:00:07. > :00:09.From the heart of Edin-boro, capital of Scot-land, broadcasting
:00:10. > :00:20.around the world, sort of, it's This Week with Andrew Neil.
:00:21. > :00:22.Tonight, Michael "Choo Choo" Portillo.
:00:23. > :00:29.Diane "never left London before" Abbott.
:00:30. > :00:33.And chat show Charlie Kennedy. Dreams finally come true
:00:34. > :00:37.for singing superstar Susan Boyle. Violinist extraordinaire
:00:38. > :00:41.Nicola Benedetti. Social-ist firebrand,
:00:42. > :00:42.Tommy Sheridan. And your host, cub reporter
:00:43. > :01:32.and Paisley Boy, Andrew Neil! Evenin' all.
:01:33. > :01:35.Welcome to the Ghillie Dhu in the heart of Auld Reekie,
:01:36. > :01:38.and a special edition of This Weekie, with a barely live, over the
:01:39. > :01:46.limit audience of tragic tartan This Week fans and Blue Nun Addicts.
:01:47. > :01:48.Yes, against our better judgement, and strict BBC health and safety
:01:49. > :01:52.guidelines, we've forsaken our spiritual home in the secure
:01:53. > :01:56.ignorance of the Westminster bubble, packed the This Week Transit van,
:01:57. > :01:59.programmed the sat nav and headed beyond the wall that
:02:00. > :02:09.Hadrian built, for good reason, to visit my homeland, before I need
:02:10. > :02:14.a visa and even more vaccinations. The Irn Blu Nun is extra chilled,
:02:15. > :02:17.unlike Michael Portillo. But the rest
:02:18. > :02:19.of us are far too excited to be nervous, because helping us dial up
:02:20. > :02:24.the Scottishness volume all the way to 11, I'm joined tonight by
:02:25. > :02:27.my very own personal ceilidh band. They follow me everywhere.
:02:28. > :03:00.Take it away Carrie on Dancing. More from Carrie on Dancing later.
:03:01. > :03:03.Now, we thought long and hard about the most authentically Scottish way
:03:04. > :03:06.of kicking off tonight's show and decided blowing up a residential
:03:07. > :03:10.block that nobody lives in, long since fallen into disrepair, that
:03:11. > :03:13.fails to comply with any modern building standards would be,
:03:14. > :03:17.to quote the Glasgow Commonwealth Games organisers, an "unforgettable
:03:18. > :03:24.statement of how Scotland is confidently embracing the future".
:03:25. > :03:26.But before we cross to our live demolition of Edinburgh
:03:27. > :03:32.Castle, let me first introduce you to our dynamite panel.
:03:33. > :03:35.Because I'm joined on the sofa tonight by two docile
:03:36. > :03:39.creatures who've always struggled to conceive of anything original, with
:03:40. > :03:45.or without artificial stimulation. Think of them as the two giant
:03:46. > :03:49.pandas of late night political chat. I speak, of course,
:03:50. > :03:54.of #McBaffled Diane "where the hell am I - this isn't Hackney
:03:55. > :03:55." Abbott, and everyone's favourite half-Scot, #sadmanonatram Michael
:03:56. > :04:21."och aye the choo choo" Portillo. And not forgetting the forbidden
:04:22. > :04:22.Lib Dem fruit of their loins #chatshowcharlie Charles "redheads
:04:23. > :04:41.always have more fun" Kennedy. Now, you often hear about a once in
:04:42. > :04:44.a generation decision in politics. But this September Scotland will
:04:45. > :04:48.take a once in 307 years decision when it holds a referendum on
:04:49. > :04:51.whether the 1707 Act of Union should be repealed and Scotland revert to
:04:52. > :04:55.an independent nation-state. We wanted to cover this historic
:04:56. > :04:58.moment with the gravity it deserves. But Sir Sean didn't return
:04:59. > :05:02.our calls. Lines to tax havens can
:05:03. > :05:05.sometimes be dodgy! The cast of Rab C Nesbitt were too
:05:06. > :05:10.busy tucking into some deep-fried chicken and chips at the
:05:11. > :05:12.Battered Together Bistro. And the Krankies are already
:05:13. > :05:18.rehearsing for panto. Don't believe me?
:05:19. > :05:21.Just look behind you. So here's socialist politician
:05:22. > :05:22.and independence campaigner Tommy Sheridan instead.
:05:23. > :05:39.This is his Take of the Week. Choose life, choose more jobs,
:05:40. > :05:44.choose homes, choose free education, a living wage, choose spending in
:05:45. > :05:47.hospitals and schools, not immoral nuclear bombs, choose a new, fairer
:05:48. > :05:58.Scotland. Choose independence. On the 18th of September, Scotland
:05:59. > :06:02.has a massive choice to make but it has nothing to do with Alex Salmond,
:06:03. > :06:06.nothing to do with the SNP, nothing to do with any party or individual.
