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Better Together?

  • Better together?

    © Alessandro Rota/Sipa USA/NTB scanpix

    Photo of the "Better together" campaign office in Edinburgh

  • Yes Scotland

    © Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert/Getty Images

    Photo of people saying yes to independence – “Yes Scotland”

Better together?

Before you read

The article below is about a big decision made in Scotland in 2014. What do you think it’s going to say? Look at the words in the box. Check the meaning of any words you don’t know. Then write your prediction. Include at least four of the words in the box.

at first, campaign, devolution, enthusiasm, leader, money, power, suddenly, vote



Better together?

History was made in Scotland on Thursday 18 September 2014. For the first time for over 400 years, Scots were able to decide whether they wanted to be an independent country. All British citizens living in Scotland were asked to vote on devolution, not just Scots. Young people over the age of 16 were allowed to vote, too. The referendum really got people talking, not just in the media, but also on the streets, in schools and at work. Scotland was about to make a “once in a lifetime” decision. The atmosphere was electric!

The campaign for independence was called “Yes Scotland”, while those who wanted Scotland to stay in the UK campaigned under the slogan “Better Together”. The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Yes-campaigners worked with tremendous enthusiasm from the very beginning. Everywhere you looked, there were Yes-banners and Scottish flags. However, major businesses and banks said they would leave Scotland if the Scots voted for devolution. People could lose their jobs. Would Scotland keep the pound? Would they be allowed to stay in the EU or forced to leave? Many nationalists said “Look to Norway” – a fishing nation with oil reserves and 5 million people, just like Scotland. But there were two important differences: the oil reserves on the Scottish side of the North Sea were much smaller, and there was no giant Scottish “Oil Fund”. The opinion poll showed that the arguments of big business had had an effect. Perhaps it was better to stay in the UK after all.

Then suddenly, in the last few weeks of the campaign, things changed. Many more people said they’d support the nationalists. The leaders of the three major political parties in the UK (based in London) went up to Scotland together to support the Better Together campaign. They usually disagree about most things, so this was highly unusual. Together they promised Scotland more power and money – if it stayed part of the UK.

On 18 September over 3.6 million voters answered yes or no to the question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?” The question had divided families, friends and neighbourhoods. In the end, Scotland decided to stay part of the UK by 55% to 45%. So that was the end of devolution. Or so people thought.

Six months later there was a general election in the UK. The SNP now had a new leader called Nicola Sturgeon. She has managed to breathe new life into the party after its defeat in the referendum. The SNP said it would represent Scotland’s interests better than the other parties, and that ordinary people needed jobs, not welfare cuts. Sturgeon used social media, tweets and selfies in the SNP campaign. She travelled around to meet ordinary people all over Scotland. This was a huge contrast to the Labour and Conservative parties. In 2010 the SNP won only 6 out of 59 seats. This time they won 56 seats – a landslide victory.

So what will Scotland do next? What happens if there is a “Brexit”, that is if the UK decides to leave the EU? Most Scots want to stay in the EU. So will there be another referendum? Who would win then?

DOCUMENT Getting the gist


DOCUMENT Word building


DOCUMENT Your turn to talk


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