10/07/2014 This Week


10/07/2014

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From the heart of Edin-boro, capital of Scot-land, broadcasting

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around the world, sort of, it's This Week with Andrew Neil.

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Tonight, Michael "Choo Choo" Portillo.

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Diane "never left London before" Abbott.

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And chat show Charlie Kennedy. Dreams finally come true

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for singing superstar Susan Boyle. Violinist extraordinaire

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Nicola Benedetti. Social-ist firebrand,

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Tommy Sheridan. And your host, cub reporter

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and Paisley Boy, Andrew Neil! Evenin' all.

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Welcome to the Ghillie Dhu in the heart of Auld Reekie,

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and a special edition of This Weekie, with a barely live, over the

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limit audience of tragic tartan This Week fans and Blue Nun Addicts.

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Yes, against our better judgement, and strict BBC health and safety

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guidelines, we've forsaken our spiritual home in the secure

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ignorance of the Westminster bubble, packed the This Week Transit van,

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programmed the sat nav and headed beyond the wall that

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Hadrian built, for good reason, to visit my homeland, before I need

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a visa and even more vaccinations. The Irn Blu Nun is extra chilled,

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unlike Michael Portillo. But the rest

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of us are far too excited to be nervous, because helping us dial up

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the Scottishness volume all the way to 11, I'm joined tonight by

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my very own personal ceilidh band. They follow me everywhere.

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Take it away Carrie on Dancing. More from Carrie on Dancing later.

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Now, we thought long and hard about the most authentically Scottish way

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of kicking off tonight's show and decided blowing up a residential

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block that nobody lives in, long since fallen into disrepair, that

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fails to comply with any modern building standards would be,

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to quote the Glasgow Commonwealth Games organisers, an "unforgettable

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statement of how Scotland is confidently embracing the future".

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But before we cross to our live demolition of Edinburgh

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Castle, let me first introduce you to our dynamite panel.

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Because I'm joined on the sofa tonight by two docile

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creatures who've always struggled to conceive of anything original, with

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or without artificial stimulation. Think of them as the two giant

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pandas of late night political chat. I speak, of course,

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of #McBaffled Diane "where the hell am I - this isn't Hackney

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" Abbott, and everyone's favourite half-Scot, #sadmanonatram Michael

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"och aye the choo choo" Portillo. And not forgetting the forbidden

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Lib Dem fruit of their loins #chatshowcharlie Charles "redheads

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always have more fun" Kennedy. Now, you often hear about a once in

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a generation decision in politics. But this September Scotland will

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take a once in 307 years decision when it holds a referendum on

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whether the 1707 Act of Union should be repealed and Scotland revert to

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an independent nation-state. We wanted to cover this historic

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moment with the gravity it deserves. But Sir Sean didn't return

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our calls. Lines to tax havens can

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sometimes be dodgy! The cast of Rab C Nesbitt were too

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busy tucking into some deep-fried chicken and chips at the

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Battered Together Bistro. And the Krankies are already

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rehearsing for panto. Don't believe me?

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Just look behind you. So here's socialist politician

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and independence campaigner Tommy Sheridan instead.

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This is his Take of the Week. Choose life, choose more jobs,

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choose homes, choose free education, a living wage, choose spending in

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hospitals and schools, not immoral nuclear bombs, choose a new, fairer

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Scotland. Choose independence. On the 18th of September, Scotland

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has a massive choice to make but it has nothing to do with Alex Salmond,

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nothing to do with the SNP, nothing to do with any party or individual.