:06:07. > :06:19.This choice is about Scotland's future. This referendum is about
:06:20. > :06:23.freedom. Freedom to never have a Tory government in Scotland ever
:06:24. > :06:28.again. Since 1951, Scotland has never voted for the Tories, but we
:06:29. > :06:40.have had to enjoy a 35 years of Tory government. Never again. It is time
:06:41. > :06:45.to reject the Westminster creed of greed. The privatisation agenda that
:06:46. > :06:49.cells of public services for the City of London. We don't want any
:06:50. > :06:53.more of that. We want a first-class health and education system in
:06:54. > :07:00.public hands, run for social benefit, not private profit. We want
:07:01. > :07:05.to invest in children, not bombs. We want to build a new, fairer
:07:06. > :07:10.Scotland, a better Scotland, a more socially progressive Scotland. That
:07:11. > :07:16.is what we are going to build. Together. I choose to reject fear. I
:07:17. > :07:19.chose to -- I chose something else. And the reasons? Who needs reasons
:07:20. > :07:28.when you have got This Week. And from the mean streets
:07:29. > :07:30.of Edinburgh to our little mean street here at the Ghillie Dhu,
:07:31. > :07:49.Tommy Sheridan joins us now. So, independence for you isn't
:07:50. > :07:59.socialism in one country. It is freedom. Freedom to build a Scottish
:08:00. > :08:03.socialist society? I hope so. My vision will be different from other
:08:04. > :08:07.people, but we are not voting for political vision, we are voting for
:08:08. > :08:12.the right to choose the vision we want two years down the line. That
:08:13. > :08:16.is why freedom is important. If Scotland was, and I know this may
:08:17. > :08:23.hard be, but if Scotland was a right of centre country... That is a very
:08:24. > :08:29.hard to think. It was in the 1950s. Would you still be in favour of
:08:30. > :08:34.independence. Very much so. One of your acolytes contacted me after the
:08:35. > :08:36.meeting in Kirk all the when I said, vote for independence and there will
:08:37. > :08:41.never be a Tory government in Scotland again. He contacted me and
:08:42. > :08:45.said, the Tories get 15 or 20% of the vote and they might win an
:08:46. > :08:48.election in Scotland. So I said, vote for independence and we will
:08:49. > :08:53.never get a Tory government in Scotland again, unless the people of
:08:54. > :08:56.Scotland voted for it, and there is more chance of my hair growing back
:08:57. > :09:03.than that of the Tories getting in in Scotland. So there is a slight
:09:04. > :09:09.chance. Diane, you must be attracted to this vision of Scotland. I am
:09:10. > :09:15.sure you agreed with everything he said. Why shouldn't they go for it?
:09:16. > :09:17.On the one hand, I can see the attraction of voting and never
:09:18. > :09:21.having a Tory government again. This is not an argument I am putting to
:09:22. > :09:27.the Scottish people but for the Labour Party in England it would be
:09:28. > :09:30.disastrous. That is not his concern. I know. The only thing I would say
:09:31. > :09:35.is that it does not seem that either party in Westminster, not your party
:09:36. > :09:41.so much, but Tories or Labour, have a plan B if the Scots vote for
:09:42. > :09:44.independence. That could be very difficult. If
:09:45. > :09:47.independence. That could be very unthinkable, we don't seem to have a
:09:48. > :09:50.plan B in Westminster. Why should he bother about that when he is
:09:51. > :09:56.thinking of what he would like Scotland to be? I think Andrew is a
:09:57. > :10:02.bit wrong by saying it would be a disaster for Labour. I never
:10:03. > :10:06.mentioned Labour in England. Maybe it was Diane. Working-class folk
:10:07. > :10:10.would be very impressed with what we do in Scotland. We are not going to
:10:11. > :10:14.abandon English working-class people. We are going to lead them
:10:15. > :10:17.and show them that the neoliberal privatisation agenda of Westminster
:10:18. > :10:22.is not the only game and you can do things differently. That will
:10:23. > :10:29.inspire people. Would an independent Scotland B is left as Tommy thinks?
