The commentators                    15-09-14

...on the Scottish referendum

The referendum is a matter for the Scottish people but it will impact on everyone, wherever they live in these islands. It will exert influence on any vote on the UK’s membership of the EU, and it will bear on the global competitiveness and attractiveness of the UK. Individual companies will do what they can to ensure that change will not disadvantage its customers. But the nation’s prospects need equal care and attention.
- Chris Cummings, Financial Times
There may well be a No vote on Thursday. But a victory for unionism will be far from decisive or definitive. Nearly half the Scottish electorate will almost certainly vote Yes and may not be easily satisfied by post-referendum devo max concessions that are also likely to further fuel resentments south of the border.
-  Tom Devine, The Guardian
Malcolm Rifkind
The SNP has made it clear that an independent Scotland would have its own armed forces, intelligence agencies and foreign policy. It has boasted that we could have one part of our island at war while the other part, Scotland, remained neutral. This should not be taken lightly. It is what happened during the Second World War, when Ireland declared neutrality and closed its ports to the Royal Navy, even during the Battle of the Atlantic. It is that serious.
- Malcolm Rifkind, Daily Telegraph
 Fewer women than men in Scotland trust any politicians at all. So if women are discounting everything any politician says, other views such those of business leaders may offer the real key to the female vote. And that favours No
- Melanie Phillips, The Times
Apart from the twelve referendum splashes of the past two days, the subject has made a front-page lead on only five occasions this year:Yes, it's been busy with Iraq, Gaza, Ukraine, the rise of Ukip, sex scandals, the hacking trial, Mr Cameron's holidays, floods and heatwaves. But one would still expect the potential break-up of the UK  - or the liberation of Scotland, depending on your point of view - to be able to put up a better fight against the 30 house price splashes, the 25 on migrants and the 26 on Madeleine McCann. I stopped counting when I got to 60 soap opera and "reality TV" offerings.
- Wake us up before they go-go
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