Scottish voters will go to the polls on 18 September to decide whether Scotland should become an independent country.
The campaign has hogged the headlines over the last fortnight as the polls narrowed and politicians from around the country descend on Scotland and redouble their efforts to convince voters one way or the other.
It all started nearly two years ago in October 2012, when Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond signed the Edinburgh Agreement, the document which paved the way for the referendum.
Both sides in the Scottish referendum campaign have held rallies as they make their final efforts to win over undecided voters.
Independence supporters attended a mass event in the centre of Glasgow, where they were urged to “vote ‘Yes’ for a prosperous Scotland”.
At the same time, pro-UK campaigners gathered nearby to insist the case for independence had not been made.
The latest polls have suggested the result is too close to call.
No going back’
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has said tomorrow’s vote in the Scottish independence referendum is “the most important vote any of us will cast in our lifetime”.
She commented: “We are not being asked to pick a government for five years, but to choose whether or not to break our country apart forever. There will be no going back after a Yes vote.
“But the risks of separation are risks that we don’t have to take as a country. Change is coming – sweeping new powers to put the Scottish Parliament in charge of tax and welfare. But we will ensure that change doesn’t come at the cost of our security and prosperity.”
Both campaigns have been out in force in Glasgow this morning as they do what they can to rally support for their respective sides in the final hours before the vote.
First up, it was Yes Scotland who gathered on the steps of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, beside the statue for Donald Dewar, the architect of devolution (sporting a “Yes” sticker it is unlikely he would have approved of).
Chairman Dennis Canavan described the independence movement as the biggest grassroots campaign Scotland has ever seen, and they wanted that to show: the former Labour MP joined by SNP members, Greens, SSP activists, Women for Independence campaigners and members of Deacon Blue, among others.
Immediately after, a few miles away in Maryhill, it was Better Together’s turn. All the big guns of the campaign were gathered at the community hall – Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling, the leaders of the three main opposition parties at Holyrood.
Any weariness as the campaign reaches it crescendo was well hidden. Brown worked the crowd into a frenzy talking about his vision for social justice in Scotland and the questions he says have been left “unaddressed by the SNP”. Speaker after speaker received standing ovations as they outlined why they were voting “No”.
Both campaigns have fought long and hard. It is nearly decision time.
source:BBC Scotland,The Guardian.
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