SCOTTISH actor and Yes campaigner Alan Cumming has given his view on the Vow in the run up to the 10-year anniversary of the independence referendum.
The Vow was a front page published by the Daily Record which saw the three main party leaders in Westminster at the time – David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg – commit to new powers for Scotland.
The 10-year anniversary of the referendum will be marked on Wednesday by several independence rallies across Scotland and a speech by First Minister John Swinney.
Speaking with Scottish singer Griogair Labhruidh, Cumming said the Vow was essentially a “last-ditch attempt” to get Scots to vote No.
The pair were speaking ahead of the launch of their single "2014", which will be released on Wednesday to mark exactly 10 years since the historic referendum.
The Vow was a number of false promises made by the British Government to the people of Scotland, intended to prevent Scottish independence from happening. Alan Cumming and I break it down in this clip from our "2014" discussion. #scotland #thevow #scottishindependence… pic.twitter.com/DrOOziE5Af
— Griogair (@griogairmusic) September 16, 2024
Cumming said: “The Vow was a bunch of promises by the British government, which would basically kind of give independence and federalism [to Scotland], as it was probably more accurately described.
“It basically said, ‘Why would you bother voting for independence, when we’re going to give you blah, blah, blah’.”
Cumming cited several promises made by the Vow should Scotland vote to stay in the Union, including more powers given to Holyrood and continued membership in the EU.
“It was a last-ditch attempt, and it was also about fear,” he said.
Cumming added that the government had “tried” fear, pointing towards his mum who worried about what was going to happen to her pension should Scotland become independent.
He continued: “It was about ‘Why do you have to have independence when you can have this?’”
The "architect" of the Vow, former Daily Record editor Murray Foote, is now an independence supporter and works as the chief executive of the SNP.
