Independence could fall foul of young Scots
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YOUNG Scots aged 16 and 17 are getting the vote for the first time in Scotland’s independence referendum, but they look set to defy expectations by mostly saying “No.”
First Minister Alex Salmond’s Scottish National Party, which is spearheading the campaign, fought hard to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 for the September 18 ballot, in anticipation of a strong “Yes” vote.
Both sides have campaigned on Facebook and other social media to get as many young people involved as possible. At least 80 percent of those eligible have registered to vote.
But while most teenagers might be expected to disagree with their parents, opinion polls suggest their views on independence are in line with older Scots, most of whom look set to vote against it.
“People my age are very switched on and do want to listen to the issues but they’re engaged with a politics that isn’t about slander, the smear and the scaremongering,” said Robbie Nicol, 16, a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament campaigning in an Edinburgh shopping center to get teenagers to register.
“They’re wanting to be involved in the politics that engages with them and talks positively about the issues, constructively rather than mud-slinging from both sides.”
Overall, most opinion polls currently give the union camp 45-50 percent of the vote and put the independence side in the range of 35-39 percent.
Under-18s are thought to make up around 3 percent of those who can vote.
Some 52 percent of them favor Scotland remaining part of the United Kingdom, according to a study by Edinburgh University researchers published in June, which has been one of the few to focus on young voters.
This compared to 29 percent of teenagers backing independence and 19 percent undecided.
Louise Macdonald, chief executive of youth charity Young Scot, said the referendum was “an incredibly important moment” for 16 and 17-year-olds. “I would defy anyone to meet young people in Scotland and feel that they’re apathetic. They’re absolutely not.”
Realizing they will not reach the Internet generation through leaflets and public meetings, both camps have been running online campaigns tailored for young people.
One YouTube video by the SNP’s youth wing shows an irritating neighbor telling teenagers where they are going wrong with activities such as learning to drive and playing the guitar.
“Imagine if ‘can’t do’ became ‘can do,’” says the slogan at the end. “Independence offers us the chance to change so much.”
The Facebook page for Better Together, the campaign that wants Scotland to stay in the UK, features jibes aimed at Salmond.
Jan Eichhorn, a fellow in social policy at the university, said of the young people they surveyed: “What we find is that they are not less Scottish in their national identity — it’s only about 10 percent that say I am more British than Scottish — but they are also less likely to favor their Scottish identity over their British identity.”
If the polls are borne out, it could ironically be the youth vote which helps to preserve a system of union between Scotland and England which dates back more than 300 years.
(AFP)
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