Scheduled with just over a month to go to the referendum on Scottish independence ScotCen Social Research, WhatScotlandThinks, AQMeN and will be hosting a one-off, free conference looking at how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ the referendum campaign has been (so far) and what this could mean for the future of Scotland.
The Independence Referendum Campaign: Help or Hindrance?
Date: 12 August 2014 Time: 0930 – 1600
Admission: FREE
Location: Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22-26 George St, Edinburgh, EH2 2PQ
ScotCen Social Research, WhatScotlandThinks, and AQMeN will be hosting a one-off, free conference looking at how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ the referendum campaign has been (so far) and what this could mean for the future of Scotland.
Chaired by BBC Scotland’s Gordon Brewer and incorporated into this year’s much celebrated Edinburgh Fringe Festival, highlights from the conference will include results from the latest Scottish Social Attitudes survey, a panel debate featuring some of Scotland’s top political journalists and talks from leading experts on some of the key issues in the debate on Scottish independence.
Summary of sessions
Charlie Jeffrey (ESRC / Edinburgh University) will discuss whether or not academics have helped or hindered the debate around independence in Scotland.
Prof. John Curtice (ScotCen Social Research) will present the initial results of ScotCen’s latest 2014 Scottish Social Attitudes survey, the most detailed examination yet of public attitudes towards Scotland’s constitutional future. Has Public Opinion Been Moved?
Dr. Jan Eichhorn (Edinburgh University) and Prof. Lindsay Paterson (Edinburgh University) will discuss the ‘Tipping Points’ during the campaigns, presenting results from Scottish Social Attitudes on what issues likely to have most affected voting intention.
A panel discussion on ‘How Has the Rest of the UK viewed the Campaign’, Richard Wyn Jones (Cardiff University) on reactions in Wales; Christine Bell (Edinburgh University) on Northern Ireland; and Iain Martin (Sunday Telegraph) on Westminster and England.
A panel debate between some of Scotland’s top journalists: Alan Cochrane (Daily Telegraph), Severin Carrell (The Guardian), Lesley Riddoch (freelance political commentator) and George Kerevan (The Scotsman) will give their verdict on the effectiveness of the Yes Scotland and Better Together campaigns so far.
David McCollum (St. Andrews University), will analyse attitudes towards migration and the independence debate.
What’s happened to the Gender Gap? Rachel Ormston (ScotCen Social Research) will present the latest findings from Scottish Social Attitudes on differences between men and women in their attitudes towards independence.
Susan McVie (AQMeN), summary and reflections from the day.
The conference will be of interest to anyone who needs to understand how (and why) Scotland might vote on 18th September 2014. The conference is being held in collaboration with the ESRC’s Future of UK and Scotland initiative.
This event is free to attend but as places are limited so you must register in advance to ensure your place.
You can sign up for the event using the registration form.
If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact events@aqmen.ac.uk or jamie.barclay@scotcen.org.uk
About the author
ScotCen Social Research runs this website with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. For more info in ScotCen please see http://www.scotcen.org.uk/
