Debate Review

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:00:20. > :00:25.You are watching BBC News' extended coverage of the independence debate

:00:26. > :00:30.from Glasgow. I am at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum,

:00:31. > :00:33.where we witnessed 90 minutes of lively and sometimes passionate

:00:34. > :00:37.debates between Alex Salmond, the First Minister of Scotland, and

:00:38. > :00:42.Alistair Darling speaking on behalf of the Better Together campaign. A

:00:43. > :00:46.lot of tonight's debate, in fact a lot of the debate in general, turns

:00:47. > :00:56.on the issue of trust, and I have to trusted guides with me now. What

:00:57. > :01:12.were your first reactions to this? I don't know how much English viewers

:01:13. > :01:15.knew, but when Johannesburg, `` Johan had the debate, there was a

:01:16. > :01:19.lot of shouting and pointing and talking over each other. They were

:01:20. > :01:23.amateurs. There was a huge section in the middle where both sides did

:01:24. > :01:30.themselves no favours by shouting at each other. Having said that, and

:01:31. > :01:36.I'm not saying this because I wouldn't, I think Alex Salmond won,

:01:37. > :01:42.because he had different lines of attack, and he was also strong on

:01:43. > :01:46.the bedroom tax and welfare. He believes the currency is his winning

:01:47. > :01:52.ticket, because he mentioned it in the opening statement and

:01:53. > :01:55.throughout, he answered several questions by bringing up currency

:01:56. > :01:59.again, and use it in his last a man. One thing I would observe wiggly, I

:02:00. > :02:09.thought the best questions came from the audience. The audience played a

:02:10. > :02:14.blinder. The audience came up with if we are Better Together, why are

:02:15. > :02:20.we not Better Together yet? Well played, audience. It was certainly

:02:21. > :02:25.an audience the Yes campaign will be pleased with. I think any honest and

:02:26. > :02:28.dispassionate analysis of this debate has to conclude that Alex

:02:29. > :02:33.Salmond won it in one pretty comfortable. In fact, I would say he

:02:34. > :02:38.won it as conclusively as Alistair Darling won the first one. With his

:02:39. > :02:41.right that the extended 20 minutes in the middle where they were

:02:42. > :02:45.talking not over one another but shouting at the same time like to

:02:46. > :02:48.opera singers standing on different sides of the stage singing

:02:49. > :02:52.completely different arias simultaneously, and you have no idea

:02:53. > :02:58.what is going on or who is saying what, it was a bit like that at

:02:59. > :03:02.times. But, yes, this was a good night for Alex Salmond. Much of the

:03:03. > :03:07.debate was on the areas that he wanted to talk about, where the

:03:08. > :03:10.exchanges that mattered were on currency and the economy, and

:03:11. > :03:14.Alistair Darling had the better of it. When he went back to the

:03:15. > :03:19.currency, time and time again, it felt stale and tired and very

:03:20. > :03:25.repetitive. By contrast, a lot of the debate was on things like North

:03:26. > :03:29.Sea oil, a welfare where Salmond did a effective job of tying Alistair

:03:30. > :03:36.Darling to unpopular coalition government welfare policies. More of

:03:37. > :03:39.the debate was centred on the subjects that Alex Salmond wanted to

:03:40. > :03:43.talk about, which is why he was able to dominate the debate in many ways.

:03:44. > :03:47.He was on the front foot. He was leading the issues most of the time,

:03:48. > :03:51.having the better of the exchanges. Alistair Darling seemed ill`prepared

:03:52. > :03:56.for some of these questions. Asda is going to say that Alex Salmond

:03:57. > :03:59.phrased a lot about the will of the Scottish people, that he would

:04:00. > :04:03.accept the will of the Scottish people. If race but in different

:04:04. > :04:09.ways. But that seemed to be a strong suit. It was strong, will watch

:04:10. > :04:13.strong beam or `` what struck me more is that Alistair felt when he

:04:14. > :04:16.was portrayed as being in bed with the Conservatives, when he was

:04:17. > :04:20.portrayed as a three legged horse with the other two parties, he gets

:04:21. > :04:30.saying, I'm a Labour politician, Alex kept saying he was representing

