Scottish Referendum debate - watch with Mumsnet

[KatieMumsnet]

So tonight sees the first TV debate of the Scottish Referendum with First Minister and key advocate of the pro- yes campaign, Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling, leader of the pro-UK Better Together campaign coming together for a head to head debate for the first time.

You can watch live from 8pm on STV and if you're south of the border can tune in via the STV player.

Fancy watching along with us? What are you hoping to see from tonight's debate? What are your thoughts on the campaigns so far?

If you've decided which way to vote, why? And if not, what will help you decide?

Do feel free to share these, and any more thoughts you have

Watched a bit of it - we're still none the wiser on the important issues, the same old lines were trotted out. Salmond is like his namesake isn't he - a slippery wee fish.

If Yes isn't about Salmond when can we look forward to seeing the back of him? 'Cos he's been hanging around like a bad smell as long as I can remember...

I thought the gaelic language v pensions q was crackers.

Offs. We already waste far too much money on Gaelic and Scots language qualifications.

Missed that bit...what were they saying about gaelic? (which is a colossal waste of public money imo)

I thought the audience member who said Salmonds performance so far was a poor indication of things to come made a very valid point.

How, given that an independent Scotland wouldn't be run by him or the SNP?

It was an audience member, she thought too much money was being spent on pensions when it could be spent on gaelic instead.

They moved swiftly on................

The Gaelic language obsession takes us backwards, rather than forwards IMO - why are we trying to shut ourselves out of the modern world?

Fair enough, Sleepy. But if you look at the BT rhetoric, it is full of contradictions and all-out lies.
Westminster will ruin this country, more so than they have already. :( Bah, I'm just sick of being viewed as a dumping ground for Trident and a source of income for the rest of the UK.

Wow - do you have a crystal ball Numanoid? Please do tell me what the lottery numbers are going to be this week.

What the jeff was Audience Woman on about?! I bet they moved swiftly on...

Audience woman was a diddy. She is not alone in that audience.

She got very swiftly ignored...

And conversely the Yes campaign is full of rhetoric, contradictions and all-out lies...

Those of us on this side of the fence will never convince you otherwise, and likewise you'll never convince us to the contrary - which is why this 'debate' is on the fast train to Dullsville

Yes, of course a currency union is desirable! That doesn't mean it'll happen. And how will we always get the government we want if we get independence?? Bet if I voted Tory I wouldn't get it! We can't all fet the government we want!!

Format of the debate was poor, not well run at all. Both looked nervous, both had points they stumbled and points they made well. Not sure how defining an event it was, although it could have been much better organised. The presenter didn't control it well, and it was very fragmented with ad breaks and cuts to the "spin room".

This

It was pretty grim tbh. Currency etc are important for a lot of people - there are undeniably some people who are fundamentally pro independence almost regardless, just like there are some fundamental nos. But there are a heck of a lot more people who need to know the answers to these questions, and refusing to say what the alternative is doesn't help anyone.

He doesn't have an alternative. He thinks because he wants it to happen it will! Everybody's out of step but our Alex.......

I didn't feel that either of them covered themselves in glory

I'm still waiting to find out just why we're "better together"? Being bigger isn't (in my opinion) an answer as there are plenty of countries that are the same size as or smaller than Scotland who are successful as countries and who don't have the resources that we are blessed with.

Alex perfers the "och it'll all be smashing, so it will" approach to independence, as opposed to actually answering the questions.

It's a bit like this - supposing you were Deputy Manager of a shop within a chain, and you were offered the chance to manage your own shop. You wouldn't just sign on the dotted line, would you - you would want to know what your pay would be, what pension you would get, would hours you would be expected to work, how you would operate with that chain and so on and on. It's a bit like that with independence - as Statistically says, there will be people who will accept any terms in order to manage their own country (or shop), but there will be many, many more who want to know exactly what they are signing up to - and that's just not happening at the moment in the Yes campaign.

It's the same script. Norway, oil, starving children. Alex could have gone home and I could read his script! And if he quoted something Alistair Darling said once, he quoted him a hundred times!! I've never seen a man who could waffle on and still say nothing like him ! As for pandas, outer space and driving on the right hand side...... Cringeworthy!!!

It was all a bit shit tbh.

The panda/alien stuff was a bit ill advised.