Spanish foreign minister - at no
:30:22. > :30:24.
:30:24. > :30:34.point has not mac and he's been conveyed to the British government.
:30:34. > :30:37.
:30:37. > :30:47.A lot of small councils have not already launched a referendum. The
:30:47. > :30:48.
:30:48. > :30:57.debate that we have here in Scotland is not possible in Spain.
:30:57. > :31:07.We cannot even have these debates. That is why we followed this with a
:31:07. > :31:08.
:31:08. > :31:18.lot of interest. Spanish Basque TV braved high wins. The described
:31:18. > :31:22.Alex Salmond as presidential. Joining me now it is Nicola
:31:22. > :31:28.Sturgeon. How would you clarified the week you have had? It has been
:31:28. > :31:34.an exciting and historic week for Scotland. We have set out at a time
:31:34. > :31:40.mind and a road map towards the referendum in 2014. I trust the
:31:40. > :31:48.Scottish people to make the right decision. Central to this debate is
:31:48. > :31:52.the fact that they seem to want us to stay in Stirling.
:31:52. > :32:02.We said that until the Scottish people take another decision we
:32:02. > :32:03.
:32:03. > :32:07.will stay in Stirling. 67 independent countries are in a
:32:07. > :32:17.formal or informal currency union so that is a reasonable position to
:32:17. > :32:22.take. You cannot have the full for school leavers. That is going to be
:32:22. > :32:30.impossible to deliver. That is not true. Being in a monetary union
:32:30. > :32:37.does not mean that you do not have fiscal independence. What Scotland
:32:37. > :32:44.lacks just now is fiscal independence. With independence we
:32:44. > :32:50.have those levers of control. knew seeing when you go to
:32:50. > :32:58.negotiate with the Treasury of the Bank of England where we need the
:32:58. > :33:02.Bank of England to be the lender of last resort but you will go to the
:33:02. > :33:06.Treasury and say these are our terms, take-it-or-leave-it? We know
:33:06. > :33:13.what is happening in Europe. They are imposing tighter fiscal
:33:13. > :33:20.controls. The conditions in the euro-zone are different. Scotland
:33:20. > :33:30.is a wealthy country. We are talking about this from a Scottish
:33:30. > :33:31.
:33:31. > :33:39.perspective. The revenues from oil and gas would go to an independent
:33:39. > :33:46.Scottish government. Exports would support the UK currency. It would
:33:46. > :33:53.be good for the rest of the UK as well. Would the Treasury and the
:33:53. > :34:00.Bank of England allow Scotland to go off on a borrowing policy of its
:34:00. > :34:08.own? The lesson from Europe is there has to be fiscal control and
:34:08. > :34:14.discipline. Increasingly in Europe they will run it past Brussels. SNP
:34:14. > :34:23.voters would be genuinely concerned about the interaction there would
:34:23. > :34:28.have to be. That is obvious. independent Scotland would exercise
:34:28. > :34:35.fiscal discipline. But you would have to agree that with the Bank of
:34:35. > :34:43.England. That could be the case regardless of our currency
:34:43. > :34:53.arrangements. The eurozone is a different creature. You have an
:34:53. > :34:55.
:34:55. > :35:03.diverging economies. That is not the case for Scotland. Scotland and
:35:03. > :35:06.the other parts of the UK are much more a mind. It would give Scotland
:35:06. > :35:16.the fiscal independence to get the economy going that we do not have
:35:16. > :35:22.
:35:22. > :35:27.at the moment. Within certain parameters? What I am trying to say
:35:27. > :35:37.is what if London has not agreed that you are demonstrating suitable
:35:37. > :35:42.
:35:42. > :35:52.discipline? We would have to demonstrate fiscal discipline.
:35:52. > :35:53.
:35:53. > :36:03.Would you have to agree a deficit level? Scotland has operated a
:36:03. > :36:04.
:36:04. > :36:14.budget surplus in the four years since the financial crash. We have
:36:14. > :36:20.demonstrated fiscal discipline. you take my points that these
:36:20. > :36:30.things matter? Even SNP supporters are saying there are some point
:36:30. > :36:32.