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This choice is about Scotland's future. This referendum is about

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freedom. Freedom to never have a Tory government in Scotland ever

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again. Since 1951, Scotland has never voted for the Tories, but we

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have had to enjoy a 35 years of Tory government. Never again. It is time

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to reject the Westminster creed of greed. The privatisation agenda that

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cells of public services for the City of London. We don't want any

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more of that. We want a first-class health and education system in

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public hands, run for social benefit, not private profit. We want

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to invest in children, not bombs. We want to build a new, fairer

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Scotland, a better Scotland, a more socially progressive Scotland. That

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is what we are going to build. Together. I choose to reject fear. I

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chose to -- I chose something else. And the reasons? Who needs reasons

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when you have got This Week. And from the mean streets

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of Edinburgh to our little mean street here at the Ghillie Dhu,

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Tommy Sheridan joins us now. So, independence for you isn't

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socialism in one country. It is freedom. Freedom to build a Scottish

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socialist society? I hope so. My vision will be different from other

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people, but we are not voting for political vision, we are voting for

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the right to choose the vision we want two years down the line. That

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is why freedom is important. If Scotland was, and I know this may

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hard be, but if Scotland was a right of centre country... That is a very

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hard to think. It was in the 1950s. Would you still be in favour of

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independence. Very much so. One of your acolytes contacted me after the

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meeting in Kirk all the when I said, vote for independence and there will

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never be a Tory government in Scotland again. He contacted me and

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said, the Tories get 15 or 20% of the vote and they might win an

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election in Scotland. So I said, vote for independence and we will

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never get a Tory government in Scotland again, unless the people of

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Scotland voted for it, and there is more chance of my hair growing back

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than that of the Tories getting in in Scotland. So there is a slight

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chance. Diane, you must be attracted to this vision of Scotland. I am

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sure you agreed with everything he said. Why shouldn't they go for it?

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On the one hand, I can see the attraction of voting and never

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having a Tory government again. This is not an argument I am putting to

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the Scottish people but for the Labour Party in England it would be

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disastrous. That is not his concern. I know. The only thing I would say

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is that it does not seem that either party in Westminster, not your party

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so much, but Tories or Labour, have a plan B if the Scots vote for

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independence. That could be very difficult. If

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independence. That could be very unthinkable, we don't seem to have a

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plan B in Westminster. Why should he bother about that when he is

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thinking of what he would like Scotland to be? I think Andrew is a

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bit wrong by saying it would be a disaster for Labour. I never

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mentioned Labour in England. Maybe it was Diane. Working-class folk

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would be very impressed with what we do in Scotland. We are not going to

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abandon English working-class people. We are going to lead them

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and show them that the neoliberal privatisation agenda of Westminster

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is not the only game and you can do things differently. That will

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inspire people. Would an independent Scotland B is left as Tommy thinks?

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No. This lengthy debate in Scotland, and Tommy is drawing a distinction,

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the conflation of having the right to choose, but you can be certain

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that that right will lead to the kind of a Gaelic Terry and

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policies, non-nuclear policies, etc. -- a Gaelic Terry. The people who

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grace your programme regularly, and we know them well in Scotland, he or

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his points out, and it is a valid point, opinion polls are interesting

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but the social attitudes survey that is conducted each year tells you

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much more, and actually Scottish sentiment and opinion, politically

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and across a broad range of issues, is not as out of kilter with the

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other side of the border as is often thought. Michael, in purely party

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political terms, Scottish independence would make Tory

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government is more likely than now. Not always, but more likely. In

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England, Wales and Northern Ireland, yes. Why has David Cameron made such

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a commitment to the union? Because he believes in it. He also believes

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that for a Tory Prime Minister to lose the union would be a personal

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and political disaster. Would he have to resign? Definitely. Are you

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Michael? I thought you were Tommy. You would want him to resign if he

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blew his nose. Absolutely. He would be under tremendous pressure to

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resign. Can I keep going? May I had dressed Tommy Sheridan's basic

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thesis? I think an independent Scotland would move to the right,

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not the left. Check the water. It is not water! The levels of public

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spending in Scotland today, the number of people employed by the

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state and housed by the state and the number of people on welfare

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through the state is achieved by very large deficits. By English

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transparent subsidy and by implicit subsidy, because Scotland is

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guaranteed by association with England. It is able to do things,

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fiscally, low-level soft Corporation tax and

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try to be attractive. He is talking rubbish. He is arguing for the

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legalisation of cannabis, and I think he has been smoking it. For

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the last 33 years in a row, we in Scotland have paid more into the

