Scottish independence round-up: Salmond v Darling

CATCH up on the day in the Scottish independence debate, with this round-up of stories featured on our dedicated referendum microsite.

Alistair Darling and Alex Salmond square off again tonight. Picture: AP

Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling square off in tonight’s second referendum debate - watch the debate live on our independence site from 8:30pm, or follow the night’s events in our live blog from 8:15pm.

After tonight’s debate, Scotland on Sunday’s Kenny Farquharson will host a Google Hangout to discuss the evening’s events - the video chat begins at 10pm.

In other news, Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has claimed there is ‘very little vision’ in the No campaign, and the Fiscal Affairs Scotland think-tank has claimed that Westminster could be convinced to share the pound with an independent Scotland.

For those keen to learn more about the debate, one of Scotland’s top universities has launched a free online course on the referendum. The University of Edinburgh’s ‘Towards Scottish Independence? Understanding the Referendum’ course begins today.

TODAY’S BEST COMMENT, ANALYSIS & FEATURES

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 Geohegan: Scots rally ahead of independence referendum

Peter Geoghegan assesses the state of the independence debate across Scotland, reflecting on the “civil” debate taking place the length and breadth of the country.

• Chris Whatley: Tom Devine’s switch to ‘Yes’ is confusing and short-sighted

Scottish History professor Chris Whatley reflects on Sir Tom Devine’s declaration in favour of a ‘Yes’ vote in next month’s referendum, and questions the timing of the revelation.

• Professor John Kay outlines Scotland’s currency options

Professor John Kay, former member of the First Minister’s Council of Economic Advisers, outlines his view on Scotland’s three possible currency options in the event of independence.

• Jim Murphy: Negative campaigning kicking in

Labour MP Jim Murphy reflects on his continuing journey around Scotland in the 100 days ahead of the referendum in his latest blog.

• Cameron McNeish: Why I’m voting ‘Yes’

Broadcaster and writer Cameron McNeish outlines his reasons for voting ‘Yes’ in next month’s independence referendum in this blog post.

• Independence question dominates Edinburgh festival fringe

The New York Times’ Steven McElroy looks back on this month’s Edinburgh Fringe, and discusses the range of shows dedicated, in one form or another, to next month’s Scottish independence vote.

• Angela O’Hagan: Indyref sides have funny way of showing they want female support

Angela O’Hagan, Convenor of the Scottish Women’s Budget Group, hits out at both the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaigns in the Scottish independence referendum over their attempts to court women ahead of next month’s vote.

O’Hagan writes that both sides are missing an opportunity to gain the support of female voters.

• David Comerford: The ‘carbon bubble’ and North Sea oil

David Comerford of the University of Stirling looks at the ‘carbon bubble’ – the theory that some oil and gas reserves are ‘unburnable’, and the knock-on effect on the value of oil and gas fields – and how it could impact Scotland.

• Get the latest referendum news, opinion and analysis from across Scotland and beyond on our new Scottish Independence website