I remember it being said Cameron outmanoeuvred Salmon by insisting on a referendum for independence rather than just for further devolution, whereas its speculated Salmon was happy simply for further devolution. Well it might very well come back to bite him in the sense that it looks like London will give Scotland more devolution (which was supposedly what Salmon wanted) or Scotland becomes independent. The high yes vote puts pressure for more devolution if it just falls short of independence.Scottish independence: British government offers sweeteners to stay in UK as poll shows Yes vote growing
The British government is scrambling to court Scottish voters after an opinion poll showed a majority in support of independence for the first time.
A YouGov poll released on Sunday found that 51 per cent of Scots favoured a Yes vote in the September 18 independence referendum, with 49 per cent of respondents saying they would vote No.
The two-point gap is within the poll's margin of error but YouGov president Peter Kellner says recent polls have seen a "big shift" towards independence as undecided voters switch to the Yes camp.
The UK government has been quick to respond to the shift, announcing a plan of action to give the Scots greater devolution, a move which Westminster says would give them "the best of both worlds".
"You will see in the next few days a plan of action to give more powers to Scotland, more tax powers, more spending powers, more plans and powers over the welfare state," chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne said.
"The timetable for delivering that will be put into effect the moment there is a No vote in the referendum, and then Scotland will have the best of both worlds.
"They will both avoid the risks of separation, but have more control over their own destiny, which is where I think many Scots want to be."
Salmond accuses Westminster of 'panicked' bribe
Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond, who is leading the push for independence, said the new efforts were a sign of desperation rather than a real offer.
"No doubt they'll cobble something together, because having failed to scare the Scottish people, obviously the next step is to try and bribe us," he said.
"If this was a significant new offer, as opposed to a panicked measure, because the Westminster elite are losing this campaign, then wouldn't we have heard about it before hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland have already cast their ballots by post?"
Mr Kellner said Mr Salmond had managed to ease undecided voters' fears over independence.
"It's neck and neck. I'm not going to call the outcome on the basis of a two-point gap," he said.
"This is well within the margin of error. It is on a knife edge. But I think what's happened is that Alex Salmond has managed to neutralise the biggest negative, which is the fear factor."
Poll results hit the pound
Scotland already enjoys a large measure of devolution, having had its own parliament since 1999 with the power to legislate in policy areas such as education, health, the environment, housing and justice.
Further devolution, often referred to as "devo max" could see all powers handed over to Scotland except defence and foreign affairs.
Polls have previously shown many Scots would favour this over outright independence, and Mr Salmond had unsuccessfully pushed to have it as an option on the referendum ballot paper.
However the possibility was vetoed by British prime minister David Cameron, who was betting that the stark choice of Yes or No to independence would deliver a clear victory for the status quo as cautious voters turned away from an uncertain future.
A separate poll on Sunday by Panelbase, commissioned by the pro-independence campaign, showed support for a breakaway rising but still short of a majority at 48 per cent, falling to 44 per cent when undecided voters were included.
The late showing by the independence camp has also hit sterling on the foreign exchange markets.
The pound suffered its worst week against the US dollar in more than a year after the results of YouGov's poll.
"Sterling looks to be set for another challenging week," Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said.
"While there will likely be a significant reaction early on in the week... how much further the pressure on sterling ramps up will likely depend on whether polls continue to show the Yes vote improving."
A vote to break away from the United Kingdom would be followed by negotiations with London on what to do about the currency, national debt, North Sea oil and the future of a Royal Navy nuclear submarine base at Faslane, near Glasgow.
If the Yes vote succeeds, independence has been pencilled in for March 24, 2016.
The pro-independence side has said it believes the rest of Britain would agree to a currency union in the event of a Scottish breakaway, allowing the new state to use the pound.
This has been rejected by Britain's three main political parties, and Mr Osborne remained adamant on Sunday.
"No ifs, no buts, we will not share the pound if Scotland separates from the rest of the UK," he said.
What I want to discuss are the consequences of either outright independence or "devo max" as the article puts it. What would the Scots do differently if they had more leeway?
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On another note, "devo max" sounds like London gets suzerainty over Scotland in practice with sovereignty in name. Oh wait, the British don't recognise that type of "special relationship" anymore.
