Five Pending Items About Scottish Independence

The second Scottish independence debate between Better Together’s Alistair Darling and Yes Scotland’s Alex Salmond is due to take place later. But what are the known unknowns – the questions both sides disagree on, but people want answered?

Both the pro-union and Yes Scotland campaigns will be hoping the second live TV debate between the first minister, who fronts the SNP government, and Labour’s Mr Darling will be their moment to shine.

The 90-minute debate, which is being held in Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, will be broadcast on BBC Two in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and on BBC One in Scotland.

Both sides insisted their man came out on top in the first debate on 5 August, which was only shown live on STV in Scotland, but was also broadcast online.

A snapshot ICM/Guardian poll of 512 people immediately after the two-hour live debate found a majority thought Alistair Darling had fared better. Many other pundits agreed.

However, John Curtice, politics professor at Strathclyde University, says the leaders’ debate was not the damaging episode for the “Yes” side that it had originally appeared to be.

Voters in Scotland go to the polls on 18 September – answering the “Yes/No” question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”

With the debate being watched all around the UK, what are some of the key questions people want answered?

1. Currency
2. Oil
3. Border Control
4. The European Union
5. Trident: The UK’s Nuclear Weapons System

via BBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza