Yes or no? I still don’t know

I have yet to make up my mind about how I’ll vote next week and as the most recent TNS survey tells us I’m definitely not alone. 23% of people say they still don't know how they'll vote. That's one in five Scots and if predictions for an 85% turnout are correct, that means that potentially up to 500,000 people currently hold the key to the success or otherwise of both campaigns. The missing million has turned into half a million don't knows. It's an incredible number at this stage of any election or referendum campaign because as the day of the vote approaches the number of undecideds usually drops significantly. Of course, the “I can should louder than you can” TV debates, endless news coverage or know-it-all, partisan columnists in newspapers, haven't helped people make up their mind. And, as I've said before, many people don't think politics changes anything and are turned off by it. They also know that politicians all too often fail to deliver on their promises.

Endless news coverage or know-it-all, partisan columnists in newspapers, haven't helped people make up their mind

But for me the key point - at least in the wide ranging conversations I've had - is that people are focussing on and considering the choices before them: thinking about the future of our country and who they trust to change things for the better. Given the claim and counter-claim and scare stories, it is a really difficult decision at this stage if you're not ideologically committed to either side. The big momentum change has been put down to the second TV debate between the First Minister and Alistair Darling but, as we know from American Presidential elections, these debates don't change anything. They certainly don't dictate the result of the vote. So what option will people go for in the voting booth? Will they reflect on David Cameron's strategic blunder (which the other parties acquiesced to) not to offer a second option on the ballot paper? The polls at that time clearly showed that people wanted more powers short of independence. Will they view the very late announcement on more powers as an act of desperation? I do and I think that will be the general perception. Whatever happens in post-referendum Scotland, one thing was always clear from the start: the momentum for change was - and certainly now is - with us. It's no surprise that as many of us suspected that in the last couple of weeks the whole thing would tighten up and the vote would be on a knife-edge. And that presents us all with the $64,000 question - how will you vote? Or more to the point, how will I vote? At this point, I can hear some people, who think they know which side I support, laughing. Yes, I have my political bias and preferences but I'm not ideologically committed to any party. So, I'll wait until I'm standing in the booth to make my final decision. I’ll let my thoughts, logic and emotions guide me to the option that’s right for me.     ­­