The First Minister of Scotland v the Secretary of State for Scotland on the Politics Show today was a non-contest. Michael Moore was hesitant and failed to fill the screen. Alex Salmond was crisp and confident.
This disparity between Salmond and his opponents is one of the biggest problems for the Unionist cause. Polls consistently show that most Scots don’t want independence. But every day Salmond is out there making his eloquent—if factually dubious—case for it. There is a real and growing danger that’ll he end up winning by default because no one of stature is countering him.
What’s needed is a big figure, preferably a non-political one, to defend the union and take the fight to Salmond. At the moment, Salmond is—as the whole referendum debate shows—making his opponents fight on territory of his choosing. For the sake of the Union, that needs to change.
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