:36:32. > :36:36.upon which would need absolute clarity. You are asking people to
:36:36. > :36:43.decide yes or no in a referendum before you have concluded those
:36:43. > :36:48.negotiations. There are questions about our pensions, our mortgages,
:36:48. > :36:52.and fiscal controls. What you want from as is a black check. What we
:36:52. > :37:01.about to have is a debate. It is a debate about the future of the
:37:01. > :37:04.country. Some people have criticised us for not having a
:37:04. > :37:11.referendum it sooner. We think it is right that there is a full
:37:11. > :37:14.debate. We will put forward an hour proposals with full clarity. The
:37:14. > :37:18.challenge for our opponents is to put forward a positive case for
:37:18. > :37:23.Scotland staying in the union if that is what they believe is best
:37:23. > :37:28.for Scotland. All we hear from other parties at the moment is
:37:28. > :37:37.negative scaremongering. That is not good enough. When you ask
:37:37. > :37:47.people in a referendum, the do not know the outcome of the
:37:47. > :37:56.
:37:56. > :38:06.negotiations you will go on to have subsequently with London. When
:38:06. > :38:09.
:38:09. > :38:19.Scotland is independent people will have the opportunity. We are
:38:19. > :38:20.
:38:20. > :38:30.debating these things in Scotland. Just after World War II there were
:38:30. > :38:33.
:38:33. > :38:38.only 50 independent countries. Today there are closer to 200.
:38:38. > :38:48.you accept that as boaters the least we can expect is absolute
:38:48. > :38:49.
:38:49. > :38:59.clarity on how things will affect has? -- as the voters. That is what
:38:59. > :39:00.
:39:00. > :39:10.voters will get from SNP. What should happen to the bonus of the
:39:10. > :39:10.
:39:10. > :39:14.chief of RBS? It is not acceptable for people like him to have bonuses
:39:14. > :39:24.of that magnitude at all. The Tory government has done nothing to stop
:39:24. > :39:25.
:39:25. > :39:35.it. Thank you. Coming up later - and the outbreak
:39:35. > :39:42.
:39:42. > :39:49.of boarder cross Corporation. Could this be a sign of things to come?
:39:49. > :39:54.We are speaking about high-speed real. I will want to force a more
:39:54. > :39:58.formal alliance with our friends in the North of England so that we can
:39:58. > :40:02.force the UK Government to see sense and bring up the rail link
:40:02. > :40:06.through the North of England and into Scotland.
:40:06. > :40:13.We are now joined by a leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth
:40:13. > :40:19.Davidson. How has this leadership campaign been for you? I have
:40:19. > :40:28.enjoyed it. The Conservative Party is on the right side of the
:40:28. > :40:35.argument. We are talking about where we want to see Scotland going
:40:35. > :40:45.in the future. It would be nice to get onto the sub-standard issues.
:40:45. > :40:47.
:40:48. > :40:55.What can you contribute to the cross-party talks? We have a duty
:40:55. > :41:05.and a keen to work closely with any body that puts forward a robust
:41:05. > :41:05.
:41:05. > :41:15.defence of the Union. But there is no common ground between you is
:41:15. > :41:19.
:41:19. > :41:26.there? I do not understand the question. David Cameron has been
:41:26. > :41:35.quoted as saying there will be no further movement on tax powers.
:41:35. > :41:45.that what it says? An increase in powers is inconsistent with being
:41:45. > :41:45.
:41:46. > :41:53.within the UK. Is that we see it? am not going to comment on an
:41:53. > :42:00.unnamed source. Is that there be see it? Are you saying that if you
:42:00. > :42:10.want full fiscal powers you have to go for independence? Is that your
:42:10. > :42:18.
:42:18. > :42:28.I want a fair referendum. That is where people have confused the
:42:28. > :42:30.
:42:30. > :42:33.debate. Independence as against devolution. The debate is whether
:42:33. > :42:39.we want to remain part of the United Kingdom or be a sovereign
:42:39. > :42:49.state. The First Minister was saying that you have accepted the
:42:49. > :42:54.