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Exchequer in London than we have got back. We are not subsidy junkies, we

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are net contributors to the UK economy and you ought to get a grip

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with that reality. Why is saving the union important, Charles Kennedy? I

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think it is geographically, historically, rather a unique

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example of an historic 300 year plus successful working union, on a

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voluntary basis, of a mixture of countries that make up this part of

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the British Isles. And I think that, through all its imperfections, is a

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family. Families have ups and downs and quarrels but at the end of the

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day you are still part of the family. I think that sentiment is

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important. But it is more than that. So why are we having the referendum

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if that is true? Well, this library is full of books dedicated to this

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subject. One of the principal reasons is Margaret Thatcher. She is

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the mother of devolution. I do not think she will prove to be the

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mother of Scottish independence. But I think the extent to which she

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alienate it so much of middle opinion in Scotland, which going

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back to the 1950s, through my childhood, indeed until when I was

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elected in the House of Commons, the Conservatives were still a viable,

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vibrant force. She lost that. And what will happen, if we went

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independent, and this is where Tommy's Rodman would be tested, is

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what happens to the SNP as a force in independence. -- Tommy's

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argument. It used to be the case that they would go their separate

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ways, left and right. We have come to the end of this part, so I will

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give you the final word. Charles and his friends believe UK is OK. We

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have 900,000 people in poverty because of your government. We have

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zero-hours contracts. We have 500,000 people surviving on food

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banks. We have poverty all over Britain. UK OK is not good enough.

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We should be ashamed and it is time for change. Tommy Sheridan!

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APPLAUSE Now, it's late, babe station late. But

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don't be tempted to turn over for you free ten minutes... Just yet.

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Because we didn't come all the way to Edinburgh without something

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special in store, even better than Michael Portillo going commando in a

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kit, waiting in the wings, the flower of Scotland, global

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superstar, the one and only Susan Boyle, is here, joining us to talk

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about the importance of roots and violinist Miss Benedetti. Carry on

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dancing, give us something to cheer us up?

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APPLAUSE. Fan. Now, there are just over two

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months to go until the big vote. Amid the trading of facts, figures

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and fiction between the yes and No Campaigns, there are those who say

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there's been a nasty part to the vote. What does that tell us about

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today's Scotland? We turned to Sarah Smith. This is a round-up of the

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referendum. The big news this week was unveiling

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the Tartan team Scotland will be wearing many the quays. Now, I'll

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not be putting it on myself, so why not try and make my own? -- during

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the Commonwealth Games. I wish I had as much money to create my own

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Tartan as both sides had on creating their own campaign. ?4 million has

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been donated to better together, yet Scotland have raised less than half

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that much because they say they get their money from struggling Scots.

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Better together get their cash from billionaire bankers and English

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Tories. This spat is typical of the campaign

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so far. Just look at the abuse JK Rowling received when she dodo

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negotiated ?1 million to the Better Together Campaign.

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She was called names on Twitter. There is a name for the national is

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who spout abuse on Twitter about anyone who disagrees, they are

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called cyber Nates and I've had plenty of attacks from them and they

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don't like how I'm covering the campaign. This nastiness isn't all

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one-sided. Alex Salmond's had death threats. He's been compared to Kim

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Jong-Il by Alistair Darling. He's calling for a less vitriolic

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campaign. We should as a Parliament and society stand up against that

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handful of people who're attempting to pollute this independence debate.

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We have the most invigorating and livening debate almost in political

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history taking place in Scotland and if all of us condemn such Internet

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abuse and stand together, then we have a good chance of driving out of

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the debate. But round and round the abuse and

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the name-calling continues. Teak says it's not just the scribe e-Nat,

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it's even the Scottish Government itself.

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Huge amount of pressure is put on businesses by the Scottish

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Government with all sorts of threats and warnings if they speak out and

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say what they believe is the truth. I would urge them to speak out, talk

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with their workforces, talk about the strength of our United Kingdom

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and vote to keep it together. That is strongly denied by the

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Scottish Government. Why is it bitter and nasty? This is the most

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significant election the Scots have ever seen. It could be momentous and

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irrevocable. Some will go to any lengths to win. What effect does all

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this bile have on the voters? Many have just switched off. A poll

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showed 63% of people say they have stopped listening to the debate

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because both sides contradict each other all the time.

