For a time there is a chance that the yoga class in room 16 of Islesburgh Community Centre in Lerwick will have to move, though in the end the pro-Scottish independence group across the landing, in room 12, does not need the extra space.
The Yes Scotland meeting in the Shetland Islands capital is one of hundreds that have taken or will take place before the Scots decide whether they should break away from the United Kingdom in a referendum on September 18th next year.
For now the polls are steady, with two-thirds or so of those questioned saying they are likely to reject the independence call led by the countrys Scottish National Party first minister, Alex Salmond though, in truth, most Scots have yet to engage.
At the well-attended room 12 meeting a few of the currents that will be significant in the months to come are discernible, particularly the SNPs need to ensure that the Yes campaign is seen as more than just an SNP front. The top table includes Yes Scotlands chief executive, a former journalist named Blair Jenkins; Scotlands SNP minister for education, Mike Russell; Celia Fitzgerald of Labour for Independence; and Brian Nugent of Free Scotland, which opposes membership of the European Union.
During a question-and-answer session a member of the audience speaks admiringly of the Scandinavian high-tax and high-quality-public-services model, though Russell quickly intervenes. I am in sympathy with that, but we will never get it off the ground unless we get independence. We need to focus on that, he says, conscious that talk of higher taxes will frighten some voters.
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Independence day: Could Scotland really leave the UK? - UK News | Online Newspaper | The Irish Times - Sat, Aug 03, 2013
The Yes Scotland meeting in the Shetland Islands capital is one of hundreds that have taken or will take place before the Scots decide whether they should break away from the United Kingdom in a referendum on September 18th next year.
For now the polls are steady, with two-thirds or so of those questioned saying they are likely to reject the independence call led by the countrys Scottish National Party first minister, Alex Salmond though, in truth, most Scots have yet to engage.
At the well-attended room 12 meeting a few of the currents that will be significant in the months to come are discernible, particularly the SNPs need to ensure that the Yes campaign is seen as more than just an SNP front. The top table includes Yes Scotlands chief executive, a former journalist named Blair Jenkins; Scotlands SNP minister for education, Mike Russell; Celia Fitzgerald of Labour for Independence; and Brian Nugent of Free Scotland, which opposes membership of the European Union.
During a question-and-answer session a member of the audience speaks admiringly of the Scandinavian high-tax and high-quality-public-services model, though Russell quickly intervenes. I am in sympathy with that, but we will never get it off the ground unless we get independence. We need to focus on that, he says, conscious that talk of higher taxes will frighten some voters.
...
Independence day: Could Scotland really leave the UK? - UK News | Online Newspaper | The Irish Times - Sat, Aug 03, 2013