The People's Referendum

About the Book: 

This book is about how the independence referendum changed not just Scottish politics but the nation s people, its sense of itself and its future. This is the story of the campaign and its aftermath, not as recorded by pollsters and politicians, but as it was experienced by some of the five million ordinary and extraordinary people involved on both sides of the debate. Their stories also speak to what comes next for Scotland.

19 September 2014. The ballots are in, the votes counted. Scotland has chosen to remain part of the United Kingdom. The result is black and white, but the journey to it is anything but monochrome. For months Scots discussed their futures, in town halls and living rooms across the land. The debate gripped the nation like no other in Scottish history.

Taking the scenic route we travel from the Debatable Lands of the Scottish Borders to the Western Isles; meet ageing Communists rallying behind the independence cause in post-industrial Fife and loyal Orangemen backing the union; and soak up the ambience with secessionists across Europe trying desperately to follow Scotland s lead.

About the Author:

PETER GEOGEHAN is an Irish journalist and writer living in Glasgow. He has written and reported from a range of countries including Albania, Kosovo, Egypt, Namibia, Zambia, Iceland, Ireland and Scotland.

He has written extensively on Northern Ireland and the independence debate in Scotland and elsewhere in Europe. He writes as a freelance for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement, The Scotsman, The Irish Times, The Times Higher Education, The Times Literary Supplement, RTE, The London Review of Books, Al Jazeera, The Dublin Review, The Christian Science Monitor and The Irish Independent. He also edits a magazine called Political Insight for the Political Studies Association and part of the team behind the Scottish Inquirer, Scotland’s new, innovative longform and investigative publication.