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Nicolson students vote against independence         17/2/14

Senior pupils at the Nicolson Institute taking part in a mock referendum ballot have voted 55-45 to stay in the Union.

Over 220 S5 and S6 pupils were polled over the question: Should Scotland be an independent country?

A debate preceding the vote saw students Scott Duncan and Krisell Macdonald along with MSP Alasdair Allan of Yes Scotland arguing the case for Independence while sixth-years Iain Boyd and Stuart Lamont were joined by Alasdair Morrison of Better Together to urge a no vote.

96 students voted yes while 116 said no.

Student Iain Boyd said: “The Better Together team outlined the positive and principled case for Scotland to remain within the UK.  We were pleased to have won by a margin of 10%.  It’s important that our generation engages and votes in September, and I hope that island students vote in equally encouraging numbers for a strong Scotland within a strong UK.”

Fellow student and debating partner, Stuart Lamont, added: “The result is very encouraging - especially when you consider the time and effort our SNP representatives commit to this one issue. Many of our generation don’t want Britain broken up; we have a shared history of over 300 years - we are simply better together.”

Alasdair Morrison said: “It was a privilege to support Iain and Stuart, both of whom ably articulated the case for the Union. They did so with great clarity and the passion you’d expect from young, patriotic Scots.  In common with school pupils across Scotland, the majority of senior students at The Nicolson Institute proved that the politics of separatism, are the politics of the past. What’s at stake is not our history, but our future.”

Alasdair Morrison, Better Together chairman is flanked by student debaters, Iain Boyd (L) and Stuart Lamont (R)