With
just weeks to go until Scotland’s historic independence referendum, new
leaflets and information booklets are being made available to help voters north
of the border make up their minds.
A new e-book has been launched today,
featuring contributions from leading academics who have been examining key
issues in the debate.
A paperback version of the book, titled Scotland’s
Decision - 16 Questions to think about for the referendum on 18 September, is
also planned by its producers, which include businessman Sir Tom Hunter’s
Hunter Foundation.
At the same time the Scottish Government is spending
£550,000 sending a 12 page guide to the opportunities it says independence
offers to all 2.5 million homes north of the border.
Meanwhile the UK Government will this week start sending
out a leaflet to Scottish homes, setting it out what it believes are the five
main benefits of remaining in the Union.
But Sir Tom said the decision voters will make on
September 18 was “too important to leave to politicians to inform us”.
The Ayrshire-born entrepreneur said: “Like many voters, I
am genuinely undecided, but I don’t feel that the campaigns so far have given
me the facts and unbiased assessment to make a properly informed decision. I
know I am not alone in thinking this way.
“A recent poll commissioned by the Hunter Foundation and
published in early July showed 56% of undecided voters simply don’t feel they
have enough impartial information to make a decision. And 45% of all voters
claim they don’t trust either the UK or the Scottish Government’s predictions
“This series of papers we hope will bring some light upon
the critical issues voters may wish to consider in making up their minds when
they put a cross on the ballot paper on September 18.”
