UK: FINAL COUNTDOWN TO SCOTTISH DEVOLUTION REFERENDUM

(10 Sep 1997) Eng/Spanish/Nat The people of Scotland go to the polls on Thursday to decide if they want to have a new parliament with the power to raise its own taxes. If the Scots vote Yes, it will be the biggest change to the British Constitution since Scotland and England united 290 years ago. Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The Scottish parliament sat here for the last time in the year 1707. Now Scots go to the polls on Thursday to decide if they want a parliament to sit in Edinburgh once again. That parliament will deal only with Scottish affairs -- full power will still rest with the British parliament in Westminster - essentially a federal structure. People living in Scotland will be asked two questions - "Do you want a Scottish parliament" and "Do you want that parliament to have tax varying powers". All the opinion polls suggest a big majority in favour of the first question with the second too close to call. Leading the Yes:Yes campaign is the British Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair with the support of the Scottish Nationalists and the Liberal Democrats. Here in a chaotic and euphoric walkabout in Edinburgh, Blair presses the case for a double Yes vote. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I just hope that it's a good result on Thursday as it was a few months ago" Blair reply: "So do we. Let's make sure of it." SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop It's not the first time Scots have voted on devolved power. In 1979, they voted narrowly for a change but had insufficient numbers to pass the then government's threshold . So in front of an invited audience of local community leaders Blair pressed the case for a Scottish parliament telling his audience they are facing a new relationship within the U-K between Scotland and England. SOUNDBITE:(English) "And I say to you in all sincerity, that there is nothing to be frightened of in this change. It is a good change, it is the right change for the times in which we live, and it will be good not just for people in Scotland but for business, too". SUPER CAPTION: Tony Blair, British Prime Minister So, what is it that makes people living in Scotland feel different from people living in England? SOUNDBITE: (English) "If you don't know that then you've never been to Scotland". SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop SOUNDBITE:(English) "It feels as if it has a different history, different beginnings, different legal system, different culture. Perhaps even a different social attitude to things". SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop SOUNDBITE:(English) "I mean it's quite an interesting question for Germany because we have a federal system. A lot of people don't know that you don't have a federal system". SUPER CAPTION: Florian Hartung, German television correspondent SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) I'm from Barcelona, my radio station is from Barcelona and basically Catalonia and Barcelona have a special interest in Scotland, because it's undergoing a very similar process. It is also clear that in Catalonia we have a distinct economy as does Scotland and we are interested to know what its place will be in Europe. SUPER CAPTION: Anna Cortades, Cataluna Radio In contrast, the No campaign is led by the Conservative Party -- hoping to capitalise on some people's fears that they may pay more taxes under a Scottish Parliament. Scottish businesses are split -- split that is on the tax question. The financial institutions are expressing fears over financial flexibility, while industrialists claim they welcome greater opportunity for inward investment. SOUNDBITE:(English) SOUNDBITE: (English) Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...