:04:31. > :04:35.Better Together. As the Alistair Darling is very unhappy to be

:04:36. > :04:37.coupled with the Tory party in this. A woman in the audience criticised

:04:38. > :04:43.him about the National Health Service and said you have an iron

:04:44. > :04:54.burden on your shot. That rattled him. He looked annoyed. Let's see

:04:55. > :04:59.how it went down in the media room. In the last few minutes, we have got

:05:00. > :05:09.results of a poll of about 500 people. They say it was a 71%`29% in

:05:10. > :05:19.favour of Alex Salmond after that electrifying debate. But with media

:05:20. > :05:21.commentator on affairs. This poll suggests Salmond got the better of

:05:22. > :05:28.Darling in this debate. Would you agree? He seemed very nervous in his

:05:29. > :05:33.closing statement. Alistair's closing statement was very weak.

:05:34. > :05:41.evening. There was a lot of evening. There was a lot of

:05:42. > :05:45.the words apart, but most people will just look at the

:05:46. > :05:48.impression. The general impression, if you are aiming for undecided

:05:49. > :05:48.voters, shouting is not a good look. I think people

:05:49. > :05:55.there is or turn the television. Whether it will have shifted the

:05:56. > :06:00.vote, I don't know, but on balance, the end of the debate, would say

:06:01. > :06:06.that Alex Salmond did better than Alistair Darling. Your PC is someone

:06:07. > :06:13.who are content in favour of the union, but did Alistair Darling come

:06:14. > :06:18.across as nervous? `` you are perceived as someone. He did seem

:06:19. > :06:22.nervous. He didn't take control of the questions and ten them around to

:06:23. > :06:27.its advantage, which is something Alex Salmond is a professional it. I

:06:28. > :06:34.feel let down by Alistair Darling. We will Boyd up last time in the

:06:35. > :06:38.last debate. He didn't seem to take control, and he did seem very

:06:39. > :06:42.nervous. Richard, your paper is the only Scottish paper to declare for

:06:43. > :06:49.yes. What did you make of the debate? It was a good night for Alex

:06:50. > :06:57.Anthony Yes campaign. Think Alistair Darling was on the ropes. I was

:06:58. > :07:01.pleased to hear Alex and ask what Darling's position would be in the

:07:02. > :07:08.event of a yes vote, and we was avoiding that question, which

:07:09. > :07:16.was a good question to ask. spin their points of view. Those

:07:17. > :07:29.campaigning in favour of said Alex Salmond had no new tricks.

:07:30. > :07:38.There were three Plan Bs, What would you say to that? It is

:07:39. > :07:43.not a question designed to elicit information, it is a counter trap. I

:07:44. > :07:49.think Alex and knows that. Alistair Darling said there is no plan that

:07:50. > :07:52.he would support after independence for the currency, so there is little

:07:53. > :07:57.point trying to persuade him otherwise. Alex Salmond put forward

:07:58. > :08:01.a definite Plan B. Alistair Darling would say there is no use, what is

:08:02. > :08:09.your can`mac plan C. There will still not find a plan. `` Fancy.

:08:10. > :08:22.Thank you very very much for that. Much appreciated.

:08:23. > :08:30.for the journalists in this room. Its key, the postal votes heading

:08:31. > :08:42.out tomorrow. Just a reminder of the breaking news. These polls are very

:08:43. > :08:54.rough. This is the instant reaction to who won the debate. The people

:08:55. > :09:03.polled said 71% said Alex Salmon and 29% fat Alistair Darling. According

:09:04. > :09:09.with our views. `` for Alistair Darling. The big issue that Alistair

:09:10. > :09:12.Darling wanted to hammer home was this issue about currency. He used

:09:13. > :09:15.the word risk repeatedly, particularly on the currency. If we

:09:16. > :09:21.don't have a currency union what is plan B? I had no luck three weeks

:09:22. > :09:26.ago. He either can't say or doesn't think we will like the answer. It's

:09:27. > :09:32.not a matter for Alex Salmond what not a matter for Alex Salmond what

:09:33. > :09:35.the alternative is. If it's the Panama model I would like to know. I

:09:36. > :09:40.don't want to use someone else's currency with no central bank and

:09:41. > :09:45.rotten public services. If it's the euro, I don't want that either. A

