The Vow factor

DAVID Allan (Letters, 11 June) disputes some of the influences on voters in the referendum.

Both campaigns had been neck and neck until a few days before polling day. Then came “the Vow”, desperately introduced to persuade people to vote No.

Very soon after the vote fully one in four No voters cited this as his or her main reason for backing the Union. That was more than 500,000 people and more than 14 per cent of those who voted. By applying simple arithmetic, the result of the 18 September vote could have been 59 per cent Yes and 41 per cent No if “the Vow” had not been presented.
Many of the electorate had been undecided and were looking for honest leadership. Instead they got “the Vow” and later realised they had been had and felt insulted. Many became much more politically aware.

This newfound awareness of the standard of UK politics was first tested in the recent election and resulted in a huge swing to the SNP, which is gaining increasing momentum.

Brian Hunter

Liberton Place

Edinburgh