:10:30. > :10:36.No. This lengthy debate in Scotland, and Tommy is drawing a distinction,
:10:37. > :10:41.the conflation of having the right to choose, but you can be certain
:10:42. > :10:46.that that right will lead to the kind of a Gaelic Terry and
:10:47. > :10:56.policies, non-nuclear policies, etc. -- a Gaelic Terry. The people who
:10:57. > :11:01.grace your programme regularly, and we know them well in Scotland, he or
:11:02. > :11:06.his points out, and it is a valid point, opinion polls are interesting
:11:07. > :11:10.but the social attitudes survey that is conducted each year tells you
:11:11. > :11:15.much more, and actually Scottish sentiment and opinion, politically
:11:16. > :11:19.and across a broad range of issues, is not as out of kilter with the
:11:20. > :11:28.other side of the border as is often thought. Michael, in purely party
:11:29. > :11:32.political terms, Scottish independence would make Tory
:11:33. > :11:36.government is more likely than now. Not always, but more likely. In
:11:37. > :11:43.England, Wales and Northern Ireland, yes. Why has David Cameron made such
:11:44. > :11:47.a commitment to the union? Because he believes in it. He also believes
:11:48. > :11:50.that for a Tory Prime Minister to lose the union would be a personal
:11:51. > :11:59.and political disaster. Would he have to resign? Definitely. Are you
:12:00. > :12:06.Michael? I thought you were Tommy. You would want him to resign if he
:12:07. > :12:12.blew his nose. Absolutely. He would be under tremendous pressure to
:12:13. > :12:16.resign. Can I keep going? May I had dressed Tommy Sheridan's basic
:12:17. > :12:24.thesis? I think an independent Scotland would move to the right,
:12:25. > :12:31.not the left. Check the water. It is not water! The levels of public
:12:32. > :12:33.spending in Scotland today, the number of people employed by the
:12:34. > :12:37.state and housed by the state and the number of people on welfare
:12:38. > :12:44.through the state is achieved by very large deficits. By English
:12:45. > :12:47.transparent subsidy and by implicit subsidy, because Scotland is
:12:48. > :12:49.guaranteed by association with England. It is able to do things,
:12:50. > :13:25.fiscally, low-level soft Corporation tax and
:13:26. > :13:31.try to be attractive. He is talking rubbish. He is arguing for the
:13:32. > :13:38.legalisation of cannabis, and I think he has been smoking it. For
:13:39. > :13:42.the last 33 years in a row, we in Scotland have paid more into the
:13:43. > :13:47.Exchequer in London than we have got back. We are not subsidy junkies, we
:13:48. > :13:57.are net contributors to the UK economy and you ought to get a grip
:13:58. > :14:01.with that reality. Why is saving the union important, Charles Kennedy? I
:14:02. > :14:06.think it is geographically, historically, rather a unique
:14:07. > :14:12.example of an historic 300 year plus successful working union, on a
:14:13. > :14:18.voluntary basis, of a mixture of countries that make up this part of
:14:19. > :14:23.the British Isles. And I think that, through all its imperfections, is a
:14:24. > :14:26.family. Families have ups and downs and quarrels but at the end of the
:14:27. > :14:31.day you are still part of the family. I think that sentiment is
:14:32. > :14:39.important. But it is more than that. So why are we having the referendum
:14:40. > :14:45.if that is true? Well, this library is full of books dedicated to this
:14:46. > :14:50.subject. One of the principal reasons is Margaret Thatcher. She is
:14:51. > :14:55.the mother of devolution. I do not think she will prove to be the
:14:56. > :14:59.mother of Scottish independence. But I think the extent to which she
:15:00. > :15:04.alienate it so much of middle opinion in Scotland, which going
:15:05. > :15:08.back to the 1950s, through my childhood, indeed until when I was
:15:09. > :15:13.elected in the House of Commons, the Conservatives were still a viable,
:15:14. > :15:18.vibrant force. She lost that. And what will happen, if we went
:15:19. > :15:23.independent, and this is where Tommy's Rodman would be tested, is
:15:24. > :15:30.what happens to the SNP as a force in independence. -- Tommy's
:15:31. > :15:34.argument. It used to be the case that they would go their separate
:15:35. > :15:41.ways, left and right. We have come to the end of this part, so I will
:15:42. > :15:46.give you the final word. Charles and his friends believe UK is OK. We
:15:47. > :15:51.have 900,000 people in poverty because of your government. We have
:15:52. > :15:54.zero-hours contracts. We have 500,000 people surviving on food
:15:55. > :16:00.banks. We have poverty all over Britain. UK OK is not good enough.
:16:01. > :16:11.We should be ashamed and it is time for change. Tommy Sheridan!
:16:12. > :16:15.APPLAUSE Now, it's late, babe station late. But
:16:16. > :16:21.don't be tempted to turn over for you free ten minutes... Just yet.
:16:22. > :16:24.Because we didn't come all the way to Edinburgh without something
:16:25. > :16:27.special in store, even better than Michael Portillo going commando in a
:16:28. > :16:30.kit, waiting in the wings, the flower of Scotland, global
:16:31. > :16:44.superstar, the one and only Susan Boyle, is here, joining us to talk
:16:45. > :16:48.about the importance of roots and violinist Miss Benedetti. Carry on
:16:49. > :17:13.dancing, give us something to cheer us up?