:09:46. > :09:53.separate currency, we don't want that. I want to know what plan is

:09:54. > :10:05.and so do you. Tell us. You don't have to point. I have set up the

:10:06. > :10:12.options very clearly. You have got three plan Bs. We have got three

:10:13. > :10:27.tonight. I want to follow the will of the

:10:28. > :10:30.Scottish people. Will you as a Democrat accept the will of the

:10:31. > :10:35.Scottish people? If you win this referendum I will accept it's a no

:10:36. > :10:42.vote. Will you accept the sovereign will of the Scottish people if it is

:10:43. > :10:49.a yes vote? I have always said in a referendum you accept the outcome. I

:10:50. > :10:53.happen to think, and so do a lot of people, that a currency union of

:10:54. > :10:59.this sort is the second best option for Scotland. I want the pound

:11:00. > :11:04.sterling and only works if you have a political union that goes with it.

:11:05. > :11:07.Given the prominence that this question played in the first debate

:11:08. > :11:10.three weeks ago it's hardly surprising that the First Minister

:11:11. > :11:20.was much better prepared with his answers. He said he had got three

:11:21. > :11:24.plan Bs. This issue of a currency came up time and time again. The

:11:25. > :11:31.question of whether Scotland could be used pound if it was effectively

:11:32. > :11:41.run from London. You said a few moments ago you had a row of plan

:11:42. > :11:45.Bs. It's not a collection of buses. It's the value of our savings, the

:11:46. > :11:50.interest rates we pay and the money for public services. Stop playing

:11:51. > :12:00.games with us. You must have a plan B. If we win the referendum will you

:12:01. > :12:11.be a Democrat. Can't we use the pound anyway. Of course we can. We

:12:12. > :12:15.can use the dollar, we can use anything. If you're using somebody

:12:16. > :12:25.else's currency you don't have a central bank. Hold on a bit. The

:12:26. > :12:29.second problem you have is that countries that use other people 's

:12:30. > :12:34.currencies like Panama or Ecuador or Hong Kong, they have to run a

:12:35. > :12:48.surplus. They can't borrow. You would have a huge deficit. This was

:12:49. > :12:52.what Ruth was talking about. Slightly difficult to find out what

:12:53. > :12:58.either of them was saying. Clearly it's a big issue for the no

:12:59. > :13:05.campaign. The no campaign, the focus group save people aren't interested

:13:06. > :13:10.in nationality and longing. They focus on risk and uncertainty. The

:13:11. > :13:20.No Campaign focus groups say the same thing. I thought Alistair

:13:21. > :13:24.Darling botched the currency issue. Alex Salmond was cutely trying to

:13:25. > :13:29.suggest we will keep the pound come what may and there's essentially no

:13:30. > :13:32.real difference between a formal currency union and sterling eyes

:13:33. > :13:39.Asian whereby Scotland would continue to use the pound. There is

:13:40. > :13:43.a considerable difference between these two things. He is muddying the

:13:44. > :13:48.waters. Alistair Darling missed the opportunity to say you've given me

:13:49. > :13:56.three buses but the problem is none of them will go to destinations I or

:13:57. > :14:01.the people of Scotland want. Currency is a weakness and they will

:14:02. > :14:05.never win on it. If they can get a draw on it or get to the stage where

:14:06. > :14:08.everybody is so fed up talking about it but they would do anything to

:14:09. > :14:14.listen to some other message they will take that. There is a puzzle

:14:15. > :14:17.here. Scotland may vote for independence but keep the pound, the

:14:18. > :14:23.Queen, being able to watch Eastenders. How independent would

:14:24. > :14:32.this be even of Alex Salmond gets his heart 's desire? He wants to

:14:33. > :14:37.pick and choose. He narrowed it down to two things. The political union

:14:38. > :14:43.and the economic union that he wanted severed. It's interesting to

:14:44. > :14:47.night, apart from the shouting. There must have been a mass exodus

:14:48. > :14:53.to the kettle or the pub in the middle. I thought Alex Salmond

:14:54. > :15:02.managed to extract two important statements. You can keep the pound

:15:03. > :15:05.and music. `` and use it. He was asked if Scotland could be a

:15:06. > :15:11.prosperous and sustainable country and he refused to answer. He

:15:12. > :15:19.accepted that it could tonight and his view is that it's better

:15:20. > :15:29.together. On all of the currency issues it's much more of a vote