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Obviously what you really want to know is who is going to win. The

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momentum in the yes camp seems to have stalled a bit. If they are

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going to win in September, they probably need a game-changer between

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now and then. What could that be? There will be two TV debates between

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Alistair Darling and Alex Salmond. Alex Salmond is a strong performer

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so he hopes that might just do the trick.

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At the end of the day, it's all going to come down to who can get

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their vote out. Scotland are convinced they have the better

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ground campaign, so if they can get a high turnout, it could be all to

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play for. You don't have to wait until

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September to see the results of my efforts today. An true, we don't

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want you feeling left out associations the McKneel Tartan just

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for you. -- McNeil.

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Thank you, Sarah. I'm told this is it. It's not the one she held up.

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I'm not sure if we are allowed the wear it.

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That was Sarah and we are joined by superstar SNP Member of Parliament,

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the man who Alex Salmond fears even more than a no-vote, Stuart Hosey.

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That's donior career the world of good. Why has the campaign,

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certainly on the ens, been, as Sarah Smith described, so full of bile and

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bitterness? I think the pont you made on the edge is that we are

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seeing tens of thousands of activists, all walks of lifeall

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backgrounds, all political persuasions and none actively

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campaigning for a new, independent better Scotland. But you are right.

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On the fringe, there are people saying mean and inappropriate things

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on Twitter and Facebook and that needs to stop, as the First Minister

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said. Has the debate, Charles, particularly on your side of the

:22:34.:22:41.

argument? The Scots are... Has it made people stay schtum? Inevitably

:22:42.:22:49.

on this, I use this word "unique" again, but this is a unique

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circumstance. In these yew niching circumstances -- unique

:22:57.:22:59.

circumstances, if you are running a small business, running a newspaper

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and has public sector advertisements, the Scottish

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Government says this could be an independent Scotland. You are going

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to be careful about not burning your boats or bridges rather, depending

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on the outcome. I've also had casually, if you like, informally, I

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can't swear on the Bible and say here's the evidence, but quite a lot

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of scenior people in different walks of civic economic life in Scotland

:23:29.:23:33.

have failed. Whether they have been pressurised directly or whether they

:23:34.:23:37.

just feel it. The fact is, perception is that they have got to

:23:38.:23:40.

slightly pull the punches and I don't think that's healthy.

:23:41.:23:47.

Vice-Chancellor as they are known in England, and businessmen? Is he

:23:48.:23:52.

right or wrong? A lot is anecdotal. We had the Scottish whisky

:23:53.:23:56.

association come out today and say they haven't been worried, they have

:23:57.:24:01.

been having robust discusses with both sides and you would expect

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that. When etalk about business people being afraid, I wouldn't buy

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this. We are seeing the huge growth in

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business and Scotland. People perfectly compared to put their

:24:18.:24:21.

cards on the table fbt. This cuts both ways.

:24:22.:24:24.

You are looking from the outside in, what do you make of the tone of the

:24:25.:24:29.

campaign? I don't think the tone is unreasonably bitter and I don't

:24:30.:24:33.

think it will be won or lost by Vice-Chancellors. My sense talking

:24:34.:24:38.

to colleagues, can be won or lost by thousands of people who haven't

:24:39.:24:42.

necessarily voted before in the Central Bank. So what

:24:43.:24:46.