:17:14. > :17:18.APPLAUSE. Fan. Now, there are just over two
:17:19. > :17:22.months to go until the big vote. Amid the trading of facts, figures
:17:23. > :17:29.and fiction between the yes and No Campaigns, there are those who say
:17:30. > :17:33.there's been a nasty part to the vote. What does that tell us about
:17:34. > :17:35.today's Scotland? We turned to Sarah Smith. This is a round-up of the
:17:36. > :17:52.referendum. The big news this week was unveiling
:17:53. > :17:57.the Tartan team Scotland will be wearing many the quays. Now, I'll
:17:58. > :18:05.not be putting it on myself, so why not try and make my own? -- during
:18:06. > :18:10.the Commonwealth Games. I wish I had as much money to create my own
:18:11. > :18:15.Tartan as both sides had on creating their own campaign. ?4 million has
:18:16. > :18:19.been donated to better together, yet Scotland have raised less than half
:18:20. > :18:23.that much because they say they get their money from struggling Scots.
:18:24. > :18:28.Better together get their cash from billionaire bankers and English
:18:29. > :18:32.Tories. This spat is typical of the campaign
:18:33. > :18:40.so far. Just look at the abuse JK Rowling received when she dodo
:18:41. > :18:42.negotiated ?1 million to the Better Together Campaign.
:18:43. > :18:49.She was called names on Twitter. There is a name for the national is
:18:50. > :18:52.who spout abuse on Twitter about anyone who disagrees, they are
:18:53. > :18:56.called cyber Nates and I've had plenty of attacks from them and they
:18:57. > :19:03.don't like how I'm covering the campaign. This nastiness isn't all
:19:04. > :19:09.one-sided. Alex Salmond's had death threats. He's been compared to Kim
:19:10. > :19:13.Jong-Il by Alistair Darling. He's calling for a less vitriolic
:19:14. > :19:17.campaign. We should as a Parliament and society stand up against that
:19:18. > :19:23.handful of people who're attempting to pollute this independence debate.
:19:24. > :19:26.We have the most invigorating and livening debate almost in political
:19:27. > :19:31.history taking place in Scotland and if all of us condemn such Internet
:19:32. > :19:33.abuse and stand together, then we have a good chance of driving out of
:19:34. > :19:42.the debate. But round and round the abuse and
:19:43. > :19:46.the name-calling continues. Teak says it's not just the scribe e-Nat,
:19:47. > :19:50.it's even the Scottish Government itself.
:19:51. > :19:54.Huge amount of pressure is put on businesses by the Scottish
:19:55. > :19:57.Government with all sorts of threats and warnings if they speak out and
:19:58. > :20:01.say what they believe is the truth. I would urge them to speak out, talk
:20:02. > :20:08.with their workforces, talk about the strength of our United Kingdom
:20:09. > :20:11.and vote to keep it together. That is strongly denied by the
:20:12. > :20:15.Scottish Government. Why is it bitter and nasty? This is the most
:20:16. > :20:20.significant election the Scots have ever seen. It could be momentous and
:20:21. > :20:24.irrevocable. Some will go to any lengths to win. What effect does all
:20:25. > :20:29.this bile have on the voters? Many have just switched off. A poll
:20:30. > :20:32.showed 63% of people say they have stopped listening to the debate
:20:33. > :20:39.because both sides contradict each other all the time.
:20:40. > :20:46.Obviously what you really want to know is who is going to win. The
:20:47. > :20:48.momentum in the yes camp seems to have stalled a bit. If they are
:20:49. > :20:52.going to win in September, they probably need a game-changer between
:20:53. > :20:56.now and then. What could that be? There will be two TV debates between
:20:57. > :21:00.Alistair Darling and Alex Salmond. Alex Salmond is a strong performer
:21:01. > :21:04.so he hopes that might just do the trick.
:21:05. > :21:07.At the end of the day, it's all going to come down to who can get
:21:08. > :21:11.their vote out. Scotland are convinced they have the better
:21:12. > :21:13.ground campaign, so if they can get a high turnout, it could be all to
:21:14. > :21:21.play for. You don't have to wait until
:21:22. > :21:25.September to see the results of my efforts today. An true, we don't
:21:26. > :21:34.want you feeling left out associations the McKneel Tartan just
:21:35. > :21:38.for you. -- McNeil.
:21:39. > :21:43.Thank you, Sarah. I'm told this is it. It's not the one she held up.
:21:44. > :21:49.I'm not sure if we are allowed the wear it.
:21:50. > :21:52.That was Sarah and we are joined by superstar SNP Member of Parliament,
:21:53. > :21:57.the man who Alex Salmond fears even more than a no-vote, Stuart Hosey.
:21:58. > :22:03.That's donior career the world of good. Why has the campaign,
:22:04. > :22:07.certainly on the ens, been, as Sarah Smith described, so full of bile and
:22:08. > :22:12.bitterness? I think the pont you made on the edge is that we are
:22:13. > :22:17.seeing tens of thousands of activists, all walks of lifeall
:22:18. > :22:20.backgrounds, all political persuasions and none actively
:22:21. > :22:26.campaigning for a new, independent better Scotland. But you are right.