:15:30. > :15:32.winner for the No Campaign. I was surprised that Alistair Darling

:15:33. > :15:38.didn't use the argument they've used elsewhere. We've seen with the euro

:15:39. > :15:42.if you don't have a close political union you can have a shambolic use

:15:43. > :15:47.of the currency. He tried to make the point that what is the point of

:15:48. > :15:53.an independence that has your currency controlled in London, your

:15:54. > :16:03.economic policy in broad terms set in London which is what the SNP

:16:04. > :16:06.actually advocate. Even after independence their spending power

:16:07. > :16:11.would be severely limited. There might be good reasons. It might lead

:16:12. > :16:16.to better government than would otherwise be the case. Alistair

:16:17. > :16:21.Darling was not at his best tonight. He seemed taken aback by the

:16:22. > :16:28.ferocity of Alex Salmon's assault and taken aback by the audience. It

:16:29. > :16:35.was very much on his side. I wondered whether he made a hole for

:16:36. > :16:43.himself when he raised the pound as the first question. The audience

:16:44. > :16:48.side. `` the audience gave a sigh. They were asking each other

:16:49. > :16:51.questions. The first question Alastair asked was about the

:16:52. > :16:57.currency and there was a feeling of here we go again in the audience.

:16:58. > :16:59.The audience can't have been instinctively on Alex Salmond's side

:17:00. > :17:06.because they were carefully selected. It's difficult to tell

:17:07. > :17:12.whether or not they became on the side of Alex Salmond. People talk

:17:13. > :17:17.about a currency union and not being sustainable. There were lots of

:17:18. > :17:23.examples tossed about with Panama and Hong Kong. I think

:17:24. > :17:29.Czechoslovakia as it then was is interesting. Czech Republic and

:17:30. > :17:34.Slovakia started off having a currency union. It didn't work out

:17:35. > :17:39.and everybody assumed the big prosperous Czech Republic would be

:17:40. > :17:43.the winners. Some years down the line Slovakia is the more

:17:44. > :17:52.prosperous. Both of them are in fine fat. Wide the other thing that came

:17:53. > :17:56.out in Alistair Darling's argument was oil and the declining fortunes

:17:57. > :18:09.of the oil industry had some time in the future. This is something that

:18:10. > :18:21.plays very big in Aberdeen. We have nine people watching here.

:18:22. > :18:31.Everything else that was covered in that debate was watched here.

:18:32. > :18:39.Gillian, David and Robin. You voted yes. Do you think Alex Allen won the

:18:40. > :18:55.argument. What was really interesting to me was watching the

:18:56. > :19:05.closing statements. It's a very grass notes campaign. It was almost

:19:06. > :19:11.a political competition between two men which it isn't just about. Alex

:19:12. > :19:21.Salmond said it wasn't about being about politicians but being about

:19:22. > :19:25.the people of Scotland. On the subject of the currency Aleksandar

:19:26. > :19:30.Tonev about alternative options. He didn't name a plan B but laid out

:19:31. > :19:37.some alternatives. You think that won the argument for him? Alex

:19:38. > :19:41.Salmond hasn't... He's been talking about the range of options all the

:19:42. > :19:45.way through. This plan B seems to have been something that better

:19:46. > :19:58.together have cottoned on to. Everybody is talking about plan B.

:19:59. > :20:01.Tonight he pretty much talked about why plan a is what he thinks they

:20:02. > :20:09.should go forward with and why they should have a mandate. It will be a

:20:10. > :20:14.big mistake Alex Salmond to talk about a second option. He wants the

:20:15. > :20:20.option for us. In the event of a yes vote, even everybody on the other

:20:21. > :20:27.side will be with him on that. It is the best option for Scotland. On the

:20:28. > :20:33.issue of the currency, do you think Alex Salmond managed to take the

:20:34. > :20:41.sting out of the argument? And I think he did. He dealt really well

:20:42. > :20:46.with the currency. He laid out quite a few options. The idea of the

:20:47. > :20:54.mandate was something that both sides agree on. He's admitting we

