Did Alex Salmond really tell David Cameron where to go yesterday?

Yesterday proved to be another interesting soap opera in the ever continuing debate on Scottish independence. Prime Minister David Cameron made a speech from Stratford in the east of London, pleading to Scotland not to walk out of the United Kingdom later this year. 

I initially thought yesterday that he was unwise to make such a speech when he was located approximately some 300 miles south of the Scottish border. Then again, to put things into context, it needs to be understood that this was more of a speech aimed at England, Wales and Northern Ireland - the importance of people in the rest of the UK's input (albeit by voice) could not have been more emphasised.

Around under half an hour after the speech, First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond gave quite probably one of his strongest performances in months as he condemned the Prime Minister live on the BBC News Channel for making the speech and at the same time criticised him for not being willing to come up to Scotland to debate him. But it was his disapproval of the fact that the Conservative Prime Minister wasn't in Somerset instead to deal with the ongoing problems with the flooding situation there.

I must admit that when it was announced later in the afternoon that he would be heading over there to see how the floods were affecting people there, I was thinking that this was a visit that wasn't initially planned by Downing Street. I might well be wrong, but let's put it this way. Wouldn't it have been public knowledge in advance if the Prime Minister was planning to go to the south west of England in the first place? I think many people would have seen the common sense in that.

Finally, the reaction on social media is always worth observing in the aftermath of major speeches or political events on the independence debate. Albeit many people will have already taken a stance in public and stated opinions to assert their political assessments, I would be very intrigued to see the upcoming opinion polls. Many people took to social media to dismiss the Prime Minister's speech and some may view the message coming out of the Olympic Velodrome yesterday as nothing more than a patronising lecture.

Nobody can doubt that independence is closing the gap on the union but could more speeches like yesterday's backfire and just be a fuel for more votes to the side who want to leave the UK?

Alex Salmond vs David Cameron: Why it MUST happen

Today marks the final day of the Scottish National Party conference in Perth - the final conference before next year's vote on Scottish independence.

One can fairly analyse that it has been a spiritually uplifting experience for the party and Yes Scotland. Naturally so, because after all they need to be confident about the future, despite the polls generally suggesting that Scotland will probably vote to stay in the union.

But the one thing that really continues to baffles me is why the British Prime Minister seems to not feel as anxious as he really should be about the potential prospect of the termination of one of the most well known and appreciated economic and political unions of all time. It's too easy to suggest that the reason he doesn't want to debate is because, he doesn't need to.

If that is the case then that suggests gross complacency. Just look at what happened across the Irish Sea a few weeks ago when Taoiseach Enda Kenny refused to debate his opponents over the abolition of the Seanad (the Irish equivalent of the UK House of Lords). He lost the vote. And, dare I say this, he deserved to. If you cannot, or aren't willing, to go live on television and defend your stance over an issue then frankly you deserve no room to complain if you lose.

While David Cameron is more than happy to declare his willingness to debate Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg before the next UK General Election, he has turned his back on a political duel with the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond. And if the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (including Scotland, still) continues to keep the door closed on First Minister Salmond, then he may look back on this period of history with severe regret.

Because Prime Minister Cameron will send out a message implying that defending the United Kingdom in its current form is somehow not a matter of high importance to him. He stands at the dispatch box down at Westminster continually saying that he is passionate about the United Kingdom.

Well if he is that passionate then let me make a suggestion to him - reverse your indefensible stance over the referendum debate, get yourself up to Edinburgh and take on the First Minister in front of the television cameras.

Despite the Conservatives remaining unpopular, Scotland's people, as a whole, will not automatically write off David Cameron. It is appreciated that he represents the UK as a whole and his presence will suggest that he does genuinely want to do everything in his power to persuade enough people in Scotland to vote against independence.

A live, televised debate between the heads of the Scottish and UK Governments is essential for everyone who plans to cast their vote on the 18th September next year. Voters are fed up of the backstabbing between politicians in the media. Voters want the main stakeholders to debate each other directly. It's in the best interests of both sides, the voters and the future of our country. So why not have a major debate live on either the BBC, STV or Sky News - or maybe even all three broadcasters?!

And finally, does David Cameron really want to go down in history as the British Prime Minister who lost Scotland on his watch? Such an event would be damning.

Margaret Thatcher, Scotland and the Scottish Conservatives

listen to ‘Baroness Thatcher and Scotland’ on Audioboo

Westminster

The news broke earlier today that the former British Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher, had died. Provoking tributes, opinion and reflection, there is no doubt that Britain's Iron Lady has a place in history forever.

I was born in Scotland's capital city during her final years as Prime Minister. I'm far too young to properly appreciate and understand how life changed under her leadership, how people completely reacted to her policies and direction and how seismic the change in society was during the 1980's.

Whether it was the poll tax, the closure of much of the manufacturing industry or her general economic policy, there is no doubt that much of the political debate in Scotland is centred around what happened three decades ago. The current debate on the prospect of Scottish independence is mainly based on past events that happened around that time and many people still talk about her, despite the fact that she left office 23 years ago. And that is down to a number of factors.

Firstly, those that lived under her tenure at Number 10 still reflect on what was happening in the

Is this the legacy of Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister?

country. Secondly, the current policies from the coalition, led by the Conservatives, drive individual and political commentators to compare now to what was happening approximately thirty years ago. And thirdly, compared to other past Prime Ministers, she was truly unique in her style of leadership.

The United Kingdom had never seen a leader of the kind that Margaret Thatcher was. And Scotland's future was to be majorly driven in a direction which was inevitably affected by the policies she pursued.   Almost a decade after resigning as Prime Minister, the Scottish Parliament was reborn for the first time in 292 years. During a BBC documentary called 'Thatcher and the Scots', it's presenter Allan Little commented that:

"She let the genie of Scottish national aspiration out of the 300 year old bottle of British soveringty."

And that is what we are seeing today. Alex Salmond has been our First Minister since 2007 and after his Scottish National Party secured an overall majority at Holyrood in 2011, it has provided them the mandate they have long been seeking to achieve. Next September, the nation will have the chance to decide whether Scotland should stay in the United Kingdom or become an independent country.

And whatever the outcome, it will be truly historic. If Scotland votes to leave the United Kingdom, some may dare to say that Margaret Thatcher's political legacy in Scotland was not just the Scottish Parliament, but Scotland's independence. Others may disagree.

And as for the Scottish Conservative party, it's fair to say that they have never recovered from their downfall back at the UK General Election in 1997, despite increasing their share of the vote in 1992 under John Major. The party seem to have lost their ability to bounce back from their decline, despite increasing their share of the vote in Scotland at the 2010 UK General Election. They still only have just the one MP north of the border and failed to win more seats three years ago. This outcome can be interpreted as partly to blame for David Cameron falling short with the number of seats won at the election, failing to ensure that his party sealed an overall majority.

And as far as current polls show, David Cameron could well have to depart Downing Street in just over two years time as Labour are now 10 points ahead of the Conservatives. Thatcherism now shapes the political debate across the UK and what may happen in the next two years could well shape the destiny of these islands forever.

For now though, Baroness Thatcher's life and her time as Prime Minister will be spoken about for days, weeks, months and even years to come.