Vice-Chancellors do or do not do is not the same as young people voting

:24:47.:24:52.

for the very first time and perhaps poor people voting for the first

:24:53.:24:54.

time. What do you think of the tone of the

:24:55.:24:59.

campaign, Michael? It reminds me of the tone of campaigns across the

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untri-20 or 30 years ago. The fact is, in England, probably Scotland

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too in general elections, we've gotten used to a kind of soft middle

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sort of politics in which people have not been very barbed with each

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other. If you go back to tell radio of Mrs Thatcher, things were barbed

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and tough -- back to the era. Twitter is the modern day shouting

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at people from your car. I thought you stopped doing that? That is the

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way people using Twitter abuse each other. That is a feature of modern

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life. Many are anonymous as well. Indeed. What is the evidence that

:25:48.:25:52.

there is momentum behind the yes campaign, because the polls seem

:25:53.:26:00.

to... It's Diane's point. People who don't normally vote, people haven't

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engaged in party might be, it's about finding people who don't have

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the campaign. The phrase the silent majority. You can't help but feel in

:26:28.:26:31.

Scotland there's a big block that know how they are going to vote and

:26:32.:26:35.

probably have known and can't change their mind. We are all competing

:26:36.:26:41.

over this, I think we'd agree, 20% or thereabouts in the middle. That's

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the silent majority. In what direction will may make their voices

:26:49.:26:52.

heard? The next two months are crucial. The final month is critical

:26:53.:26:58.

after the school holidays come to an end much earlier than the viewers

:26:59.:27:02.

watching, out with Scotland, that will really be protests moving to

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complete and utter decision and nobody really knows about the silent

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majority. You are trying to chase a part of the electorate that it's

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hard to get a handle on. I suggest it's probably concentrated in the

:27:18.:27:21.

west of Scotland too. Let me put this point to you, Charles Kennedy.

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The Better Together Campaign has tried to frighten the horses. Has it

:27:25.:27:32.

made a compelling campaign? I think that if you like, the bad cop part

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of the campaign came first and I raised my voice and said I thought

:27:37.:27:41.

we were too negative. I thinker getting more of the positive good

:27:42.:27:45.

cop that this should be a good discussion. Who is the good cop? If

:27:46.:27:51.

people vote no and that wins, you are not just putting the clamps on

:27:52.:27:57.

any further constitutional development, vis-a-vis Scotland.

:27:58.:28:00.

What you are saying is, no to outright independence, maintenance

:28:01.:28:10.

of the UK, but my goodness the UK has got to do better. There is a lot

:28:11.:28:16.

of the silent majority wanting to hear more about it. Are we going to

:28:17.:28:25.

have Salmond Darling debates? I think that's been agreed but the

:28:26.:28:28.

dates haven't. What do you maybe of them? Remember

:28:29.:28:32.

the impact of the first Clegg debate. That seemed to go well, but

:28:33.:28:37.

if memory serves, the Liberals ended up losing three seats, so the hype

:28:38.:28:41.

of the debate wasn't determining the outcome. I think this could be quite

:28:42.:28:45.

significant. More importantly than the First Minister debating Alistair

:28:46.:28:49.

Darling, as well as David Cameron starting to pull the strings from

:28:50.:28:52.

behind-the-scenes and finding the guts to have a debate himself...

:28:53.:28:58.

What are the strings he's pulling He's pulling the strings, heart,

:28:59.:29:02.

mind, body and soul. He doesn't talk to me very often. Do

:29:03.:29:08.

you think the debates will make much difference Michael? I think this

:29:09.:29:13.

thing has not in any way begun. The opinion polls are of no interest or

:29:14.:29:19.

importance whatsoever. I covered the Scottish election in 2011 alongside

:29:20.:29:24.

Alex Salmond and, as he began the election campaign, he was behind in

:29:25.:29:28.

the opinion polls and finished 14 points ahead of the Labour Party

:29:29.:29:31.

with an overall majority so that is a movement that occurred if a

:29:32.:29:37.

four-week period. So clearly, the Scottish electorate is volatile and

:29:38.:29:43.

clearly Salmond is persuasive. Looking at it, the unionist campaign

:29:44.:29:47.

has seemed very negative. Looking at it from the point of view from

:29:48.:29:52.

someone whose family came from a former colony, I'm not saying that's

:29:53.:29:55.

a precise analogy of Scotland, but what I do know is, you never

:29:56.:29:59.

persuaded people not to fight for independence by telling them they

:30:00.:30:03.

can't possibly manage without you, that has never worked.