:20:55. > :20:58.are going forward with the pound and there are other options. It's not an

:20:59. > :21:02.explicit plan B but we don't really need one if he's already declared

:21:03. > :21:10.other options. A big chunk of the debate, but he didn't dominate it in

:21:11. > :21:18.the same way. Do you think some of the other issues shed any new light

:21:19. > :21:24.on the debate? Yes. It was good to see other considerations. It was

:21:25. > :21:30.nice to see that they were mindful that it's not just a debate on

:21:31. > :21:36.currency. Issues on welfare were touched on. The NHS was dealt with

:21:37. > :21:43.which is brilliant to see. It's something that both sides are

:21:44. > :21:48.mindful of. We have an undecided voter with us. You are the key to

:21:49. > :21:54.all of this because it's your vote that both sides are trying to grab

:21:55. > :22:00.to tip them over the magic 50% mark. Did anybody swing at fair you? I'm

:22:01. > :22:07.not swung yet. I'm slightly clearer on what the clear issue is, one of

:22:08. > :22:12.them. It's hard to get that out of the debate. Much too much shouting.

:22:13. > :22:18.Where is the clarity? In the short`term I think there's no doubt

:22:19. > :22:25.we would be slightly worse off. Much too much focus on the short`term. In

:22:26. > :22:40.the long term we might be better off with local decisions made more

:22:41. > :22:46.locally. I'm still You have three more weeks to make that decision.

:22:47. > :22:59.September 18 is the magic day. Nine people here, three undecided, three

:23:00. > :23:04.yes, three no. It was interesting to see just how passionate people were

:23:05. > :23:08.being about the debate here. Thank you. A few moments ago, we

:23:09. > :23:14.were wondering about what people all over the United Kingdom were making

:23:15. > :23:16.of this debate, which was lively and passion in places. Let's find out

:23:17. > :23:24.what the people in York were thinking.

:23:25. > :23:28.This was a debate held in Scotland, but some people here in England are

:23:29. > :23:34.watching this very closely. We spent the day in Yorkshire to test

:23:35. > :23:40.opinions. The first person we spoke to was the leader of York council,

:23:41. > :23:44.James Alexander. He wants to use this debate in Scotland, the

:23:45. > :23:48.arguments over independence, to call for more power for the Yorkshire and

:23:49. > :23:55.Humberside region. He wants Yorkshire, with its population of

:23:56. > :23:59.five than in people `` 5 million people, to have more say in economy

:24:00. > :24:03.and investment. He argues that Scotland can have their say, if

:24:04. > :24:08.Wales can have devolution, why not Yorkshire? We spoke to a couple who

:24:09. > :24:13.had many questions about what it means that them at a basic level.

:24:14. > :24:17.They live near the England Scotland border in Carlisle. They talked

:24:18. > :24:22.about free prescriptions and tuition fees. There was saying is Scottish

:24:23. > :24:24.people do get independent and Scots within Scotland become down to

:24:25. > :24:28.working Carlisle, what does that mean? Two they still get free

:24:29. > :24:35.prescriptions? Plenty of questions there. `` do they. We have also

:24:36. > :24:38.heard from the experts, the Scots who live in England. Thousands of

:24:39. > :24:42.people who were born in Scotland but now live in other parts of the are

:24:43. > :24:49.ticking. They cannot vote because they are not resident in Scotland.

:24:50. > :24:57.`` other parts of the United Kingdom. They say they should have a

:24:58. > :25:03.say. We tested the opinion here in this pub in the centre. I'm in

:25:04. > :25:07.favour of Scottish independence. It will give regions in the UK ever

:25:08. > :25:12.greater voice in Westminster. More power to places like Yorkshire?

