The Scottish independence debate is heating up

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about the possibility of Scotland becoming an independent country.  On 18^th September, the people of Scotland will vote Yes or No to this question: Should Scotland be an independent country?  Asking the country’s voters to decide a yes or no question is called a referendum.  The side which wants independence for Scotland is called the Yes Campaign.  The side which wants to stay with the U.K. is called the Better together Campaign.  With only about three weeks until the referendum, the debate is heating up... 

This week the politicians who head the opposing camps held a live tv debate.  The Yes Campaign is headed by Alex Salmond.  The Better Together Campaign is headed by Alistair Darling.

What do you imagine the issues they talked about were?  If you had to decide whether your area would break away from a larger country or not, what questions would you have?

Well, one of the main debating points was currency.  Scotland and the rest of the U.K. use the pound (Pounds Sterling).  The Better Together Campaign claims that Scotland may not be able to use the pound after independence.  The Yes Campaign has always claimed that nobody could stop Scotland from using the pound. 
 

This has been a successful strategy for the Better Together Campaign until now.  But during the debate, Mr. Darling seemed to admit that nobody could stop Scotland from using the pound as its currency.

Mr. Salmond attacked Mr. Darling on welfare.  The U.K. government recently cut welfare benefits for disabled people.  The current U.K. government is led by the Conservative Party.  That party, which is still associated with Margaret Thatcher, is generally very unpopular in Scotland.  Mr. Salmond suggested that if Scotland does not become independent, we may have to suffer for many years.  Because Scotland’s population is much smaller than England’s, even if a U.K. party is very unpopular in Scotland, Scottish voters find it difficult to change the government.

The two politicians also argued over how much oil money Scotland could receive and whether an independent Scotland could really get rid of the U.K.’s nuclear weapons, which are based in Scotland.

According to the BBC report, Mr. Salmond appeared confident and well-prepared.  Mr. Darling appeared “nervous and edgy”.  Opinion polls showed that 71% of people thought that Mr. Salmond won the debate.  The Yes Campaign has been getting closer to the Better Together Campaign in opinion polls recently.  This tv debate may help this trend to continue.

Vocabulary:

to head something  - To lead something or to be a leader of something

opposing camps – Two sides or groups working against each other

to admit something – To accept that something is true, even though accepting it may be bad for you.

welfare – Financial help from the government to weak citizens, for example the poor or unemployed or disabled.

to be associated with something or someone – To be connected to something or someone in people’s minds.

to be edgy – To be uncomfortable or to be frightened and lack confidence.

an opinion poll – Before an election or vote, many people are asked how they will vote.  The results are added up to make a prediction of the election result.  That is an opinion poll.