:30:04.:30:07.

Who are you going to blame if you lose? I don't believe we're going to

:30:08.:30:19.

lose. Will you blame the media, the Tories in London? The yes

:30:20.:30:25.

campaigners need to pray every waking hour to win this campaign. He

:30:26.:30:30.

has not answered my question but I'm used to it. It is an occupational

:30:31.:30:35.

hazard. Will you run for the Scottish parliament if Scotland goes

:30:36.:30:40.

independent? History is littered with generals planning the next but

:30:41.:30:44.

one battle and losing the one in front of them. Let's win the one in

:30:45.:30:48.

front of us. I can't answer right now because that would be to concede

:30:49.:30:52.

something I am not prepared to concede, comrades. That is what

:30:53.:31:00.

happens when you sit beside Tommy Sheridan for five minutes. Right, it

:31:01.:31:10.

is make your mind up time. I want a yes or no. No equivocating drivel.

:31:11.:31:16.

What will the result be on the 18th? Too close to call. Too close to

:31:17.:31:29.

call. Now you see what I have to put up with. No wonder. I am only 28.

:31:30.:31:37.

That is what it does to you. It will be a no vote, but it will be tight

:31:38.:31:41.

on the night, and I have thought that for two years. It will be a yes

:31:42.:31:46.

vote with a larger majority than anyone can imagine. Very well. We

:31:47.:31:53.

will see if you are right. Not you two.

:31:54.:31:55.

Right, enough of this tedious political chat.

:31:56.:31:58.

Carrie On Dancing, put a smile back on our faces.

:31:59.:32:06.

Now, at the Tories' summer ball last week in London, the wife of a

:32:07.:32:24.

Russian banker paid ?160,000 to play a game of tennis with David Cameron

:32:25.:32:28.

and Boris Johnson. At the SNP annual ceilidh last winter in Inverness,

:32:29.:32:35.

the wife of an Argyll crofter paid five whole Scottish pounds to spend

:32:36.:32:39.

the day curling with John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon. The jury's

:32:40.:32:44.

still out on who has more money than sense. But it goes to show that they

:32:45.:32:49.

do things differently north of the border, which is why we've decided

:32:50.:32:53.

to put "roots" in this week's Spotlight.

:32:54.:33:01.

Singing superstar Susan Boyle has sold more than 19

:33:02.:33:04.

million records worldwide. Not bad for a small town

:33:05.:33:07.

girl who dreamed a dream. But she certainly hasn't let fame

:33:08.:33:10.

and fortune go to her head, staying close to

:33:11.:33:12.

the roots that nurtured her talent, and always calling Scotland home.

:33:13.:33:23.

Culture north of the border goes far deeper and

:33:24.:33:29.

wider than just music, of course. So, for born-and-bred Scots,

:33:30.:33:32.

how much are they shaped by the landscape, the literature,

:33:33.:33:37.

the history, and the whisky? And with the Scottish uniforms

:33:38.:33:39.

for the Commonwealth Games, doing tartan with a twist.

:33:40.:33:42.

Should we always be proud of our roots, no matter where

:33:43.:33:46.

the criticism comes from? But just how important are

:33:47.:33:49.

our ancestral origins, and can they sometimes cause political tensions?

:33:50.:33:52.

Whether Scottish, Spanish, Jamaican, or even French, does where you've

:33:53.:33:57.

come from always end up influencing where you're going?

:33:58.:34:05.

And we're joined on the sofa by two people who are proof that

:34:06.:34:08.

Scotland's got more talent than almost anywhere else on earth,

:34:09.:34:12.

the sensational singer Susan Boyle, and the astonishing violinist

:34:13.:34:13.

Nicola Benedetti. Wright, Nicola, we will start with

:34:14.:34:33.

you. How important are your Scottish roots to you and where you now are?

:34:34.:34:40.