:25:13. > :25:16.Absolutely. If Scotland can go it alone, we can stand on our own two

:25:17. > :25:21.feet as well. I think they are taking a chance. They have the oil

:25:22. > :25:32.etc. They think that is enough. They don't realise they need us as much

:25:33. > :25:41.as we need them. I don't did they should go for it. I would go against

:25:42. > :25:44.it. If people choose to take themselves away, that is fine,

:25:45. > :25:49.however, they have to look at what we have given them and helped them

:25:50. > :25:52.with. I would prefer them to stay as they are, united. They have had that

:25:53. > :25:57.in the past where they have been separate, and I can understand their

:25:58. > :26:02.frustrations. They are a long way from London, and I can understand

:26:03. > :26:08.they feel out of it, and we do too, so I can see that side, but I think

:26:09. > :26:12.we should stay together. What was clear from listening to those

:26:13. > :26:19.opinions and from our spending the day here in York is that since this

:26:20. > :26:22.debate, it has brought the whole issue into sharper focus, and

:26:23. > :26:25.speaking to people on the streets, more and more people are asking

:26:26. > :26:30.questions about what it means for them, and what it means for

:26:31. > :26:35.England's role in the union. Thank you. One of the unique

:26:36. > :26:39.features about this debate and the referendum vote is 16 and

:26:40. > :26:45.17`year`olds will be allowed to vote. I have been talking to them

:26:46. > :26:53.down the country, and many are extremely engaged and informed about

:26:54. > :26:56.what is going on in Scotland. They really are well informed. There

:26:57. > :27:01.are plenty of debates taking place in schools up and down in Scotland.

:27:02. > :27:04.There is a lot on in social media. Three of those young voters have

:27:05. > :27:09.joined us in the media room, the spin room tonight. They have been

:27:10. > :27:15.watching the debate closely with me. We have no thing, Willis and Sarah.

:27:16. > :27:22.You say you are undecided. Did you get anything from that debate? ``

:27:23. > :27:27.Nathan. I've learned a lot more about the two men than it did in the

:27:28. > :27:33.first debate. What about the issues? In general, they went back to

:27:34. > :27:39.currency a lot, which we are very spent a lot of time on. Did you want

:27:40. > :27:44.to hear more about currency, or had you had enough? I kind of thought

:27:45. > :27:53.Alex Salmond was either going to tell us his grand plan again all be

:27:54. > :27:58.evasive again, but I think generally, it was really good. In a

:27:59. > :28:08.word or two, you said you are undecided. What is your position

:28:09. > :28:14.now? I'm still not sure. Interesting. I thought it was better

:28:15. > :28:20.than the last debate. One of my favourite parts was when Alistair

:28:21. > :28:27.Darling admitted that Scotland could use the pound, and I thought there

:28:28. > :28:31.was a great line from the audience which was if we will be Better

:28:32. > :28:38.Together, why are we not now? I love that moment. That was my favourite

:28:39. > :28:43.part. They say female voters are to a larger degree still undecided

:28:44. > :28:48.compared to male voters. They say they want calm, considered

:28:49. > :28:56.arguments. That times a bit shouted. What did you make of those parts?

:28:57. > :29:04.People can't make decisions on which politicians are the loudest or shut

:29:05. > :29:10.the most. `` shouted the most. There was a poll that said 71% to 29% in

:29:11. > :29:15.favour of Alex Salmond's performance tonight. You say you are and no

:29:16. > :29:22.voter. What did you make of Alistair Darling's performance? I was more

:29:23. > :29:26.disappointed. Although Darling struggled when it came to the

:29:27. > :29:29.currency, because it kept coming back to that argument when the

:29:30. > :29:33.audience wanted to get past it, he did well towards the end. People

:29:34. > :29:37.were stoic to move more back in his favour. Considering how well

:29:38. > :29:46.prepared Alex Salmond was, Darling held well. `` people were starting

:29:47. > :29:52.to move. People my age are incredibly interested. It is the

:29:53. > :29:58.first time we have engaged. It is a great opportunity. The debates

:29:59. > :30:07.themselves, we have had text messages between friends, but people

:30:08. > :30:14.are having a huge reaction. Thank you all very much. But you also get

:30:15. > :30:16.in this media room this evening is members of various political

:30:17. > :30:22.parties. Let me give you some of their comments. Despite all of the

:30:23. > :30:29.shouting, union member parties said Alex Salmond didn't give any

:30:30. > :30:34.answers, and the spin room would be delighted. Alistair Darling had no

:30:35. > :30:37.vision, and was insulting to the Scottish people. They are working

:30:38. > :30:41.hard to convince the newspaper people assembled in this room who

:30:42. > :30:52.won this debate tonight. Thank you. We have a couple of the

:30:53. > :30:57.first editions of the newspapers. Let me read you the headlines. The

:30:58. > :31:06.Guardian has summoned, Darling has sided with the Tories. There is only

:31:07. > :31:09.one Scottish Conservative MP at Westminster, and that you some

:31:10. > :31:14.people is a considerable vote winner for Mr Salmond. `` and that for some

:31:15. > :31:20.people. Salmond in feisty clash with Darling. It certainly was at times.

