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Margaret Curran MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, in a speech in Glasgow, said:

We are now just over four weeks away from referendum day.

One week until postal votes arrive and Scots begin to vote.

This has been a long campaign.

And I know that our activists, volunteers, campaigners, councillors, MPs and MSPs have been working day in and day out to get us the result Scotland needs.

This morning, I’m confident that our positive case for Scotland staying in the UK is winning people over.

But we can’t afford to be complacent.

We need to put in as much hard work over the next four weeks as we have over the past two years.

This is the final stretch.

And you know what?

The SNP know they’re losing the argument.

In this week alone.

All over the place on the currency.

Just last night the First Minister’s own economic adviser raised the prospect of years of uncertainty, and now even he accepts there is a need for a Plan B on currency.

The demands from voters on Alex Salmond to address this is now urgent.

Still at this late stage in the debate with many Scots preparing to vote by post next week, too many important questions remain unanswered.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

And when I’m out campaigning, I hear people’s intense frustration that they’re not getting the most basic answers they need from the Nationalists.

They’re not happy because they realise the magnitude of this decision, and they know that once it is made there is no going back.

This is the most important political decision we have ever made.

And today, I want to turn to one area that matters to Scots from all walks of life.

Something that most of us will come into contact with every day, and that is the BBC.

It has not been given nearly enough attention in the debate so far.

But the proposals in the White Paper about Scotland leaving the BBC and setting up, in an independent Scotland, a new state broadcaster, not only have far reaching consequences but would be damaging for viewers and for the creative sector in Scotland.

Breaking up the BBC isn’t a scare story. It’s Page 308 of the Scottish Government’s White Paper.

And this morning I want to explain why these proposals don’t stand up.

I’m not saying the BBC should be exempt from criticism. Far from it.

But the issue of what would happen to it after independence isn’t about a single policy decision or any management practice.

It’s about whether the BBC continues to operate in Scotland at all.

And people need to know and understand that this is a consequence of voting for independence.

It needs now to be a subject of detailed discussion, and people across Scotland need to have the facts.

Even some leading Yes supporters are questioning the White Paper’s proposals.

Brian Cox doesn’t agree with them and Patrick Harvie was asked about them recently and said:

“Far more people would be concerned about losing [it] than are concerned about whether we are in Nato…[It] is a bigger part of most people’s daily lives.”

That is the heart of this issue. Because every day, people switch on their TVs, their iPhones, their iPads, and every day they use BBC content.

And we need to ask what the impact would be on the many jobs that rely on the corporation in the independent production sector and more widely.

Thousands of jobs, the majority here in Glasgow, which are part of a thriving, dynamic and growing industry.

Jobs that can – and should – provide new opportunities for many of the next generation.

A CELEBRATION OF SCOTTISH BROADCASTING

The vast majority of people in Scotland support and value the BBC and they say they turn to it first for impartial news coverage.

When we have national events, it is the platform that brings people together across the country.

Only some of us were able to be in Commonwealth Games venues, watching the events.

But the TV coverage brought the Games to every living room.

76 per cent of the TV audience in Scotland tuned in to watch the Opening Ceremony.

And 78 per cent tuned in to watch live sporting coverage.

Even after the crises that have hit it in recent years, the BBC commands a level of trust and respect that our banks, Parliament, and dare I say it, most politicians, can only dream of.

And contrary to what the Nationalists would tell us, Scotland has always played a critical part in it.

Founded by a Scotsman – Lord Reith – the first broadcast from Scotland happened only four months after the first from London.

5SC, as it was called, started transmitting from an attic room in 202 Bath Street at 7pm on 6th March 1923 with a rendition of Hey, Johnnie Cope – a folk song about the defeat of Government troops by the Jacobites during the second Jacobite Uprising.

Then John Reith, as the first director-general, took the microphone and announced that 5SC, the Glasgow station of the British Broadcasting Company, was calling. That was the official start of broadcasting in Scotland.

It was a relatively modest start for an organisation that would become a staple of British, and Scottish, life.

And it has been an interesting journey since then.

BBC Scotland has grown and developed.

Supported by William Beveridge’s commitment to empowering the Nations and Regions inside the Corporation in 1951.

And more recently Labour’s commitment to shifting jobs out of London, and strengthening operations outside of the M25 has meant record investment across the UK.

And here, the establishment of a creative hub at Pacific Quay has started to change the media landscape in Glasgow, with the potential to do more.

There is still much to do, but this is the kind of change we need to see.

That won’t just strengthen the BBC in Scotland, but will have a knock on effect on STV and the whole independent production sector in our country.

What we don’t need are the proposals in the White Paper.

And that’s my argument this morning.

Scots don’t support the Nationalists plans to break up the BBC and create a separate Scottish Broadcasting Corporation.

Because it would mean having to accept either lower quality TV programmes, or higher licence fees.

And cutting ourselves off from the BBC would be cutting off the oxygen to Scotland’s thriving, and growing, production sector.

THE WHITE PAPER

For an institution that is valued as much as the BBC, and for an industry that provides as many jobs as broadcasting does, the SNP proposals do not pass the test of credibility.

Alex Salmond said earlier this week that on September 18th, Scots will be voting for the vision of independence in his White Paper.

And let’s be absolutely clear about what is in the White Paper – it is a plan which proposes taking Scotland out of the BBC and replacing it with a new state broadcaster.

We would go from being an integral part of the UK’s national broadcaster, to having a commercial relationship with it. Buying back programmes and services that, at the moment, we get through our licence fee.

And that would be a bad deal for Scots.