My Scottish roots are extremely important. I probably heard the

:34:41.:34:45.

violin for the first time obviously in Scotland, but playing Scottish

:34:46.:34:50.

music. The instrument is inextricable from Scottish folk

:34:51.:34:54.

traditional music. In saying that, I started playing classical music very

:34:55.:34:58.

young and through that immediately started playing the music of many

:34:59.:35:02.

cultures across the world. I think that always gave me a very balanced

:35:03.:35:08.

view of celebrating my Scottish nurse, and the music of Scotland,

:35:09.:35:13.

but at the same time simultaneously celebrating and experiencing so many

:35:14.:35:21.

musics of other cultures. Susan, how important have your Scottish roots

:35:22.:35:26.

been to get to where you are? They are very important. It is a wide

:35:27.:35:35.

spectrum of music I have begun to cover. I have been doing anything

:35:36.:35:44.

from ballads to the Bard's music. When you were the winner of

:35:45.:35:51.

Britain's got talent, actually you came second but we think you one,

:35:52.:35:56.

but when that happened, it is a huge change for you. Suddenly you became

:35:57.:36:02.

a world name overnight. Having a good, Scottish grounding, did that

:36:03.:36:07.

help? It helped a lot because my parents told me never to be big

:36:08.:36:16.

headed and I have stuck to it. Is it still important, do you think, that

:36:17.:36:21.

we take our roots seriously? Or do we tend to romanticise our roots? I

:36:22.:36:31.

think it is possible to romanticise. I left Scotland as my home when I

:36:32.:36:36.

was ten years old. I think with a little bit of distance it is

:36:37.:36:40.

definitely possible to romanticise. That can be the case of anything. It

:36:41.:36:45.

may not be a bad thing but distance can also give you a more realistic

:36:46.:36:52.

view, and perhaps a less grumpy one. I think coming back to Scotland, I

:36:53.:36:56.

experience so many different facets of it, not just from within a home,

:36:57.:37:03.

but meeting so many teachers, young people, groups of audiences that

:37:04.:37:08.

come to my concerts. I manage, through those views, to have a

:37:09.:37:13.

pretty wide view of the country. Susan, you have stayed very close to

:37:14.:37:17.

your roots. Is that a conscious decision, or just the way you like

:37:18.:37:23.

it? It is a conscious decision because it is part of one's identity

:37:24.:37:27.

and you need your identity to survive. You tend to lose your

:37:28.:37:33.

identity because people expect you to behave in different ways when you

:37:34.:37:36.

become famous. It helps to keep you grounded. Do roots matter in

:37:37.:37:43.

politics? You ask the strangest questions. I thought you were going

:37:44.:37:49.

to ask me about my roots. Why would I do that? Because I have two

:37:50.:37:57.

parents who are not English, which I have always found interesting. Your

:37:58.:38:01.

roots are Spanish and Scottish, as we can tell from your accent! But I

:38:02.:38:06.

would suggest your Spanish roots are more important to you than your

:38:07.:38:12.

Scottish roots. I have a much bigger Spanish family. I have very little

:38:13.:38:18.

Scottish family left so I am no longer in the habit of coming to

:38:19.:38:22.

visit family in Scotland. But in my childhood I was a more frequent

:38:23.:38:27.

visitor to Scotland than to Spain. And your Jamaican roots are

:38:28.:38:33.

important to you, still. They are important but what matters in

:38:34.:38:36.

politics is authenticity. For some people authenticity is tied up with

:38:37.:38:41.

their culture. I want to say how pleased I am to be on with Susan

:38:42.:38:49.

