Peter Bruce has been a fisherman since he was 16 and is now the skipper of his own boat. But the fishing business in Peterhead, a town in Aberdeenshire, isn’t what it was.
The pandemic and Brexit have hit the industry hard. There were once 120 commercial fishing vessels registered here, now there’s about 30.
“Boris Johnson and the highest levels of government came up to Peterhead, promising a new dawn for the fishing industry and they have really let us down,” Peter says.
Like many people in Scotland, his politics are complicated. His problem isn’t with Brexit itself, which he voted in favour of, but rather the deal that was done with the European Union.
While he backed Scottish independence in the 2014 referendum, he’s not so keen now.
Fisherman Peter Bruce says things have changed in Scotland. Source: Ben Lewis/SBS News
“I mean, we’re out of the EU and they’re saying if we get independence they’re going to reapply to go back into Europe, and I wouldn’t be in favour of that.”
Both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party are fighting to woo voters like Peter who’ve soured on the idea of independence. The Conservative's campaign has been particularly focused on ‘saving the union’.
“We are just coming back from an appalling pandemic, which has seen an awful lot of our citizens lose their lives, which is tragic. We’re also coming out of a Brexit transition,” says Liam Kerr, a Conservative Party candidate.
“What we need to be focused on is not the constitution, but recovering, strengthening our economy and looking to the future. Not refighting the arguments of the past.”
In the 2014 referendum, voters rejected independence by a comfortable margin. And while support for an independent Scotland soared in the wake of Brexit, recent polls suggest enthusiasm has waned.
Liam Kerr is a Conservative Party candidate. Source: Ben Lewis/SBS News
When asked to pick the three most important issues facing Scotland, 54 per cent of respondents said the economy, while 48 per cent mentioned healthcare. Just 20 per cent considered independence a vital concern.
Unionists argue the economic recovery should be the Scottish government’s sole focus and that independence is a distraction.
But nationalists like Fatima Joli, who’s running for the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), say that’s simply not true.
“It’s not a matter of independence or recovery, it’s a matter of independence for recovery," she says.
Fatima Joli is running for the pro-independence Scottish National Party. Source: Ben Lewis/SBS News
"We’re in a situation where we can’t make the decisions we’d like to make because of how devolution [the split of powers between Westminster and Edinburgh] works.”
“This so-called union of equals is not a union of equals. We are clearly at odds with Westminster, we’re clearly moving in a different direction, we want independence to move in that direction.”
The challenging path to independence
The SNP has pledged to hold another independence referendum by 2023 if they are returned to power this week. But it’s not that simple.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to grant consent for another public vote, believing the matter was settled seven years ago.
“I think that most people in Scotland, most people around the whole of the UK, feel this is not the time. As we’re coming forwards out of a pandemic together, this is not the time to have a reckless and irresponsible second referendum,” he has said.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has rejected calls for a so-called ‘wildcat’ referendum - one held without the approval of Westminster.
Unionists would likely boycott such a vote, leading to questions about its legitimacy.
Ms Sturgeon could seek approval to hold a public vote via the courts, while a big win for her party in this election would put almost unbearable pressure on Downing Street to relent.
Vinyl store owner Bob Smith is still deciding who to vote for. Source: Ben Lewis/SBS News
“If people in Scotland vote for something, if there's a pro-referendum majority in that Scottish parliament, then no politician of whatever stripe has any democratic way to stand in its will,” she told reporters.
It’s an argument Bob Smith is sympathetic towards, despite the fact the Aberdeen vinyl store owner still hasn’t decided who to vote for.
While he says healthcare and education are his biggest priorities this election, he sees no reason why another independence referendum shouldn’t happen.
“I see no harm in asking the question, and if the question is settled, we can get back to with what we should be dealing with," he says.
"We shouldn’t be scared of a referendum, we shouldn’t be scared of asking what people’s choice is.”
