Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon believes next year’s independence referendum could attract a turnout of 80%.
In front of a packed audience at Dundee University’s 5 Million Questions series in the Dalhousie Building, Ms Sturgeon said she believed even more voters than suggested by recent polls would feel motivated to go to the polling stations for what she said is a “once in a generation opportunity.”.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 30px; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; height: auto; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Yw2N65qvQsI
“I think people will know they shouldn’t be shy and I think the turnout could be as high as 80%,” she said.
Less than a week after the launch of the 670-page White Paper, which laid out her party’s case for separation ahead of next year’s independence vote, Ms Sturgeon faced questions from writer, journalist and broadcaster David Torrance, associate director of 5 Million Questions, and later the audience.
She stressed the document was for the people of Scotland to read and digest and said it “lays out the party’s case for independence, gives facts and figures around how they will go about it and how we will use the powers of independence”.
Ms Sturgeon described herself as being politically “left of centre” and the SNP of being a “social democratic” party.
She also felt the coalition Government is “literally dismantling the welfare state”.
She underlined the party’s commitment to free education for Scottish students and stated that, if the UK Government abolished university fees for students across the rest of the country, the SNP “would go along with that.”
Other issues raised by the audience included 16 and 17-year-olds being given the vote in the referendum, taxation and immigration.