Alistair Darling

Labour MP for Edinburgh South West, former Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the Better Together campaign

Salmond thinks that suggesting a debt free start is good politics, but people understand there are consequences. If you declare yourself bankrupt you don't start anew with a fresh slate, your bad credit history follows you around for the rest of your life. The consequences for borrowing, business and mortgages would be dire.

Scott Dickson

Undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh, a frequent contributor to the Student newspaper, and has a weekly show on Freshair, the university's student radio station

Independence is a simple thing really. The ability to do as one pleases without outside interference. True, no country is truly independent in today's globalized world. But it is fallacious for Salmond is lead a vanguard suggesting independence would bring radical change to Scotland.

Nash Riggins

American journalism student and politics geek based in Scotland

This week, Scotland's lawmakers are sitting down to stage a debate on the legacy of Britain's first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher - carving yet another notch into the Scottish Parliament's already prolific belt that celebrates the body's obsession with utterly pointless parliamentary procedure.

Dr Simon Duffy

Director of The Centre for Welfare Reform

ew people realise that the UK is one of the most centralised welfare systems in the world. Whitehall controls healthcare, education, tax and benefits. Local government controls only social care and a few other minor services. It doesn't need to be this way.

Seb McCarthy

Sixteen-year-old politics student in the UK, interested in the lack of political buy-in from young people and the criminal justice system

At the age of sixteen, I can now legally join the army, get a full-time job, leave home without my parents' consent and get married, yet people my age still find themselves denied the right to vote, one of the most important rights you can have in a democratic country. How can it be that anyone of my age can get a job and pay taxes towards a government whom they are not even able to vote for?

Andrew Smith

London based Scot, occasional blogger and author of the not altogether bad novel 'A Quarter Life Crisis'

On one hand the YES campaign needs to win over more people in two years than they have in the last 30 combined. However, another way of looking at it is that if everyone who supports independence converts at least one friend then they'll win by a landslide.

Henry C.H. Hill

Top-ten Conservative blogger 2011 and editor of Open Unionism

In short, does he choose the chance of victory but risk his party, or privately concede the result in order to guarantee the unity of his base. It is a difficult judgement call that only he can make - but too many more half-measures and he may end up with the worst of both options, and the comforts of neither.

Alasdair Drennan

History student at the University of Edinburgh and former Editor of The Student

There needs to be a much more detailed and transparent vision of Scotland made available in order for the Scottish electorate to determine whether independence is the best option for Scotland.

Daniel M. Swain

Economics student at the University of Edinburgh and former Editor-in-Chief of The Student

The nation could go the way of the parish and Great Britain could become a prototype for states across the world.

Robert Mercer-Nairne

Organisation theorist, businessman, politician and writer

For those, like myself, who want to see Scotland take its place amongst that community of nations that is Europe, these are challenging times that demand real leadership.

John Wight

Writer

As things stand, the shadow cast by the SNP and Salmond over Scottish independence is so great it is hard to conceive of another party or vision challenging its dominance in an independent Scotland post-referendum.

Peter Kellner

President of YouGov, political commentator and journalist

All YouGov's evidence from the past four years is that independence is a minority passion north of the border.

Andrew Smith

London based Scot, occasional blogger and author of the not altogether bad novel 'A Quarter Life Crisis'

What the talking heads are missing is that the vote will have little, if anything, to do with the sporting prowess of British athletes. If anybody really believes that the flags worn by Andy Murray or Chris Hoy are as important as who is responsible for running the welfare state or the military budgets then they are mistaken.

Ruth Stevenson

Market research expert

I can see that bickering about the question feels irrelevant to decisive Scottish residents who know how they are going to vote, but the importance of the wording of the question extends beyond the act of voting and that will make a difference to everyone.

Sophie Rodger

Commentator and MPhil student in International Relations at the University of Oxford

'Your Scotland, Your Future', he tells us. Then come clean: have you received legal advice that undermines your understanding of an independent Scotland's status in the EU, or have you not even bothered to find out?

Darren Rutland

Worked in research for the No to AV campaign and the TaxPayers’ Alliance

Although there's (probably) more than two years to go, the referendum on Scottish independence is becoming more of an issue. Unsurprisingly, the Olympics have played a part, and similarities and differences can already be seen between the independence campaign and the AV referendum.