:31:21. > :31:25.You couldn't at times make out what either were saying. Excellent papers

:31:26. > :31:29.though they are, they would not be the biggest selling in Scotland. We

:31:30. > :31:33.hope to get some headlines from the Scottish newspapers a little later

:31:34. > :31:36.in the programme. Let's pick up a couple of thoughts there. One thing

:31:37. > :31:43.that came up which was very strong was Trident. You live quite close to

:31:44. > :31:50.it. I am in that the miniature angle. How difficult is that any

:31:51. > :31:59.shoe for Better Together? `` there be immune triangle. `` Bermuda

:32:00. > :32:08.Triangle. Some are dependent on jobs at the bases. 8000, I think. That

:32:09. > :32:11.figure gets bandied about, but some ancillary jobs. It is a very big

:32:12. > :32:17.issue for people living there. They do worry about jobs and about what

:32:18. > :32:20.will happen if Trident is moved. Alex Salmond says that will be the

:32:21. > :32:29.headquarters of the Scottish defence Force. There has been a consistent

:32:30. > :32:33.feeling that Trident is immoral and illegal and should not be part of

:32:34. > :32:38.this country and should not be on Scottish shores. I think it is a

:32:39. > :32:42.vote winner across Scotland. It is not necessarily a vote winner where

:32:43. > :32:46.I live. On the other hand, where I live is a relatively small

:32:47. > :32:51.community. There are a lot of jobs, but it is a small committee.

:32:52. > :32:55.Overall, what Darling failed to do was take on Salmond on immorality

:32:56. > :32:59.and legality of Trident, which is a big issue for a lot of Scots. What

:33:00. > :33:02.he did say was you don't have to choose between defending the country

:33:03. > :33:09.and the health service, because that was the context. The Yes campaign

:33:10. > :33:14.what should believe that while unionists are spending all of this

:33:15. > :33:17.money on new nuclear weapons, they are quite happy to leave in the

:33:18. > :33:25.streets. That is obviously preposterous. `` happy to leave

:33:26. > :33:28.infants starving. It is not the issue that will decide the matter

:33:29. > :33:33.for many people. There are people for whom Trident is a immoral

:33:34. > :33:36.absurdity, and that is an important issue for them. There were

:33:37. > :33:43.overwhelmingly vote yes, I imagine, because they are the far left in

:33:44. > :33:47.general. But for most people, they might not much like Trident, but it

:33:48. > :33:50.doesn't impinge upon their lives very much. Polling evidence suggests

:33:51. > :33:57.that the country is fairly divided on Trident. Most of all, actually

:33:58. > :34:00.fairly indifferent to it, just as as they are mostly indifferent other

:34:01. > :34:05.defence issues. I have to take issue with that. The suggestion that only

:34:06. > :34:12.people on the left are opposed to Trident. Amongst the many people who

:34:13. > :34:15.were arrested outside the gates at Faslane during the many years of

:34:16. > :34:22.protests were three moderators of the General Assembly of the church

:34:23. > :34:30.of Scotland. I don't think they are closet communists, they just care

:34:31. > :34:34.about defence policy. Trident is an issue of minority passion. You may

:34:35. > :34:38.be for the spectator, but not elsewhere. On that happy note, not

:34:39. > :34:45.talking over each other, but feisty nonetheless, Ruth and Alex, thank

:34:46. > :34:48.you both very much. It has been a somewhat chilly but bright and

:34:49. > :34:54.fairly dry day here in Glasgow. Let's catch up with the weather.

:34:55. > :35:03.Glorious sunshine in Scotland. 19 degrees. Rain until dusk in London.

:35:04. > :35:09.More than 30 millimetres of rain. Anthony his cloud, an area of low

:35:10. > :35:11.pressure sitting to the West. A very wet bank holiday. It has not

:35:12. > :35:12.finished yet. This strip