Alistair Darling continues to insist that he’s confident of victory in the Scottish independence campaign, telling the Today programme this morning that ‘I am confident that we will win, because we do have a very strong positive vision of what Scotland can be’. But he didn’t strengthen that vision either with further promises about powers that Scotland could expect in the event of a ‘No’ vote, or indeed with any change of tack in his campaign rhetoric. The former Chancellor’s arguments this morning were very much those he has doggedly stuck to all along that have held back wavering voters from supporting ‘Yes’. But when ‘Yes’ has the Big Mo, surely there needs to be something else to counter it from the ‘No’ camp?
There are rumours that this something else might involve devo-max – but Darling was very cagey when asked about that this morning. He dodged the question of a federal United Kingdom, saying this would be difficult with one large country and three smaller ones (though as James has pointed out previously, a commitment to huge devolution of powers would surely have to involve devolution to the regions of England as well). Darling said:
‘Federalism in a country where you’ve got a very large country and three much smaller ones could be difficult, and was recognised when this was last looked at, although some years ago. Actually I think the bigger question that people asks themselves is what is best in terms of providing jobs for our children. Constitutions are a means to an end. You’re asking me to engage in a wider debate about constitutional reform in the UK. Yes, it;s something we need to look at. Reform of the House of Lords, I agree wholeheartedly with the proposition that we need to do more to help cities in England to rebalance from the imbalances within the economy in England.’
The ‘No’ campaign make great headway in the first TV debate by arguing that Alex Salmon was a man without a plan who could not offer sufficient detail to make the rational case for independence. But Darling today seemed hesitant about the details and a little more unsure of his plan.
Comments