The Guardian’s economics reporter, Katie Allen, is at the Scottish chambers of commerce in Glasgow:
Businesses in Scotland will need the country to unite around whatever decision it wakes up to tomorrow if they are to continue to shake off the downturn, says Garry Clark from the Scottish chambers of commerce..
The head of policy and research at the organisation told the Guardian its members saw both opportunities and risks in independence but most importantly they needed clarity.
The last thing he wants to hear about on Friday morning is winners and losers.
‘We can’t afford to have any losers in Scotland,’ says Clark in the chambers offices in George Square, Glasgow. ‘It is a debate that has aroused passion and emotion on both sides. It’s a question of channelling that emotion in the right direction tomorrow.’
Once the vote is in, unity will be vital: ‘The key is we have made a decision and that we all work towards improving Scotland and the outlook for the economy, whatever the result and we use whatever tools at our disposal to do that.’
The organisation, which brings together 23 regional Scottish chambers with some 11,000 companies between them, has remained impartial during the campaign. But it did canvas its businesses during the campaign over their concerns and outlook.
‘The majority of businesses see opportunity out of independence and the majority also see risk and it’s how to balance this and trying to ensure whatever the decision we get all of scotland is working together again.’
The four key areas of concern raised by businesses were: taxation, currency, EU membership and regulation.
The Guardian’s Scotland reporter, Libby Brooks, is in Govan, Glasgow, hanging out with voters:
Standing outside the polling station with their bags of shopping at their feet, Angela Colquhoun and Helen-Marie Tasker say they are ‘absolutely gobsmacked’ because polling day has come and they have still not decided how to vote.
‘I’ve watched all the debates but you get no answers,’ says Colquhoun, 41, a nursing auxiliary. She raises concerns about currency and pensions. ‘One of the upsides of being independent is the oil money, but that won’t last forever.’
Tasker, 33, a working mother, is likewise uncertain. ‘It’s been going on for two years and nobody can give you a straight answer. I think David Cameron should’ve been telling us the positives of staying in the UK. I do wonder if it’s just scare stories, but there’s no going back after this.’
Colquhoun says she’ll spend another few hours thinking about it and come back to vote later. ‘People are scared about what’s going to happen. They might vote no to stick with the known, but that’s not a good enough reason.’
Undecided voters Angela Colquhoun and Helen-Marie Tasker Photograph: Libby Brooks/Guardian
The campaign has been fought just as much across social media as it has been with placards and meetings. And it’s a campaign that the yes supporters seem to have clinched.
SimilarWeb, which monitors web trends, spots that YesScotland has been attracting double the traffic heading to BetterTogether, the lead no campaign site:
Bettertogether.net Vs Yesscotland.net: UK web traffic. SimilarWeb Photograph: SimpleWeb
Globally, too, the Yes message appears to have had more appeal to readers:
Bettertogether.net Vs Yesscotland.net – global traffic. SimilarWeb Photograph: SimpleWeb
The campaign for an independent Scotland currently has more than twice the number of followers (95,600) as its opponent Better Together (41,200). Yes Scotland also has 307,960 Facebook likes to Better Together’s 210,335.
To put this in perspective though, the two campaigns combined would only make up 1.7% of the 8m plus follower base of Russell Brand, who has recently weighed into the debate himself.
At time of writing, and perhaps boosted by Andy Murray’s timely tweet, Twitter followers of Yes Scotland have topped 102,000; Better Together has inched up to 42,155.
So far, I’ve failed to find any reliable data on Twibbons.
Our political editor Patrick Wintour is reporting signs of a backlash against prime minister David Cameron – regardless of the result of the referendum. He writes:
Claire Perry, the rail minister, has become the first Conservative front bencher to join the growing rebellion over promises to give Scotland more powers regardless of today’s referendum result by warning against “promises of financial party bags”.
She attacked the pledge made by the three main parties to maintain the current level of funding for Scotland and devolve local tax raising powers as hardly “hardly equitable” to the situation in England.
She warned against giving Scotland “a whole raft of goodies” which will have to be “paid for by us south of the border to try and appease the Yes voters”.
Writing in the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald, Perry said: ‘The funding formula for Scotland, the rather cobbled together Barnett formula, already delivers per capita funding north of the border well in excess of that spent per head in the other parts of the union, and it there is a proposal to allow devolution of local taxation, as well as maintaining the current level of funding a a dollop from the UK Parliament, then that can hardly be equitable for those of us in the Devizes constituency and all other areas in the non-Scottish union.
‘Cool, calm analysis, not promises of financial party bags to appease Mr Salmond, are what is needed from tomorrow and onwards.’
Her remarks were immediately endorsed by another Conservative MP, Anne Marrie Morris, on Twitter. Other Tories have been voicing their doubts, and it looks as if David Cameron faces a hard sell explaining the concession that have been made about further devolution, and powers to Scotland.
The Conservatives had in 2010 said the Barnett formula – responsible for setting the subsidy for Scotland – was reaching the end of its useful life, but Cameron has said it will continue. Clegg has agreed but also adjustments need to be made for the Welsh.
Perry also said: “Either way, I am expecting parliament to be recalled next week to understand the result and any proposed settlement.”
Jesse Norman, another senior Tory backbencher has also pointed to the inequities in funding saying Scotland gets £10,152 per head. Wales, despite being much poorer, gets £9,709. England gets £8,529.
James Gray, another Tory MP for former shadow Scottish secretary, has joined the rebellion, saying: “Talk about feeding an addiction. The more you give them, the more they want, and we would be back with calls for independence within a decade or sooner.
“For too long the rights of 55 million English have been subordinated to the shouting of 4.5 million Scots. That must end.”
Scottish Green party co-convener – and a lead yes campaigner – Patrick Harvie is still waiting to cast his vote. He doesn’t seem too downhearted about having to stand in line:
Alistair Darling, former UK chancellor and leader of the Better Together campaign, has cast his vote in Edinburgh:
Alistair Darling with his wife Maggie (left) and no campaigners outside the polling station at the Church Hill Theatre in Edinburgh Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
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