Not tonight, Darling – TV debate is a win for Salmond
SCOTS nationalists fought their way back into the battle for independence last night, with the country’s First Minister Alex Salmond widely considered to have beaten the No campaign leader Alistair Darling in the final televised debate ahead of the referendum.
Salmond landed crucial blows on the NHS, welfare spending and the currency, giving him victory in a snap poll immediately after the debate. It comes as a relief for Yes campaigners, who have been trailing in the polls.
“Of course we can use the pound, we can use any currency we want,” said Darling, before warning that such a deal would mean a financial union with the rest of the UK. “It is a huge risk. It would be bad for Scotland, with its budget decided and approved by what would be a foreign country – as happens in the Eurozone.”
Salmond hit back, revealing that in any negotiations with the rest of the UK he would insist Scotland will use the pound or it will refuse to take its share of Britain’s national debt.
“There is no way any UK chancellor will let Scotland off with the £5bn per year of debt payments we’re willing to pay,” he said.
Salmond also argued that only an independent Scotland could protect the health service north of the border from Westminster’s relative austerity.
Meanwhile, Darling said that North Sea oil is a dwindling and unreliable source of revenue for a Scottish government, making it hard to plan finance for the future.
In an instant poll by ICM and the Guardian, 71 per cent of viewers thought Salmond won the debate.
However, his Yes campaign still has much ground to cover before the vote next month – recent polls put it behind by a margin of 57 per cent to 43 per cent among those who know how they will vote. And with the first postal ballots being sent out today, Salmond has limited time to gain any momentum and press his advantage from last night’s debate.