:22:27. > :22:28.On the fringe, there are people saying mean and inappropriate things
:22:29. > :22:33.on Twitter and Facebook and that needs to stop, as the First Minister
:22:34. > :22:41.said. Has the debate, Charles, particularly on your side of the
:22:42. > :22:49.argument? The Scots are... Has it made people stay schtum? Inevitably
:22:50. > :22:56.on this, I use this word "unique" again, but this is a unique
:22:57. > :22:59.circumstance. In these yew niching circumstances -- unique
:23:00. > :23:03.circumstances, if you are running a small business, running a newspaper
:23:04. > :23:08.and has public sector advertisements, the Scottish
:23:09. > :23:14.Government says this could be an independent Scotland. You are going
:23:15. > :23:19.to be careful about not burning your boats or bridges rather, depending
:23:20. > :23:24.on the outcome. I've also had casually, if you like, informally, I
:23:25. > :23:28.can't swear on the Bible and say here's the evidence, but quite a lot
:23:29. > :23:33.of scenior people in different walks of civic economic life in Scotland
:23:34. > :23:37.have failed. Whether they have been pressurised directly or whether they
:23:38. > :23:40.just feel it. The fact is, perception is that they have got to
:23:41. > :23:47.slightly pull the punches and I don't think that's healthy.
:23:48. > :23:52.Vice-Chancellor as they are known in England, and businessmen? Is he
:23:53. > :23:56.right or wrong? A lot is anecdotal. We had the Scottish whisky
:23:57. > :24:01.association come out today and say they haven't been worried, they have
:24:02. > :24:05.been having robust discusses with both sides and you would expect
:24:06. > :24:10.that. When etalk about business people being afraid, I wouldn't buy
:24:11. > :24:17.this. We are seeing the huge growth in
:24:18. > :24:21.business and Scotland. People perfectly compared to put their
:24:22. > :24:24.cards on the table fbt. This cuts both ways.
:24:25. > :24:29.You are looking from the outside in, what do you make of the tone of the
:24:30. > :24:33.campaign? I don't think the tone is unreasonably bitter and I don't
:24:34. > :24:38.think it will be won or lost by Vice-Chancellors. My sense talking
:24:39. > :24:42.to colleagues, can be won or lost by thousands of people who haven't
:24:43. > :24:46.necessarily voted before in the Central Bank. So what
:24:47. > :24:52.Vice-Chancellors do or do not do is not the same as young people voting
:24:53. > :24:54.for the very first time and perhaps poor people voting for the first
:24:55. > :24:59.time. What do you think of the tone of the
:25:00. > :25:03.campaign, Michael? It reminds me of the tone of campaigns across the
:25:04. > :25:06.untri-20 or 30 years ago. The fact is, in England, probably Scotland
:25:07. > :25:12.too in general elections, we've gotten used to a kind of soft middle
:25:13. > :25:18.sort of politics in which people have not been very barbed with each
:25:19. > :25:34.other. If you go back to tell radio of Mrs Thatcher, things were barbed
:25:35. > :25:38.and tough -- back to the era. Twitter is the modern day shouting
:25:39. > :25:41.at people from your car. I thought you stopped doing that? That is the
:25:42. > :25:47.way people using Twitter abuse each other. That is a feature of modern
:25:48. > :25:52.life. Many are anonymous as well. Indeed. What is the evidence that
:25:53. > :26:00.there is momentum behind the yes campaign, because the polls seem
:26:01. > :26:15.to... It's Diane's point. People who don't normally vote, people haven't
:26:16. > :26:27.engaged in party might be, it's about finding people who don't have
:26:28. > :26:31.the campaign. The phrase the silent majority. You can't help but feel in
:26:32. > :26:35.Scotland there's a big block that know how they are going to vote and
:26:36. > :26:41.probably have known and can't change their mind. We are all competing
:26:42. > :26:48.over this, I think we'd agree, 20% or thereabouts in the middle. That's
:26:49. > :26:52.the silent majority. In what direction will may make their voices
:26:53. > :26:58.heard? The next two months are crucial. The final month is critical
:26:59. > :27:02.after the school holidays come to an end much earlier than the viewers
:27:03. > :27:09.watching, out with Scotland, that will really be protests moving to
:27:10. > :27:13.complete and utter decision and nobody really knows about the silent
:27:14. > :27:17.majority. You are trying to chase a part of the electorate that it's
:27:18. > :27:21.hard to get a handle on. I suggest it's probably concentrated in the
:27:22. > :27:24.west of Scotland too. Let me put this point to you, Charles Kennedy.
