Students vote against independence

Feb 21 2013

A mock referendum by university students has found almost two thirds against an independent Scotland.

Organisers of the Glasgow University poll said 63% voted No when asked the question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?"

The remaining 37% voted in favour of independence.

The university's Dialectic Society, which ran the mock vote, said 2,589 students voted, with eight spoiled ballots.

Polling took place throughout the day at three university sites. The result was announced following a debate at the student union with Yes Scotland chief executive Blair Jenkins and Labour MSP Jackie Baillie.

During the debate Ms Baillie faced booing and shouting from some of the around 300 students packed into the gallery of the debating chamber, while Mr Jenkins received several rounds of applause and cheering as he spoke.

Mr Jenkins told the students that the vote constituted a "fantastic opportunity" for the younger generation and that the best future for Scotland was as an independent country. "This is an opportunity to think about what kind of country we could be and should be," he said.

In her speech Ms Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, spoke out against the SNP, telling the audience the party had no consistent economic policy. A man in the gallery shouted: "It's not about the SNP, it's about independence."

When the politician went on to list the achievements of Scotland as part of the union, others in the gallery shouted "Iraq" and "Afghanistan".

Liberal Democrat MP Charles Kennedy, who is rector of the university, said: "First and foremost, the real winners today are the democratic process itself and the historic reputation of the University of Glasgow in the lineage of the national debate down the generations. So my congratulations to the student bodies who showed such a lead here - and to the 2,500 students who voted. The real lesson is the extent to which students wanted to hear more of the detail and the arguments involved. Both sides need to campaign positively."