Voters in Scotland face a fundamental choice about their future at the independence referendum on 18th September 2014 and political parties are key actors in this process. Though the referendum saw the launch of umbrella campaign groups - Yes Scotland and Better Together - political parties remained central to the campaign. Parties shaped the nature of the referendum in government; parties provided leadership, resources, activists and expertise to the campaign; and were also major producers of political discourse throughout Scotland's contemporary referendum experience. Though the referendum offers a simple Yes/No choice on the ballot paper, some voters may also use party loyalty as a short-cut guide to understanding the issues and their decision. This book: analyses the referendum roles and activities of the Conservatives, Scottish Green Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party and Scottish Socialist Party during the campaign. places the independence referendum in international context through examining other sovereignty referendums looks at the emergence of new organizations like Radical Independence and National Collective.
Finally, the book adopts the Essex School of discourse analysis to examine the contested nature of political discourse around the referendum.