:42:54. > :43:04.question is fair and decisive. welcome to the question of us -- I
:43:04. > :43:09.welcomed the question but was given us. It is the -- it is not the sort
:43:09. > :43:15.of question was put into Quebec which ran to over 90 words. The
:43:15. > :43:25.Electoral Commission will have the final say on the wording. Does it
:43:25. > :43:26.
:43:26. > :43:31.lead changed? Quite possibly. But I want to get it right. Different
:43:31. > :43:36.people are are giving over the actual date, the question, who
:43:36. > :43:44.would be able to vote. For you to concede that the question is
:43:44. > :43:49.acceptable at this stage was a ludicrous. This is part of a
:43:49. > :43:53.process. Part of process that is overseen, I hope, by the Electoral
:43:53. > :43:57.Commission. I will be taking part in the formal processes that will
:43:57. > :44:05.go on. They will happen in the proper format for these things to
:44:05. > :44:14.take place. Some analysts have said that if you frame a question, do
:44:14. > :44:18.you agree that Scotland should be an independent country, that the
:44:18. > :44:27.aims of the answer yes of. The question is absolutely central. Why
:44:27. > :44:32.have you said that you are fine with the question. I said that the
:44:32. > :44:38.question that had been put forward was decisive, clear. I also wanted
:44:38. > :44:47.it to be legal and that is where the Electoral Commission come in.
:44:47. > :44:51.Then you might change your mind? it needs to be tweaked, we can put
:44:51. > :44:56.forward different views. There are different ways to flame-red. In
:44:56. > :45:01.terms of being short, sweet and to that point, that should be welcomed.
:45:01. > :45:05.There has been movement towards that. We have to acknowledge where
:45:05. > :45:09.movement has been made. Considering what was brought forward in the
:45:09. > :45:13.last Parliament by the Scottish government as a question, this has
:45:13. > :45:18.been a huge movement from them. Where there is movement, we should
:45:18. > :45:28.welcome that. What do you make about the bonus for the chief of
:45:28. > :45:31.
:45:31. > :45:34.RBS? Stephen Hester. In some ways, the government's hands were tied.
:45:34. > :45:42.But they have made sure that none of the cash part of it as a more
:45:42. > :45:45.than �2,000 for anybody at the bank, in deferred shares. But there is a
:45:45. > :45:53.point about the sanctity of contracts and breaking contracts.
:45:53. > :46:03.Yes, that is the point that Labour are giving us. It is the
:46:03. > :46:03.
:46:03. > :46:08.remunerations committee that decide. Surely you should know as well, if
:46:08. > :46:13.you are criticising, if there is nothing that your government in
:46:13. > :46:22.Westminster can do... I am telling you exactly what the government am
:46:22. > :46:25.Westminster has already done. enough according to their opponents.
:46:25. > :46:33.Neither of the banks that are partially owned by the state is
:46:33. > :46:41.getting a cash bonus of more than �2,000. When you think of the
:46:41. > :46:45.people that voted for you, the Tory government has allowed this Boris
:46:45. > :46:49.to go through, it has not intervened. It is blaming
:46:50. > :46:57.everything on the last Labour government when in fact, it was the
:46:57. > :47:05.real -- the remunerations committee... Stephen Hester has
:47:05. > :47:14.given up his bonus. Do I think that the government has stepped him?
:47:14. > :47:20.Absolutely. We have made their banks have more responsible.
:47:20. > :47:23.have to leave it there. Thank you very much.
:47:23. > :47:33.Can you hear the voice of the people of all this political
:47:33. > :47:46.
:47:46. > :47:49.clamour? Tomorrow, a new the recording - Tomorrow a new group
:47:49. > :47:52.calling itself Civic Scotland is joining the fray. Their members so
:47:52. > :47:54.far are from the unions, charities, the churches and think tanks.
:47:54. > :47:58.Martin Syme from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
:47:58. > :48:00.is in our Edinburgh Studio. Why do you need to do this? We are hearing
:48:00. > :48:05.from politicians. They seem to want to restrict the question but to get
:48:05. > :48:14.the answer they want. We are trying to open out the debate. We have had
:48:14. > :48:19.widespread support from non- governmental groups of all kinds.
