More than just a Scottish question
A referendum on Scottish independence will take place in 2014, but what question should the people vote on? The answer could change the balance of power in Westminster and affect the UK's role in Europe, writes MARK HENNESSY, London Editor
IN THE EYES of his enemies – and he has many of them – Scotland’s first minister, Alex Salmond, is a man with near-regal pretensions who, surrounded by a court of loyalists, has grown used to flattery and deference. In keeping with such grandiosity, the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) went to Edinburgh Castle’s Great Hall on Wednesday to receive the press from, according to one count, 16 countries. They were there to hear him outline details of his bid to see Scotland independent.