The proposals in the White Paper fail all the key tests of finance, quality and the ability to support the creative industries in Scotland.

But, most importantly, they do not have the support of the Scottish people.

According to the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, only 11 per cent back Alex Salmond’s proposal.

The White Paper says that independence will bring new powers over broadcasting to the Scottish Parliament.

But the first – and only – way he proposes using these powers is to get rid of an organisation that has the support of the people of Scotland and has served us well for decades.
THE NUMBERS DON’T ADD UP

And the numbers don’t add up.

The SNP’s White Paper proposes three principles for broadcasting in an independent Scotland: an increase in production opportunities, continued access to all current channels and services and no additional cost to the Scottish consumer.

An independent report by Enders Analysis shows us why this is simply not achievable.

According to the Scottish Government’s estimates, the total budget for public service broadcasting in Scotland would be £345 million.

When you exclude the £10 million to collect the licence fee, reductions in the fee for blind people and the over 75s, this leaves a budget of around £257 million for the Scottish Broadcasting Service, comparable to the Irish broadcaster RTE’s budget.

The BBC’s six most popular TV shows cost £160 million to produce. It is clear that with a budget of less than £300 million there would not be enough money to supply the same level or quality of content.

To get round this, the SNP have said they would exchange Scotland’s productions for all the content of BBC One and BBC Two – valued at £2 billion per year for programming and distribution.

They want to establish a joint venture, essentially programme swapping, but this proposal has faced sharp criticism as in essence it means Scotland would have access to all of the programmes paid for and produced by the BBC without making any financial contribution to them.

In the words of John Birt, this is “make believe”.

Like the currency union, the SNP are trying to say they can keep something that is not in their gift. Enders Analysis concludes that “while free to air terms for the BBC in Scotland is on the SNP wish list, it is not in the SNP’s power to deliver on this promise, it is the UK Government’s”

In short, the SNP have set out a plan for broadcasting that is uncosted, untested and completely unrealistic.

Their numbers don’t add up and it means something simple for Scottish consumers: accept lower quality TV programmes, or a higher licence fee to buy back what you already have.

THE INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION SECTOR

This would have a devastating impact, not just on people across the country who want to keep BBC content, but the thousands of people whose companies rely on the work they provide.

While Alex Salmond promises access to all the shows we want – a promise he can’t guarantee – he doesn’t have anything to say about our access to the hundreds of other services the BBC provides day in and day out, such as the iPlayer.

15,000 people in Scotland are employed by over 100 independent film and television production companies, with 60,000 jobs in total supported by our creative industries.

We need to ask what happens to those jobs when the BBC no longer has an incentive to purchase increasing amounts of content from Scottish companies.

Strict BBC rules mean that content has to be purchased from across the UK. After independence, others stand to gain where Scotland is set to lose out.

Today, in Scotland, over 10 per cent of total UK BBC production comes from Scotland. More than our population share.

And that number is rising. Only last month the new Director General pledged to make the BBC even more open to competition from independent producers – potentially growing the market for Scottish production companies after the next charter renewal.

That’s a benefit to Scotland’s independent producers, and means that we are generating creative talent in these sectors in Scotland like never before.

Talent that makes Scotland attractive to international producers, and the reason why an increasing number of top quality productions, such as Outlander in Cumbernauld, are coming to Scotland.

The growth in the industry isn’t all because of the BBC. STV and Channel 4 also play a big role in the success of our creative industries.

But the investment in talent, facilities and productions by the BBC in recent years has had a big effect on the whole broadcasting environment here in Scotland.

It’s no surprise that TV bosses broke their silence last week and said the referendum is creating uncertainty in the industry, and many are concerned about job losses if commissions dry up in the event of independence.

One TV boss described “the cloud of uncertainty” which was hanging over the industry.

This morning the Nationalists are saying that this is scaremongering.

And they refuse to be honest about the full implications of their proposals, as I have laid out.

But this isn’t about anyone saying ‘no’ to Scottish viewers.

There would be the potential of a commercial arrangement between the BBC and the new SBS. Paying more for the services and programmes that we get at the moment.

And Scottish consumers could still get some BBC services. If they paid for them through their cable or satellite subscriptions.

But we would still lose the millions of pounds of investment that is currently driven to Scotland through network commissions.

THE FUTURE OF TV IN SCOTLAND

There is so much strength and opportunity in the model we have today, and so much potential for Scotland’s growing creative industries to thrive.

In the words of Steve Morrison of All3Media last week, “The current system where Scottish producers think [at UK level and at Scottish level] is a great set-up, and I’m not sure a changed set-up would be better.”

The best of both worlds, you could say.

I believe firmly that what we have today in Scotland offers the best deal for viewers, producers and those who work in the industry.

We get top quality programmes, and a boost to Scotland’s economy, creating a pool of creative talent that, if nurtured, can help to grow our independent productions sector.

I don’t see any reason to put that at risk.

The SNP want powers over broadcasting to break up the BBC and replace it with something that will offer a lower quality to Scottish viewers.

I want a bright future for BBC Scotland, for STV and for the whole of our television industry.

But breaking up the BBC isn’t the way to start.

We need it to be pioneering Scottish talent in Scotland. We need more commissions from Scottish production companies. More Scottish actors, singers, musicians and artists on our screens. And more of our culture and national life played out on our televisions.

BBC Scotland has a far stronger voice inside the corporation than it ever has. It can strengthened still.

But I’m clear that the way to do this is to build on what we have. Not to destroy it.

That is the best future for Scottish broadcasting.

The best future for Scottish jobs.

And the best future to take Scotland’s talent out beyond our borders.

Thank you.

ENDS