:48:19. > :48:23.We want to broaden the debate before we get down to options.
:48:23. > :48:29.it not inevitable that if you are looking for alternatives to what is
:48:30. > :48:34.already being proposed that you end up with the devo max issue? You
:48:34. > :48:42.cannot keep this non-political? are not campaigning for any
:48:42. > :48:47.political option. And that includes devo max. With them my membership,
:48:47. > :48:51.we have people who will support all kinds of option. But we are
:48:51. > :48:55.resolute that the debate needs opened up rather than closed down.
:48:55. > :49:01.We are opposed to the proposition that there should be a decision to
:49:01. > :49:08.go forward with a question of yes or no. It seems incredible to me
:49:08. > :49:15.that we might spent the next few years at talking about independence
:49:15. > :49:18.and not talking by devolution. can people expect from your
:49:18. > :49:23.organisation? We are going to carry this debate to people in Scotland
:49:23. > :49:28.where ever they are and what ever the interests are. We want to
:49:28. > :49:32.connect the debate about the future of Scotland to the challenges and
:49:32. > :49:35.aspirations above people have in their own lives. In that process,
:49:35. > :49:40.is it not inevitable but you have to come to a conclusion and you
:49:40. > :49:50.have to say this is what we have found. Otherwise, it is just a
:49:50. > :49:54.talking shop and people will go to the options still available. Is it
:49:55. > :50:04.inevitable but you have to champion what people tell you? And then you
:50:05. > :50:07.
:50:07. > :50:10.move into the political arena? sorry if that -- ever that the
:50:10. > :50:15.future of Scotland is of the political arena, the game is lost
:50:15. > :50:25.already. There will be many issues arising. People will take different
:50:25. > :50:26.
:50:26. > :50:30.perspectives from the -- from within the coalition and without.
:50:31. > :50:35.This is not a debate between political parties. This is a debate
:50:35. > :50:40.about the future of Scotland. It is important that people understand
:50:40. > :50:43.the issues involved and are able to explore how those issues will be
:50:44. > :50:51.reflected in the choices that are made available to them. Thank you
:50:51. > :50:56.very much. You will be doing this outside the central belt as well?
:50:56. > :51:01.Absolute left. We need to hear voices from rural Scotland, from
:51:01. > :51:08.people in poverty, all kinds of different voices in this debate.
:51:08. > :51:11.That has been conspicuous by its absence recently.
:51:11. > :51:13.On Thursday, the Sunday Politics was invited to spend the day with
:51:13. > :51:16.the Cabinet Minister for Infrastructure, Alex Neil, as he
:51:16. > :51:19.travelled to London to address a major rail conference. Gilly
:51:19. > :51:22.Mathieson reports on why he is stepping up pressure on the UK
:51:22. > :51:32.Government to set a firm date for bringing high speed rail through
:51:32. > :51:32.
:51:32. > :51:36.the north of England and on to Scotland.
:51:36. > :51:42.We are off to London to speak at a high-powered conference on high-
:51:42. > :51:45.speed rail and I am going to use the opportunity to begin to forge a
:51:45. > :51:50.more formal alliance with our friends in the north of England to
:51:50. > :51:55.try to force the UK Government to see sense and set a date for
:51:55. > :52:03.bringing the high-speed rail link through the north of England and up
:52:03. > :52:10.to Scotland. You can cut down the train time by well over one hour
:52:10. > :52:20.between the Scotland and England and that will compete with a beer
:52:20. > :52:31.
:52:31. > :52:36.trouble. -- air travel. I do not see why you cannot make a start at
:52:36. > :52:43.both ends. Start end up London and Scotland simultaneously. That is
:52:43. > :52:51.the way that the railway used to be built. The case to take the line
:52:51. > :53:01.much further north is very strong. AGS to is the largest
:53:01. > :53:02.
