Scottish Independence debate: Salmond victory sees Yahoo readers back 'yes' campaign

Alex Salmond’s narrow victory in last night’s Scottish Independence debate has swung the referendum vote in his favour - with Yahoo UK readers now saying Scotland should be an independent country.

The SNP leader came out on top in a fiery debate with Better Together leader Alistair Darling, despite the pair shouting over each other at times during tense exchanges.

With the Scottish independence referendum vote just over three weeks away, we’ve carried out our own Yahoo UK poll - which had been heading towards a convincing victory for the ‘no’ campaign.

Last week 59% of Yahoo readers said they opposed Scottish independence, but the tide has turned dramatically over the weekend and since last night’s debate.

With more than 17,000 readers having their say, the ‘yes’ vote now has 53% in our vote, a 12% increase since last week.

In separate polls, the ranks of those who want to end more than 300 years of union with the rest of the United Kingdom appear to be swelling.

A Survation survey found 47 percent of respondents would vote "Yes" to independence, compared to 53 percent who would vote "No", excluding people who were undecided.

The closely-fought contest reflects Alistair Darlings comments, who said today the campaign would go ‘right down to the wire’.

But the former chancellor insisted he was 'increasingly confident' that Scots would vote against leaving the UK when they go to the polls in just over three weeks' time.

In both televised debates, the issue of which currency an independent Scotland would use was at the heart of the clashes between the rival politicians.

Mr Darling again repeatedly pressed the First Minister to set out his plan B for a currency if a formal deal could not be agreed with the rest of the UK to allow an independent Scotland to retain the pound.

But the former chancellor appeared to accept last night that Scotland could use the pound regardless of whether Westminster signed up to such an arrangement.

He said: 'Of course we can use the pound... we could use the rouble, we could use the dollar, we could use the yen. We could use anything we want.'

On Tuesday, as he visited a factory in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Mr Darling said the No campaign had been 'right to focus on currency', adding: 'One of the things that is striking in the last three weeks is the amount of people who have come up to me and said 'What about this plan B?' is quite remarkable.'

When asked if changes would be made to the pro-UK campaign following last night's debate, he insisted: 'Absolutely not.'

Postal votes for the September 18 ballot are being sent out from today, and Mr Darling added that as the 'finishing post' comes into sight, Scots are increasingly focused on the decision to be made.

He said: 'There's a very clear choice here and I think people can see that, people are very focused now, especially as they can see the finishing post.

[Scottish Independence: What would happen to TV north of the border after a 'yes' vote?]

[How different are Scotland's values to the rest of the UK?]

'I'm increasingly confident we will win, but it is our job to win well and to win well we've got to carry on campaigning up untill 10pm on September 18.’

Mr Salmond told Sky News he had 'argued persuasively' on currency, setting out his position that it was 'common sense for a common currency'.

He argued that the Yes campaign was winning 'decisively' on the key issues of protecting public services and creating jobs in Scotland.

The First Minister said: 'He (Alistair Darling) had his chance and he muffed it last night. The currency bluff has been called. The Scottish people are calling that bluff.

'The No campaign had their chance, their bluff has been called. People have, I think, overwhelmingly in Scotland now in poll after poll shown that we want to keep the pound. That is the decision that the Scottish people are being asked to make.

'That is the sovereign will of the Scottish people. I have explained in enormous detail why it's good sense for Scotland, it's good sense for the rest of the UK. I've explained what the other currency options are for Scotland. But we're fighting a campaign to get a mandate from the Scottish people on common sense for a common currency.

'That's what won the debate last night and that's the message that's going to resonate over the next three weeks.

[Scottish Independence Vote: Celebrity deathmatch]

[How does the class issue affect Scottish independence?]

'Have a look at what the people thought about it, the audience thought about it. This debate is moving on, with people realising that to protect our NHS we have to have financial control, to have job-creating powers for Scotland, that's what won the debate.'

Mr Salmond accused Mr Darling of being the 'front man for the Conservative Party' in the campaign.

Downing Street said David Cameron - who is on holiday in Cornwall - had not watched last night's debate in full.

'The Prime Minister watched the news reports of the debate,' a spokeswoman said.

Mr Cameron also only saw 'highlights' of the first debate, she added.

However, the spokeswoman denied that meant the premier had not engaged with a key part of the campaign.

'The key moment is when people go to vote on September 18,' she added.

There’s still plenty of time to have your say in our Yahoo UK readers poll - let us know what you think by voting below or leaving a comment.You can also check out our dedicated Scottish Referendum page, which has all the latest news, features, and analysis.