:27:25. > :27:32.The Better Together Campaign has tried to frighten the horses. Has it
:27:33. > :27:36.made a compelling campaign? I think that if you like, the bad cop part
:27:37. > :27:41.of the campaign came first and I raised my voice and said I thought
:27:42. > :27:45.we were too negative. I thinker getting more of the positive good
:27:46. > :27:51.cop that this should be a good discussion. Who is the good cop? If
:27:52. > :27:57.people vote no and that wins, you are not just putting the clamps on
:27:58. > :28:00.any further constitutional development, vis-a-vis Scotland.
:28:01. > :28:10.What you are saying is, no to outright independence, maintenance
:28:11. > :28:16.of the UK, but my goodness the UK has got to do better. There is a lot
:28:17. > :28:25.of the silent majority wanting to hear more about it. Are we going to
:28:26. > :28:28.have Salmond Darling debates? I think that's been agreed but the
:28:29. > :28:32.dates haven't. What do you maybe of them? Remember
:28:33. > :28:37.the impact of the first Clegg debate. That seemed to go well, but
:28:38. > :28:41.if memory serves, the Liberals ended up losing three seats, so the hype
:28:42. > :28:45.of the debate wasn't determining the outcome. I think this could be quite
:28:46. > :28:49.significant. More importantly than the First Minister debating Alistair
:28:50. > :28:52.Darling, as well as David Cameron starting to pull the strings from
:28:53. > :28:58.behind-the-scenes and finding the guts to have a debate himself...
:28:59. > :29:02.What are the strings he's pulling He's pulling the strings, heart,
:29:03. > :29:08.mind, body and soul. He doesn't talk to me very often. Do
:29:09. > :29:13.you think the debates will make much difference Michael? I think this
:29:14. > :29:19.thing has not in any way begun. The opinion polls are of no interest or
:29:20. > :29:24.importance whatsoever. I covered the Scottish election in 2011 alongside
:29:25. > :29:28.Alex Salmond and, as he began the election campaign, he was behind in
:29:29. > :29:31.the opinion polls and finished 14 points ahead of the Labour Party
:29:32. > :29:37.with an overall majority so that is a movement that occurred if a
:29:38. > :29:43.four-week period. So clearly, the Scottish electorate is volatile and
:29:44. > :29:47.clearly Salmond is persuasive. Looking at it, the unionist campaign
:29:48. > :29:52.has seemed very negative. Looking at it from the point of view from
:29:53. > :29:55.someone whose family came from a former colony, I'm not saying that's
:29:56. > :29:59.a precise analogy of Scotland, but what I do know is, you never
:30:00. > :30:03.persuaded people not to fight for independence by telling them they
:30:04. > :30:07.can't possibly manage without you, that has never worked.
:30:08. > :30:19.Who are you going to blame if you lose? I don't believe we're going to
:30:20. > :30:25.lose. Will you blame the media, the Tories in London? The yes
:30:26. > :30:30.campaigners need to pray every waking hour to win this campaign. He
:30:31. > :30:35.has not answered my question but I'm used to it. It is an occupational
:30:36. > :30:40.hazard. Will you run for the Scottish parliament if Scotland goes
:30:41. > :30:44.independent? History is littered with generals planning the next but
:30:45. > :30:48.one battle and losing the one in front of them. Let's win the one in
:30:49. > :30:52.front of us. I can't answer right now because that would be to concede
:30:53. > :31:00.something I am not prepared to concede, comrades. That is what
:31:01. > :31:10.happens when you sit beside Tommy Sheridan for five minutes. Right, it
:31:11. > :31:16.is make your mind up time. I want a yes or no. No equivocating drivel.
:31:17. > :31:29.What will the result be on the 18th? Too close to call. Too close to
:31:30. > :31:37.call. Now you see what I have to put up with. No wonder. I am only 28.
:31:38. > :31:41.That is what it does to you. It will be a no vote, but it will be tight
:31:42. > :31:46.on the night, and I have thought that for two years. It will be a yes
:31:47. > :31:53.vote with a larger majority than anyone can imagine. Very well. We
:31:54. > :31:55.will see if you are right. Not you two.
:31:56. > :31:58.Right, enough of this tedious political chat.
:31:59. > :32:06.Carrie On Dancing, put a smile back on our faces.
:32:07. > :32:24.Now, at the Tories' summer ball last week in London, the wife of a
:32:25. > :32:28.Russian banker paid ?160,000 to play a game of tennis with David Cameron
:32:29. > :32:35.and Boris Johnson. At the SNP annual ceilidh last winter in Inverness,
:32:36. > :32:39.the wife of an Argyll crofter paid five whole Scottish pounds to spend
:32:40. > :32:44.the day curling with John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon. The jury's
:32:45. > :32:49.still out on who has more money than sense. But it goes to show that they
:32:50. > :32:53.do things differently north of the border, which is why we've decided
:32:54. > :33:01.to put "roots" in this week's Spotlight.