:53:02. > :53:05.infrastructure project in a generation. -- HS2. The Scottish
:53:05. > :53:12.government is offering to pay half the course of extending the line up
:53:12. > :53:18.to Scotland. We have to have some building blocks in place before
:53:18. > :53:24.they can get the detail, like the exact a route. We are still some
:53:24. > :53:28.way off on that. But with the independence referendum planned for
:53:28. > :53:33.24 team, politicians south of the border will lead to take into
:53:33. > :53:40.account public opinion. It will be hard to present to the people of
:53:40. > :53:43.England and Wales that they should be picking up another �17 billion
:53:43. > :53:49.if you have the Scottish Parliament pushing for an independence of
:53:49. > :53:54.thought. The French high-speed rail network has work with its
:53:54. > :53:58.neighbours, so what can we learn from their experience? There will
:53:58. > :54:02.be improvements even if the infrastructure stops halfway. It is
:54:02. > :54:12.possible to have an incremental approach which is what we had in
:54:12. > :54:13.
:54:13. > :54:18.France. They generated improvements and then we added other stretches
:54:18. > :54:26.and multiplied of the benefits. will be hearing from north and
:54:26. > :54:29.south of the border in the coming weeks.
:54:29. > :54:32.Joining us in Edinburgh is Tom Rye, Professor of Transport Policy at
:54:32. > :54:40.the Transport Research Institute at Napier University.
:54:40. > :54:44.Good morning. Thank you for joining us. The minister has a point, if
:54:44. > :54:53.you are going to be building a high-speed rail link, you get to a
:54:53. > :54:58.point where financially it makes more sense to have a longer life.
:54:58. > :55:05.If you are interested of providing something that is useful, 400 miles
:55:05. > :55:08.is supposed to be the best limit? asked the minister at to read of
:55:08. > :55:18.the reports that his own civil servants have produced with regard
:55:18. > :55:20.
:55:20. > :55:30.to high-speed rail to Scotland. That Strategic case -- even if that
:55:30. > :55:33.
:55:33. > :55:39.mine were able to achieve a two the hour reduction in time, the journey
:55:39. > :55:42.times savings over 60 years would be projected to be worth around 1
:55:42. > :55:48.billion. That is very hard to get a handle on the cost of extending the
:55:49. > :55:58.line up to Scotland. We know that the cost of the line from London to
:55:59. > :56:03.
:56:03. > :56:07.Birmingham will be about 17 billion and extra for the trains themselves.
:56:07. > :56:15.For a 17 billion pound cost, that would give benefits of 1 billion
:56:15. > :56:18.which does not stack up economic clear. But you get people stopping
:56:18. > :56:24.using their cars, there are social benefits as well as economic
:56:24. > :56:34.benefits which are harder to quantify. And there are
:56:34. > :56:40.
:56:40. > :56:50.environmental benefits. With regard to the Co2 benefits, promoters of
:56:50. > :56:52.
:56:52. > :57:02.the scheme up promoted that the benefits are broadly neutral. Co2
:57:02. > :57:02.
:57:02. > :57:12.in packs would be time aged -- the sea or to impact reduction would be
:57:12. > :57:22.tiny. Some air travel would be reduced, but it would generate a
:57:22. > :57:25.
:57:25. > :57:29.lot of new travel. High-speed rail does not run on no energy, it uses
:57:29. > :57:37.car one as well. So there is no point in this like coming into
:57:37. > :57:45.Scotland? Spain is the country with the largest high-speed rail network
:57:45. > :57:55.in Europe. Most of it built in the last 10 or 15 years. Spain it
:57:55. > :57:57.
:57:57. > :58:06.currently has 25% unemployment. Nor them, Scandinavian countries have
:58:06. > :58:11.precisely zero, just of high-speed rail.
:58:11. > :58:14.And now here's the lunchtime news, with Andrew Kerr.
