GLASGOW, Scotland — Scotland’s long debate over whether the country should become independent has proved a bonanza for printers of bumper stickers, posters, balloons and even umbrellas.
Nationwide, the words “Yes” and “No” can be found emblazoned on everything from streetlights to shopping bags. Posters proclaiming “Proud to be Scots. Delighted to be United” and “Yes to a Better, Fairer Scotland” adorn the windows of homes sharing the same street.
On Monday, it’s showdown time. Scotland’s pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling, leader of the “No” campaign, will face off in their last televised debate before the Sept. 18 referendum.
Both sides claimed victory when the two clashed Aug. 4 — and interest from outside Scotland was so high it caused the Internet platform streaming the event to crash. This time, the 90-minute debate will be shown on the BBC across Britain and on C-SPAN in the U.S.
At stake is the support of thousands of voters who, despite a campaign lasting two years, have yet to make up their minds.
Up and down the country, activists have held thousands of town hall meetings, coffee mornings in private homes, and passionate discussions in pubs, clubs and town squares and on public transport.
People who have never been involved in politics before have come together and created a truly grassroots national debate about a vote that could affect everything from Scotland’s economy, passports, currency and military to its sense of national pride and its role in the European Union and other international organizations.
“Wherever you go, somebody is talking about it,” said Mairi Campbell, 38, a hairdresser from Glasgow who says she is voting against independence.
ap polls suggest voters are narrowly divided on whether to break up Scotland’s 307-year-old union with England or remain alongside the English, Welsh and Northern Irish inside the United Kingdom.
In opinion polls, the anti-independence side has maintained a consistent lead — but as many as a million undecided voters hold the balance.
Voter turnout in the referendum is expected to be high, possibly topping 80 percent. That would be the highest-ever figure in Scotland and much greater than the 50 percent who voted in Scotland’s last parliamentary election.
Nighet Nasim Riaz, 46, a member of Scots Asians for Yes, said people are hoping to see the TV debaters maintain their civility.
“The last televised debate between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling was not what people wanted to see: two middle-aged men having digs at each other,” she said. “It’s what you do in a playground.”
