The future of Scotland and the United Kingdom looked uncertain yesterday, five days before a historic referendum on independence, as polls showed the rival campaigns running desperately close.
Out of four new polls, three showed those in favour of maintaining the union with a lead of between two and eight percentage points. But an ICM poll conducted over the internet showed supporters of independence in the lead with 54 per cent and unionists on 46 per cent.
We’re not aiming to win by one vote, we are aiming to achieve a substantial majority if we can
The final weekend of campaigning before Thursday’s vote brought thousands of people on to the streets of the capital Edinburgh and of Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow. Rival leaders worked across the country to convince undecided voters.
Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond, who has spearheaded the drive for independence, said he was confident the “Yes” campaign would win. The priority after the referendum would be to bring Scots together again to work for the country’s future good, he said on the BBC. “We’re not aiming to win by one vote. We’re aiming to achieve a substantial majority if we can. And one of the great assets of the ‘Yes’ campaign is that we don’t regard any section or sector of Scottish society or any geography of Scotland beyond our reach,” said Salmond, also Scotland’s First Minister.
Alistair Darling, a former British finance minister and leader of the “Better Together” campaign, warned that if Scots vote to split from the UK it would be an irreversible decision.
With promises from British political leaders of greater powers for Scotland in the event of a “No” vote, Scots could have the best of both worlds, Darling said.
Darling, a Scot, also said in an interview with The Sunday Times that the consequences of a vote for independence could match the turbulence of the 2008 financial crisis.
The Sunday Herald, which backs independence, filled its front page with a collage of photographs of “Yes” voters. “Now is the time. You are the generation,” its headline said. At stake is not just the future of Scotland, but that of the UK, forged by the union with England 307 years ago.
More than four million Scots as well as English and foreign residents, from the Highlands and Islands to the gritty inner city estates of Glasgow, are eligible to vote.