Alex “Wee ‘Eck” Salmond turned the tables on a sluggish Alistair Darling, out-performing him in the second Scottish Independence debate last night.

Though both were bad tempered and tetchy at times, Salmond’s assertions carried conviction — in spite of the economic sand on which they are built.

!!! SAGEHEARTS !!!

Luckily, as regards a profitable, empowered future, canny Scots — who recognise both economic realism and fools very easily — are unlikely to have their minds changed by a Nat consolation goal born of the bluster of the desperate.