‘Scotland's Referendum: One Year On’ – 21st September
Published On Wed 9 Sep 2015 by Grant Hill
It was the most momentous political event in Scotland’s history and the University of Dundee’s Five Million Questions (5MQ) initiative is set to revisit the Independence Referendum with a panel discussion to mark the first anniversary of the vote.
‘Scotland's Referendum: One Year On’ takes place at the University’s Dalhousie Building at 6pm on Monday, 21st September. A panel comprising BBC Scotland Political Editor Brian Taylor, Political Commentator David Torrance and Nicola McEwen, Professor of Politics at the University of Edinburgh, will reflect on the 12 months since the referendum and consider how it has changed the country.
The event will be chaired by Chris Whatley, Professor of Scottish History at Dundee and Director of the 5MQ project.
“Throughout the referendum campaign, and indeed most of their careers, Brian Taylor and David Torrance have been the ones asking the questions but this time around the interviewers will be the interviewees,” said Professor Whatley.
“Together with Nicola McEwan, they bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the panel and both myself and the audience will be grilling them about how they think Scotland has been changed by the referendum and the events of the year that followed it.
“They will also be looking forward and speculating about what the major events of the post-referendum period – the rise of the SNP, the collapse of Labour in Scotland and the election of a Conservative government at Westminster – means for Scottish and UK politics in the short-, medium- and long-term.”
Before joining the BBC, Brian Taylor spent six years as a lobby correspondent at Westminster. He has lectured on politics and identity across Europe and the USA and has written two books - and co-written a handful of others.
Professor Nicola McEwen is Associate Director of the ESRC Centre on Constitutional Change (CCC). She was appointed ESRC Senior Scotland Fellow, exploring Scotland’s external and intergovernmental relations in the event of independence.
David Torrance currently works as a writer, journalist and broadcaster, dividing his time between London and Edinburgh. He is a prolific author and has written biographies of Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon among other books.
The University launched the Five Million Questions project to examine the issues surrounding the biggest event in Scotland for over 300 years. 5MQ stimulated wider debate, applied academic rigour to examination of the issues, and engaged with the public through a series of lectures and research activities.
Alex Salmond, Alistair Darling, Danny Alexander and Nicola Sturgeon were among the heavyweights from both sides of the debate who appeared in front of large audiences at the University in the run-up to the referendum. The success of the 5MQ venture led to it being awarded the University’s prestigious Stephen Fry Award for Excellence in Public Engagement.
‘Scotland's Referendum: One Year On’ takes place at the Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, at 6pm on Monday, 21st September. Free tickets can be obtained from http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scotlands-referendum-one-year-on-tickets-18260231845. Overflow theatres may be in operation and seating in the main lecture theatre is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. A drinks reception will follow the event.
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