Teenage first-time voters on the Scottish referendum

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/18/teenage-first-time-voters-on-the-scottish-referendum

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Jamie Storey, 17, chef, Dundee

“I’d made up my mind a few weeks ago and voted by post. I think it’s great that younger people have been given the vote. It’s such an important thing. It’s not just about now, it’s about the future of our country and it is right that young as well as old get a say in that.

“I’m looking forward to it being over now so we can get on with things but think it might all kick off tomorrow, not violence, but demonstrations, more arguments.”

Flora McGuigan, 17, Glasgow

“I’m out leafletting today because I think that if I hadn’t done anything I would have felt awful about it, because it’s our future in our hands, and if I hadn’t taken a stand, by leafletting or by telling people the way I feel, I would have felt I’d just wasted [my chance].”

Brandyn Murphy, 16, Dundee

“When I went into the polling place I didn’t really know what to do because it was my first time voting. My girlfriend helped me. I felt it was a big responsibility but I’ve taken it seriously. I’ve listened to the debates and went to the event at the Hydro [a debate for young voters held in Glasgow].

“Once I’d voted I felt happy. It’s good that younger people are allowed to vote. It’s our future we’re talking about here.”

Alex Dunham, 16, Annan, Dumfries and Galloway

Alex was planning to vote no on his way home from school.

“I don’t like change,” he explains. “I live in England half the time – my dad lives in Carlisle and I go to stay with him every second weekend, and it will affect that if there’s a yes vote.”

Plus his sister lives in London, so that might be tricky too – even though she is in the yes camp, along with most of his friends.

“It’s weird,” he says, “most of the people in the year above me are voting no, whereas my year are mostly voting yes.”

He plans to study law and is concerned that if Scotland goes independent and he studies at a Scottish university he won’t be able to practice in England. Under the current system, Scottish-trained lawyers can work work across the United Kingdom.

Letting 16-year-olds vote is “fantastic”, he says. “It’s got people my age more interested in politics. In my Modern Studies class I feel more engaged because I know who all these people are, all these politicians, because I’ve watched the debates.”

Alex thinks Scotland should have more powers. “But not through independence. We’ve been promised more powers anyway, so we don’t need to go independent to get them.”

And what if he wakes up on Friday to an independent Scotland? “I can get over it. I’m one of those people who adapts to what’s going on. I’ll just get on with it. It’s still two years until the changes and by that point I’ll be off to university.”

Alex’s friend, Robbie Hogg, waved a small union jack as he passed a gaggle of yes campaigners outside the polling station. “Why should we fix what’s not broken? I don’t want to have to get a passport to go to Carlisle. It’ll be a hassle.”

Many people in Annan and surrounding towns work across the border in Carlisle, which is just 19 miles away.

Ieuan Keir, 17, Annan

Keir says: “I’m voting no because I value the ties that Scotland has with the rest of the United Kingdom and for the benefit of Scotland. I think it’s important that we stick together and work to rebuild our economy. We’re just recovering from the worst financial crisis in recent history and I think this is the time to work together.

“If Alex Salmond can’t give us a 100% guarantee that we will be better off alone, I’m not taking the risk.”

The currency question is what troubles Ieuan most. “Alex Salmond keeps being asked about the currency and he never answers the question, but keeps saying the same thing: ‘I’m doing this for the Scottish people.’”

As for giving sixth formers a vote, he says: “At first I didn’t think it was going to work. But as young people have got more involved in politics and expressing themselves about how they feel our nation should be divided and how our nation should be run, in the long run I think this is going to benefit British politics.

“Over the last few months many people [in school] have started wearing badges and there’s been a lot of debates in school. I think it’s got people talking. I think it’s a good thing.”