TRNN hears from both sides of the debate on whether to vote for independence from the United Kingdom
Story Transcript
Coproduced by Alan Knight and Tim Mitchell in Scotland
JAISAL NOOR, TRNN PRODUCER: The people of Scotland head to the polls on Thursday to vote on whether to get independence from the United Kingdom. Scotland has been part of the U.K. for the past three centuries but has its own local parliament. Some Scots, who make up about 8 percent of U.K.โs population, want more local governance and freedom from London, who often vote in more right-wing governments than Scotland does. Prime Minister David Cameron, a Tory, is a staunch opponent of independence, and his government has embraced neoliberal policies and austerity at the cost of the social safety net.
DAVID CAMERON, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: And itโs my duty to be clear about the likely consequences of a yes vote. Independence would not be a trial separation; it would be a painful divorce. And as prime minister, I have to tell you what that would mean. It would mean we no longer share the same currency. It would mean the Armed Forces we built up together over centuries being split up forever. It would mean our pension funds being sliced up at some cost. It would mean the borders we have would become international and may no longer be so easily crossed.
NOOR: Some banks and financial institutions have threatened to leave Scotland if it cedes from the U.K., and opponents warn the country could face economic crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED VOTER: And the reason Iโm voting no is โcause I think the Union is better the way it is, because thereโs various other companies that are wanting to leave Scotland if Scotland becomes independent, and I donโt thinkโpersonally, my own view is I donโt think Scotland will survive as an independent country. And the reason that is is because theyโre going to put a 5 percent tax rise on your wages every month. Thereโs been [statuses (?)] about that, but your wages donโt go up. So that means, like, [incompr.] paying 20 percent, and thatโs my insurance and tax every week. So [incompr.] paying twenty-two and a half percent every week, thatโs twenty-two and a half percent of your wages gone. And as I said, the wages donโt go up. So thereโs no point.
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INTERVIEWER: Can you give us your reasons for voting yes?
GRANT SMITH, VOTER: Growing up in Scotland and then living in England for ten years I saw quite a big change, big difference, really, in coming home and getting a chance to be part of it and just a better future for our children, my child.
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ALICE MCGENILY, VOTER: I think itโs a golden opportunity for Scotland to be independent. But itโs education Iโm concerned about, whether itโs going to be best for rest to stay with the U.K. or to be an independent country.
INTERVIEWER: Could you expand on that a little?
MCGENILY: Yeah. Iโm just worried that thereโs going to be cuts, more cuts if we become independent, and whether it would be better just to stay with the U.K. for security.
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NOOR: But some Scots feel pro-independence voices are being marginalized by the media. About 1,000 people rallied in front of the BBCโs Glasgow offices on Sunday, September 14. Here are some of their voices.
EVE BRADLEY, VOTER: Weโre voting yes in the upcoming referendum. Iโm a first-time voter. And Iโll be voting yes because I know too many people that have voted for a government and their vote hasnโt counted, and Scotland needs to be run by Scotland and not Westminster.
LAURA MCNEILL, VOTER: Iโm going to be voting yes for Scottish independence, because I think that Scottish people have been suppressed for years and years and we donโt really have a voice in the way that our country is run at the moment.
ERIN BRADLEY-SCOTT, VOTER: Iโm voting yes because I want Scotland to be run by the people of Scotland. I donโt want our big political decisions to be made in a foreign countryโwhich, hopefully, will soon be a foreign country. And Iโm with our Catalan brothers and sisters as well, because I lived in Barcelona for a while, and I know that theyโve got their head up against a brick wall, and the future for Cataloniaโs not as bright as the future of Scotland, and Iโm just really getting geared up for everything. Iโm so energized by the positivity thatโs surrounding the referendum. Itโs definitely been a positive thing for Scotland. And itโs fantastic to see so many young people getting energized. And I wish we had the /ษชmหpษtju/ that the Catalans have got. Itโs amazing just to see nearly 2 million people out in the streets. Here weโve got a couple of thousand out to protest against the blatant bias of the BBC, which I think is atrocious.
End
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