:58:14. > :58:17.Good afternoon. The Scottish underwear entrepreneur Michelle
:58:17. > :58:19.Mone has vowed to move her multi- million business to England if the
:58:19. > :58:22.SNP wins the independence referendum. The Ultimo creator
:58:22. > :58:24.whose comments were reported in the Sunday Times newspaper said the
:58:24. > :58:27.cost of doing business would inevitably rise. But the First
:58:27. > :58:30.Minister Alex Salmond says the SNP would cut business tax in an
:58:30. > :58:33.independent Scotland, making it a more attractive place for firms to
:58:33. > :58:36.operate. The Scottish Government is to
:58:36. > :58:40.improve internet access. Ministers want to boost broadband speeds with
:58:40. > :58:43.the aim of making services as good as anywhere else in the world by
:58:43. > :58:51.2020. They say they will improve things for up to 90% of homes,
:58:51. > :59:01.businesses and public buildings by 2015.
:59:01. > :59:02.
:59:02. > :59:06.Now let's take a look at the Outbreaks of rain across western
:59:06. > :59:14.Scotland at the moment. It will be confined to that Northern Isles
:59:14. > :59:19.later. But some showers pitching into the East Coast later. Some of
:59:19. > :59:23.those will turn to snow over higher ground. It will be a cold in the
:59:23. > :59:24.fresh, easterly wind. Our next news update is at ten to
:59:24. > :59:28.seven this evening. Now back to Isabel.
:59:28. > :59:38.Thanks Andrew. Well, this week can be seen as another staging post on
:59:38. > :59:39.
:59:39. > :59:41.So we thought it was only right and proper to ask the all-seeing, all-
:59:41. > :59:51.proper to ask the all-seeing, all- knowing Brian Taylor to join us for
:59:51. > :59:57.
:59:57. > :00:01.some analysis. The First Minister spoke to you
:00:01. > :00:10.first in that consultation launch. What do you make of what we have
:00:10. > :00:17.heard so far? It was a remarkable week. I think the date is pretty
:00:17. > :00:27.well said, autumn at 2014. I do not think the UK Government will
:00:27. > :00:30.
:00:30. > :00:38.reverse that despite the complaints. I think it will be a single
:00:38. > :00:41.question. Referendums for not just opinion polls, they are testing a
:00:41. > :00:47.proposition it generally. A proposition advanced by the
:00:47. > :00:57.government. The Scottish government is advancing their independence
:00:57. > :01:02.
:01:02. > :01:12.question. The devo max question is not a mandate to discuss
:01:12. > :01:14.
:01:14. > :01:18.independence. It is not the difficulty of testing it. It is
:01:18. > :01:23.just a question of the mandate, who is order to do something as a
:01:23. > :01:29.consequence of that outcome? What of significance will happen in the
:01:29. > :01:35.next week? I think we will see a speech tomorrow from Ed Miliband in
:01:35. > :01:43.Glasgow, an attempt by Labour to put their stamp on the devolution
:01:43. > :01:47.argument. At the moment, it is a consultation and negotiations
:01:47. > :01:54.between the Scottish government and the UK Government. Labour are
:01:54. > :01:59.trying to get into that debate. Johann Lamont is demanding and
:01:59. > :02:08.getting cross-party talks at Holyrood. Now you have Ed Miliband
:02:08. > :02:18.coming in as well as putting a UK, Labour perspective on this. The
:02:18. > :02:22.First Minister ones, and 20th October 14, when there could be a
:02:22. > :02:32.Conservative alone government, he is up dedicating independence from
:02:32. > :02:36.
:02:36. > :02:46.the Tories. -- dedicating. If the SNP were met the yes vote on the
:02:46. > :02:51.
:02:51. > :02:55.referendum, would it be possible for Labour to go against it? I do
:02:55. > :02:59.not think that is feasible. reason for the rules and the
:02:59. > :03:04.process matter is for all sides have to accept the outcome. That is
:03:04. > :03:12.why it was a little unwise for Ruth Davidson to a be appearing to give
:03:12. > :03:17.endorsement to a question which has to half for the tests from the
:03:17. > :03:21.Electoral Commission. If the Scottish people, palpably and
:03:21. > :03:26.demonstrably and without contest a vote for independence, that is it.
:03:26. > :03:32.Their game is over. If they do not, it is not. That is why it is
:03:32. > :03:36.important to get the rules and regulations right. It is not an
:03:36. > :03:44.opinion poll, it is something that will be decisive. Thank you very