:33:02. > :33:04.Singing superstar Susan Boyle has sold more than 19
:33:05. > :33:07.million records worldwide. Not bad for a small town
:33:08. > :33:10.girl who dreamed a dream. But she certainly hasn't let fame
:33:11. > :33:12.and fortune go to her head, staying close to
:33:13. > :33:23.the roots that nurtured her talent, and always calling Scotland home.
:33:24. > :33:29.Culture north of the border goes far deeper and
:33:30. > :33:32.wider than just music, of course. So, for born-and-bred Scots,
:33:33. > :33:37.how much are they shaped by the landscape, the literature,
:33:38. > :33:39.the history, and the whisky? And with the Scottish uniforms
:33:40. > :33:42.for the Commonwealth Games, doing tartan with a twist.
:33:43. > :33:46.Should we always be proud of our roots, no matter where
:33:47. > :33:49.the criticism comes from? But just how important are
:33:50. > :33:52.our ancestral origins, and can they sometimes cause political tensions?
:33:53. > :33:57.Whether Scottish, Spanish, Jamaican, or even French, does where you've
:33:58. > :34:05.come from always end up influencing where you're going?
:34:06. > :34:08.And we're joined on the sofa by two people who are proof that
:34:09. > :34:12.Scotland's got more talent than almost anywhere else on earth,
:34:13. > :34:13.the sensational singer Susan Boyle, and the astonishing violinist
:34:14. > :34:33.Nicola Benedetti. Wright, Nicola, we will start with
:34:34. > :34:40.you. How important are your Scottish roots to you and where you now are?
:34:41. > :34:45.My Scottish roots are extremely important. I probably heard the
:34:46. > :34:50.violin for the first time obviously in Scotland, but playing Scottish
:34:51. > :34:54.music. The instrument is inextricable from Scottish folk
:34:55. > :34:58.traditional music. In saying that, I started playing classical music very
:34:59. > :35:02.young and through that immediately started playing the music of many
:35:03. > :35:08.cultures across the world. I think that always gave me a very balanced
:35:09. > :35:13.view of celebrating my Scottish nurse, and the music of Scotland,
:35:14. > :35:21.but at the same time simultaneously celebrating and experiencing so many
:35:22. > :35:26.musics of other cultures. Susan, how important have your Scottish roots
:35:27. > :35:35.been to get to where you are? They are very important. It is a wide
:35:36. > :35:44.spectrum of music I have begun to cover. I have been doing anything
:35:45. > :35:51.from ballads to the Bard's music. When you were the winner of
:35:52. > :35:56.Britain's got talent, actually you came second but we think you one,
:35:57. > :36:02.but when that happened, it is a huge change for you. Suddenly you became
:36:03. > :36:07.a world name overnight. Having a good, Scottish grounding, did that
:36:08. > :36:16.help? It helped a lot because my parents told me never to be big
:36:17. > :36:21.headed and I have stuck to it. Is it still important, do you think, that
:36:22. > :36:31.we take our roots seriously? Or do we tend to romanticise our roots? I
:36:32. > :36:36.think it is possible to romanticise. I left Scotland as my home when I
:36:37. > :36:40.was ten years old. I think with a little bit of distance it is
:36:41. > :36:45.definitely possible to romanticise. That can be the case of anything. It
:36:46. > :36:52.may not be a bad thing but distance can also give you a more realistic
:36:53. > :36:56.view, and perhaps a less grumpy one. I think coming back to Scotland, I
:36:57. > :37:03.experience so many different facets of it, not just from within a home,
:37:04. > :37:08.but meeting so many teachers, young people, groups of audiences that
:37:09. > :37:13.come to my concerts. I manage, through those views, to have a
:37:14. > :37:17.pretty wide view of the country. Susan, you have stayed very close to
:37:18. > :37:23.your roots. Is that a conscious decision, or just the way you like
:37:24. > :37:27.it? It is a conscious decision because it is part of one's identity
:37:28. > :37:33.and you need your identity to survive. You tend to lose your
:37:34. > :37:36.identity because people expect you to behave in different ways when you
:37:37. > :37:43.become famous. It helps to keep you grounded. Do roots matter in
:37:44. > :37:49.politics? You ask the strangest questions. I thought you were going
:37:50. > :37:57.to ask me about my roots. Why would I do that? Because I have two
:37:58. > :38:01.parents who are not English, which I have always found interesting. Your
:38:02. > :38:06.roots are Spanish and Scottish, as we can tell from your accent! But I
:38:07. > :38:12.would suggest your Spanish roots are more important to you than your
:38:13. > :38:18.Scottish roots. I have a much bigger Spanish family. I have very little
:38:19. > :38:22.Scottish family left so I am no longer in the habit of coming to
:38:23. > :38:27.visit family in Scotland. But in my childhood I was a more frequent
