Three-quarters of the funding so far for the campaign backing a Yes vote in September's independence referendum in Scotland has come from a couple who won £160 million (€196 million) in the Euromillions lottery three years ago.
Colin and Chris Weir, who are long-time supporters of the Scottish National Party, have donated £2.5 million to the "Yes, Scotland" campaign since April last year, on top of the £1 million that it gave to the organisation in the 12 months before.
Besides the administrative support that has been provided by the SNP, “Yes, Scotland” has raised just under £5 million, compared to the £2.8 million which was declared by the pro-union “Better Together” in its most recent filings last December.
Responding to criticism of their actions, the Weirs felt the need last week to issue a public statement, denying they been put under pressure by the SNP to put some of their wealth behind the pro-independence campaign.
“As lifelong supporters of independence, it would be strange if we did not support the Yes Scotland campaign,” they wrote in a letter published in a Scottish newspaper, “No one bullied or targeted us.”
One of the first letters they received after they were identified as the biggest winners yet of the Euromillions came from Scottish first minister and Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond.
Interestingly, “Yes, Scotland”, which claims a strong grassroots presence¸ has had fewer individual donations: 11,000 people, not including the Weirs, have given £473,000, compared with 17,000 who have given £341,600 to “Better Together”.
Negotiate details
Meanwhile, Mr Salmond has said that he wants to create a team drawn from across all of Scottish life to negotiate the details of the separation from the United Kingdom, if Scots vote for independence.
In reply, Labour, which opposes independence (though there are some within the party who do not), has invited the SNP – which has majority control in the Holyrood parliament in Edinburgh – to work together to strengthen devolution if voters opt to stay in the union.
The declarations were made to mark the 15th anniversary of the reopening of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh after a 300-year gap – one of the central events of Tony Blair’s time in office.
Urging opponents to become part of “Team Scotland” if voters say Yes, Mr Salmond promised a non-partisan membership, illustrating “the wish of those of us on the Yes side to move forward in a consensual way once the people have spoken”.
