Recrimination in Westminster as ‘Yes’ sees victory in its grasp
Repercussions from the Scottish referendum campaign are already underway in Westminster, as a series of new polls showed 'Yes' within touching distance of victory.
The 'No' campaign heads into the final day of the Scottish independence referendum campaign holding just a paper-thin lead against the separatists.
Three polls released last night all found 'No' on 52% and 'Yes' on 48% suggesting that everything is to play for in the final day of campaigning.
All will now depend on the ability of the two campaigns to get out their vote.
Supporters of the 'No' campaign believe that a silent majority of Scots will turn out tomorrow for the union, while 'Yes' campaigners believe the enthusiasm and energy of the independence campaign will win the day.
The closeness of the polls is already causing panic throughout Westminster with both the Conservative and Labour leaderships facing new internal threats.
David Cameron is expecting to face a series of calls from his own MPs to resign if he loses the union.
One Tory MP, Andrew Rosindell, has already publicly called on the prime minister to do "the honourable thing" in the event of a 'Yes' vote.
Others have suggested that his position would be "untenable" were he to lose the vote.
The chief whip Michael Gove has been frantically phoning Tory MPs in an attempt to shore up his position in the party in advance of Thursday's vote.
Much of the anger with Cameron has come from his pledge this week to devolve even greater powers to Scotland in the event of a 'No' vote.
If Scots do narrowly vote to retain the union then Cameron is expected to face a major rebellion from his party over the issue.
The Labour leadership are also scrabbling to prepare for a potential 'Yes' vote, with plans underway to scale back or even scrap their party conference, due to begin at the weekend.
A 'Yes' vote would almost certainly result in the recall of parliament next week, with the prospect of Miliband having to decide whether to support a vote of no confidence against the prime minister.
The Labour leader has come under fire for failing to anticipate the depth of support for independence in Scotland. Detailed polling in recent weeks has shown the majority of the surge for 'Yes' has come from current and former Labour supporters.
Not everything is going the independence campaign's way however. The Scottish Sun today failed to endorse the 'Yes' campaign.
This is a major disappointment for Alex Salmond who has spent a number of years courting Rupert Murdoch, who appeared recently to be wavering in favour of a independence.
Despite the fervour in Westminster, most bookies remain confident of at least a narrow win for the 'No' campaign. Betfair yesterday became the first to pay out to all those who have bet on Scotland remaining in the union.
Most pollsters remain far less confident however, with many anticipating a possible repeat of the 1992 election when the entire industry grossly underestimated support for the winning party.