:38:28. > :38:33.visitor to Scotland than to Spain. And your Jamaican roots are
:38:34. > :38:36.important to you, still. They are important but what matters in
:38:37. > :38:41.politics is authenticity. For some people authenticity is tied up with
:38:42. > :38:49.their culture. I want to say how pleased I am to be on with Susan
:38:50. > :38:52.Boyle. My son always tells me I am meeting rubbish celebrities but this
:38:53. > :39:00.time I have met and a list celebrity. You should have heard
:39:01. > :39:05.what she was saying in the green room. It is just terrible. Tell me
:39:06. > :39:16.this, why has the Labour Party lost its roots? The audience could
:39:17. > :39:20.probably say as well as I do. The Labour Party was traumatised by
:39:21. > :39:26.losing to the Conservatives three or four times in a row. But they won
:39:27. > :39:31.three times in a row. They were traumatised by it and it got to a
:39:32. > :39:38.position where it was about doing almost anything to win. We moved
:39:39. > :39:42.sharply to the right. But the Tories have not lost their roots. They have
:39:43. > :39:49.gone back to their roots, Eton and Oxford. I think all parties have
:39:50. > :39:54.lost their roots, and I think that is quite a good thing. I think a
:39:55. > :39:57.political system where you could count on 10 million votes in each
:39:58. > :40:03.election without having to think about them, if you were working
:40:04. > :40:07.class you were Labour and middle-class you were Conservative,
:40:08. > :40:10.that was unhealthy. Of course, the turmoil in which we find ourselves
:40:11. > :40:14.is agony for the Labour Party and for the Conservative Party. And it
:40:15. > :40:18.may be that at the next election both the Conservative Party and the
:40:19. > :40:22.Labour Party get about 30% of the vote. In other words, historically
:40:23. > :40:26.bad results, although one of them will probably have to form the
:40:27. > :40:31.government. It is turmoil and agony for the parties but I think it is
:40:32. > :40:35.much more healthy that parties have to search around and reinvent
:40:36. > :40:42.themselves and attract support. Susan, you travel the world, as does
:40:43. > :40:44.Nicola, isn't it quite good to have Scottish roots, because people are
:40:45. > :40:50.intrigued and they want to know more about where you come from and what
:40:51. > :41:04.Scotland is like? They tend to be more accepting of Scots. Sorry. They
:41:05. > :41:13.tend to be... That would not be hard to understand. I am frightened to
:41:14. > :41:18.say anything. I think I just did. If you say you are from Scotland, they
:41:19. > :41:22.find it interesting. I have to definitely agree. I think saying
:41:23. > :41:28.that I am Scottish is definitely welcomed with open arms. And then I
:41:29. > :41:34.often say I am Scots Italian, and that is even bigger open arms.
:41:35. > :41:39.Sometimes. But I would say it is very... It has been interesting for
:41:40. > :41:45.me recently recording much more Scottish music. When is that coming
:41:46. > :41:56.out? It was out on Monday. Did you bring a CD, but I forgot it is now
:41:57. > :42:01.2014. Downloading. Playing a lot of Scottish music, for me, was almost a
:42:02. > :42:06.return to many of the origins of the instrument that I play. And it was a
:42:07. > :42:11.meeting place for me personally, because I have been playing music
:42:12. > :42:14.from other cultures for the majority of my time playing violin. And yet
:42:15. > :42:22.violin is so integral to Scottish culture. When I was a lad, there was
:42:23. > :42:27.a great Scottish tenor, another Paisley lad, I thought I would add
:42:28. > :42:31.to the Edinburgh audience. And he did lots of Scottish ballads, as
:42:32. > :42:40.well as classical music. You do Scottish ballads, too. I do some
:42:41. > :42:44.Scottish ballads. I do some pop music and stuff like that. I am
:42:45. > :42:48.Proby more well known for the ballads. We are delighted to have
:42:49. > :42:57.you both here tonight. You do not get this on Newsnight. Susan Boyle
:42:58. > :43:02.and Nicola Benedetti. APPLAUSE
:43:03. > :43:06.That's your lot for tonight folks, but not for us.
:43:07. > :43:08.I'm making a quick getaway to catch the last tram to Leith with
:43:09. > :43:11.our two saucy sofa Sassenachs before the audience storms
:43:12. > :43:18.the stage looking for autographs from Diane and kisses from Michael.
:43:19. > :43:22.What's that? The tramlines never
:43:23. > :43:30.made it to Leith? Never mind, Charles is still
:43:31. > :43:34.moonlighting as a mini-cab driver. Thanks to everyone in Edinburgh
:43:35. > :43:40.for coming out tonight, and any viewers still watching.
:43:41. > :43:49.And you never know, if they pay us enough money we may
:43:50. > :43:54.just come back one more time before the big vote in September.
:43:55. > :44:00.Nighty-night, don't let Auld Lang Syne bite.