Scotland’s women wary of Yes vote
Independence could lead to changes, but many are satisfied with status quo
Joanna Hamilton-Rigg is the kind of voter who campaigners on both sides of the Scottish independence debate need to win over if they are to prevail in this month’s referendum on whether Scotland should leave Britain.
The 35-year-old Edinburgh mother of two is among the more than one in 10 women who are undecided about how they will cast their ballots on Sept. 18. While she is attracted to the nationalists’ offering of more accessible childcare and a more equal society, she’s also wary of Scotland going it alone after 307 years of union with England.
“I’d like to believe it will be a better country, but it’s not that terrible at the moment,” Hamilton-Rigg, an accountant on maternity leave with a 5-month-old daughter and 3-year-old son, said last week. “I feel women need to hedge their bets a bit more where men are more likely to take the risk.”
As Scotland enters the final days of campaigning, the race is on to attract the votes of women. While all major opinion polls point to victory for the No camp, they also show a narrowing of the lead and enough undecided voters to cause an upset victory for Yes, with proportionately more women than men yet to make up their minds.
“The notion of risk is crucial,” said Robert Lineira, an Edinburgh University researcher into voting behaviour. “Women tend to be more risk averse than men. It’s much more difficult for women to make up their minds because of the risk. Women and men have a different relationship with politics.”
A YouGov Plc poll published Tuesday showed an increase in support for independence, especially among men.
The survey put the No lead among women at 13 percentage points while the Yes campaign was two points ahead among men. Eleven per cent of female voters were still to make up their mind versus four per cent for their male peers. A Survation poll for the Scottish Daily Mail last week put the
More and more women across Scotland are waking up to the opportunities that a Yes vote represents.
No lead among women at nine percentage points compared with a single point for men, and 15 per cent were unsure versus nine per cent for male voters.
Lari Don, an Edinburgh-based children’s author and activist in the Women for Independence group, calls the idea that female voters are more wary of taking risks a “com- fortable cliché.”
“It’s about a different sort of debate, a different sort of dialogue,” said Don, 45. “Most women like to prod at a question for longer. Some are still looking for the answers. What implications are there for my children, for my neighbour’s children? Maybe women want a conversation, not an argument.”
The nationalists were boosted last week by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond’s performance in a televised debate against former chancellor of the exchequer Alistair Darling, who heads the anti-independence Better Together group.
The gap between the two sides narrowed after the Aug. 25 clash, with 48 per cent backing the union and 42 per cent wanting to break away, according to the YouGov poll. That deficit matches the Survation findings and has narrowed from as much as 20 points last month.
Both camps have intensified their efforts at targeting women voters on the doorstep.
Salmond’s deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, addressed an all-women public debate in Edinburgh last month.
“More and more women across Scotland are waking up to the opportunities that a Yes vote represents,” her office said in an emailed response to questions.
Better Together started a television advertising campaign aimed at female voters last week. The Yes campaign criticized it for being patronizing by suggesting women were stuck at home while their husbands had made up their minds. Better Together campaign director Blair McDougall said it was based on interviews and focus groups.
People say they want more information. While leaflets and brochures are dropping on doormats and both camps have websites full of documents, voters like Geraldine Murphy and Annabel Meikle say more could be done to get across the messages.
The arguments have focused on control of finances, North Sea oil and Scotland’s ability to keep the pound after the main British parties ruled out a currency union. There’s also the future of the health service, maintaining free university education and whether Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent remains in Scotland.