Scottish independence round-up: New poll reaction

The day in the debate has been dominated by the latest YouGov poll, which shows the No camp just six points ahead.

The pro-Union lobby’s lead over the ‘Yes’ campaign is down from 14 points in mid-August and 22 points early last month, once undecided voters are removed from the calculations.

Tonight, campaigners from both sides of the referendum debate will clash in a TV debate in Edinburgh.

The ‘Yes’ camp will be represented by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Patrick Harvie of the Scottish Green Party, and actress Elaine C Smith; Labour’s Douglas Alexander, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and Labour MSP Kezia Dugdale will give the views of the ‘No’ campaign.

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TODAY’S BEST COMMENT AND ANALYSIS

Every day we highlight some of the most interesting and talked-about articles on the Scottish independence referendum - here are some of today’s best pieces, as featured on our Indyref microsite.

• Peter Kellner: ‘Yes’ support jumps to 47% in new poll

YouGov president Peter Kellner takes an in-depth look at the polling firm’s latest results, which show a substantial rise in support for a ‘Yes’ vote in this month’s referendum.

• John Curtice: YouGov report dramatic swing to ‘Yes’

Polling expert Professor John Curtice analyses the latest YouGov poll which shows the ‘Yes’ camp just six points behind ‘No’.

Curtice finds support for ‘Yes’ growing across a wide range of demographic groups, but notes the reluctance of older voters to shift from a predominant ‘No’ view.

• Does the rest of the UK care about Scottish independence?

BBC News’ Nick Eardley assesses the level of interest in the Scottish independence debate in the rest of the UK.

Eardley talks to journalists, academics and members of the public to discover how the debate is being followed outside Scotland.

• Bill Buchanan: Are bookies having a change of heart about the referendum?

Bill Buchanan, Head of the Centre for Distributed Computing, Networks and Security at Edinburgh Napier University, looks at the reactions of the country’s bookmakers to the recent developments in the Scottish independence referendum debate.

Buchanan notes the recent lengthening of odds on a ‘No’ vote, and argues that the industry’s analysis and motivations make the country’s bookies “more likely to get it right than anyone else”.

• Brendan O’Neill: Better Together needs to ditch bullied-kid act and find some principles

Brendan O’Neill, editor of spiked! magazine, calls on supporters of the UK to “grow a pair” and mount a defence of the Union in this piece for the Daily Telegraph.

O’Neill hits out at pro-UK campaigners for claiming they are being bullied by ‘Yes’ supporters, suggesting that the lack of a strong case for the UK should be their main concern.

• Peat Worrier: Alistair Darling and ‘Carebear Unionism’

On his Lallands Peat Worrier blog, Andrew Tickell takes on Alistair Darling’s inability to make a strong case for the UK in his second TV debate with Alex Salmond, and highlights the failure of the ‘No’ camp’s recent attempts to connect with voters.

• Harry Lambert: The ‘Yes’ campaign is winning the ground war in Scotland

Grass-roots activists in support of Scottish independence are outworking their pro-union counterparts with the result that a ‘Yes’ vote looks more likely than ever, writes Harry Lambert.

• Alex Massie: Alex Salmond is within sight of his promised land

Tightening opinion polls and the energy of the ‘Yes’ campaign suggest that the Scottish independence referendum will go right to the wire, writes Alex Massie.

• Peter Jones: All heat and no light in indy debate

As the referendum looms, rational discussion has been displaced by unchecked emotions on both sides, writes Peter Jones.