Kezia Dugdale: The boxing is over.. here come the heavyweights

KEZIA urges voters to question whether independence is really a risk worth taking as Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling gear up for a live political debate.

Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling
Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling will go head to head in a televised referendum debate

HOPE you made the most of the break from the independence debate because the referendum race is back for its six-week finale and the heat is on.

Actually, all the heat is on Alex Salmond and the Yes campaign.

Folk in the Yes camp hoped that Glasgow 2014 would give them a much-needed boost.

They needed a game-changer and still do, because it wasn’t the Games.

The first opinion poll conducted since the Games began shows the No campaign increasing their lead.

And just when you thought the boxing was over, two political heavyweights are set to enter the ring and debate the issues live on STV.

Tuesday night sees the first and possibly only TV debate between Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling.

The Yes camp once again are desperately hoping for a knockout win but I expect a lot more bob and weave from Salmond.

Here’s the thing – thousands of people who switch on the TV on Tuesday will be switching on to the debate for the first time, too. Unlike the political elite, who’ve been battling this out day and night for the past two years, they’re just tuning in now.

And they have questions. Lots of them.

If Salmond is smart, he’ll arrive at the TV studio with solid answers. But the weekend’s papers have been filled with stories about his preparations being far more about style than substance.

The man who used to be a huge electoral SNP asset is now proving to be a bit of a liability in the referendum campaign.

Women don’t like or trust him. Given they’re the group most likely to be undecided, fielding Salmond to persuade them is a risky business.

That’s why style matters. He’ll have been told not to laugh at his own jokes. To avoid that thing he does with his head, like he’s trying to header a ball towards the inside of the post each time he makes a political point.

And he’ll be relentlessly upbeat. In the absence of answers, just assert that all will be well.

So much so, he’s employed his own happiness guru.

Not Pharrell Williams but Claire Howell – a specialist in the feel-good factor.

So, if Salmond leaves you feeling all warm and fuzzy after Tuesday’s show, ask yourself some cold hard truths.

Do you know for sure what currency we’ll all be using? Is your pension safe? Will your bills go up after independence?

And is it really a risk we need to take?