Boyle. My son always tells me I am meeting rubbish celebrities but this

:38:50.:38:52.

time I have met and a list celebrity. You should have heard

:38:53.:39:00.

what she was saying in the green room. It is just terrible. Tell me

:39:01.:39:05.

this, why has the Labour Party lost its roots? The audience could

:39:06.:39:16.

probably say as well as I do. The Labour Party was traumatised by

:39:17.:39:20.

losing to the Conservatives three or four times in a row. But they won

:39:21.:39:26.

three times in a row. They were traumatised by it and it got to a

:39:27.:39:31.

position where it was about doing almost anything to win. We moved

:39:32.:39:38.

sharply to the right. But the Tories have not lost their roots. They have

:39:39.:39:42.

gone back to their roots, Eton and Oxford. I think all parties have

:39:43.:39:49.

lost their roots, and I think that is quite a good thing. I think a

:39:50.:39:54.

political system where you could count on 10 million votes in each

:39:55.:39:57.

election without having to think about them, if you were working

:39:58.:40:03.

class you were Labour and middle-class you were Conservative,

:40:04.:40:07.

that was unhealthy. Of course, the turmoil in which we find ourselves

:40:08.:40:10.

is agony for the Labour Party and for the Conservative Party. And it

:40:11.:40:14.

may be that at the next election both the Conservative Party and the

:40:15.:40:18.

Labour Party get about 30% of the vote. In other words, historically

:40:19.:40:22.

bad results, although one of them will probably have to form the

:40:23.:40:26.

government. It is turmoil and agony for the parties but I think it is

:40:27.:40:31.

much more healthy that parties have to search around and reinvent

:40:32.:40:35.

themselves and attract support. Susan, you travel the world, as does

:40:36.:40:42.

Nicola, isn't it quite good to have Scottish roots, because people are

:40:43.:40:44.

intrigued and they want to know more about where you come from and what

:40:45.:40:50.

Scotland is like? They tend to be more accepting of Scots. Sorry. They

:40:51.:41:04.

tend to be... That would not be hard to understand. I am frightened to

:41:05.:41:13.

say anything. I think I just did. If you say you are from Scotland, they

:41:14.:41:18.

find it interesting. I have to definitely agree. I think saying

:41:19.:41:22.

that I am Scottish is definitely welcomed with open arms. And then I

:41:23.:41:28.

often say I am Scots Italian, and that is even bigger open arms.

:41:29.:41:34.

Sometimes. But I would say it is very... It has been interesting for

:41:35.:41:39.

me recently recording much more Scottish music. When is that coming

:41:40.:41:45.

out? It was out on Monday. Did you bring a CD, but I forgot it is now

:41:46.:41:56.

2014. Downloading. Playing a lot of Scottish music, for me, was almost a

:41:57.:42:01.

return to many of the origins of the instrument that I play. And it was a

:42:02.:42:06.

meeting place for me personally, because I have been playing music

:42:07.:42:11.

from other cultures for the majority of my time playing violin. And yet

:42:12.:42:14.

violin is so integral to Scottish culture. When I was a lad, there was

:42:15.:42:22.

a great Scottish tenor, another Paisley lad, I thought I would add

:42:23.:42:27.

to the Edinburgh audience. And he did lots of Scottish ballads, as

:42:28.:42:31.

well as classical music. You do Scottish ballads, too. I do some

:42:32.:42:40.

Scottish ballads. I do some pop music and stuff like that. I am

:42:41.:42:44.

Proby more well known for the ballads. We are delighted to have

:42:45.:42:48.

you both here tonight. You do not get this on Newsnight. Susan Boyle

:42:49.:42:57.

and Nicola Benedetti. APPLAUSE

:42:58.:43:02.

That's your lot for tonight folks, but not for us.

:43:03.:43:06.

I'm making a quick getaway to catch the last tram to Leith with

:43:07.:43:08.

our two saucy sofa Sassenachs before the audience storms

:43:09.:43:11.

the stage looking for autographs from Diane and kisses from Michael.

:43:12.:43:18.

What's that? The tramlines never

:43:19.:43:22.

made it to Leith? Never mind, Charles is still

:43:23.:43:30.

moonlighting as a mini-cab driver. Thanks to everyone in Edinburgh

:43:31.:43:34.

for coming out tonight, and any viewers still watching.

:43:35.:43:40.

And you never know, if they pay us enough money we may

:43:41.:43:49.

just come back one more time before the big vote in September.

:43:50.:43:54.

Nighty-night, don't let Auld Lang Syne bite.

:43:55.:44:00.

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