Referendum round-up: Glasgow 2014

Get the latest on the referendum on our Scottish independence site. Picture: Jane Barlow

TODAY’S MAIN NEWS:

A Commonwealth Games spectator has been escorted from the swimming events for holding up a flag in support of Scottish independence.

Glasgow 2014 organisers released a statement emphasising rules have banned flags carrying a political message from the games following the incident.

In other news, politicians are to get “soapbox slots” at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to sell the case for or against independence.

MSPs and MPs will be invited to take to the stage and given a few minutes to try to win over audiences.

COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:

Our Scottish independence site showcases some of the best comment, analysis and opinion from across the web; here are some of our favourite articles from the last 24 hours of the debate.

• Alex Massie: Who cares if English commentators like or respect Scotland?

Alex Massie takes on the political reaction to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in this piece for The Spectator.

Massie hits out at claims that Scottish national identity has been boosted by the Games, writing: “A sense of identity – and of worth – need not be improved or otherwise bolstered by tinkering with our constitutional status.”

• Barbara Miller: Is 300-year-old union about to end?

Barbara Miller returns to her native Scotland to gauge the mood of politicians, pundits and ordinary voters ahead of September’s referendum in this in-depth piece for Australia’s ABC News.

• Reuben Cameron: Teenagers forgotten about in referendum battle

16-year-old Reuben Cameron gives his view on the independence debate in this piece for the Evening Times.

Cameron bemoans the lack of information targeted specifically at the younger end of the electorate, and notes that the issue has not been top of the agenda for many of his peers.

• Will independence cost me my broadband?

Bill Ray of computing website The Register looks at proposals for the media and telecoms industries after independence.

This in-depth look assesses proposals for universal broadband in Scotland, plans for a Scottish public service broadcaster to replace the BBC, and the possibility of mobile phone roaming charges between Scotland and England.

• Ed Fieldhouse: The ebb and flow of referendum voting intention

Ed Fieldhouse of Manchester University looks at the changes in referendum voting intention in more detail, after revealing yesterday that undecided voters are swinging towards voting ‘Yes’ but in insufficient numbers to win the referendum for the pro-independence camp.

• If Scotland leaves UK, will the Union Jack still wave?

Katrin Bennhold of the New York Times looks at the possible flag of a United Kingdom without Scotland in the event of a ‘Yes’ vote on independence.

• Richard Parry: Pensions and benefits in the referendum debate

Richard Parry, an Honorary Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, looks at the issue of state benefits in the context of September’s independence referendum.

Parry assesses both the Department for Work and Pensions’ report on Scotland’s pension prospects, and the Scottish Government’s contribution to the debate.

• Fraser MacDonald: Referendum debate should be about more than yes or no

Both sides in the Scottish independence referendum need to behave with more empathy and fairness, writes Fraser MacDonald in this piece for The Guardian.

• Get the latest referendum news, opinion and analysis from across Scotland and beyond on our new Scottish Independence website

Referendum round-up: Glasgow 2014 | Edinburgh Fringe