Advertisement

What's In the Future For Scotland's 'Yes' Voters?

05:47
Download Audio
Resume

In a record turnout, Scotland's voters decided to stay within the United Kingdom, 55 percent voting 'no' and forty-five percent of the country voting 'yes.'

The story doesn't end there, though, because British Prime Minister David Cameron has promised big changes for Scotland and other countries within in the UK.

Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh, a member of the Yes Scotland advisory board and the Scottish National Party's National Women's Officer,
about what a vote like this means to the 'Yes' party, and how the Scots who voted for independence will move forward.

Interview Highlights: Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh

On the results of the referendum

"At the end of the day, Scotland ran a grassroots campaign. And a result of which, we have engaged and enthused members of the public who have not been interested in politics at all.

"There are people exercising their votes yesterday — the age of sixty and above — who have never voted before in their lifetime.

"I will say that our feeling is, that of course the result is disappointing. We wanted to win, but there are so many plus sides. It’s a win-win situation for Scotland. We have an energized and enthused populace now."

On gaining more autonomy from England

“What we saw in the last two weeks of this campaign was a panic-stricken Westminster government that absolutely had to come up with something to make sure they didn’t lose Scotland.”

“From a Scottish perspective, what we’re saying is, Well, we don’t want power in terms of certain issues, we want the normal power, which is to have control over everything that affects our daily lives.”

Guest

  • Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh, a member of the Yes Scotland advisory board and the Scottish National Party's National Women's Officer. She tweets @TasminaSheikh.

This segment aired on September 19, 2014.

Advertisement

More from Here & Now

Listen Live
Close