LONDON: Leaders in Scotland's independence debate will meet on Monday for their final TV showdown of the campaign with the pro-independence camp looking to redraw the battle lines and close a stubborn deficit in the polls.
Pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond was widely thought to have lost his first debate with Alistair Darling, leader of the "No" campaign, after failing to explain what currency Scotland would use if it votes for independence on September 18.
The "No" camp, which currently enjoys a 14 point lead according to latest polls, has consistently focused on the currency question, as well as doubts over the future of North Sea oil an independent Scotland's economic lifeblood and the problems it would face joining the European Union.
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Salmond will try and shift the terms of the debate when the pair meet again at 1930 GMT to concentrate more on public spending and healthcare, according to reports.
The Guardian, citing senior SNP sources, said that Salmond will criticise London's handling of the National Health Service (NHS) and its cuts to public spending in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
"If we don't [vote yes] then a few months after the referendum we may find ourselves waking up to another five years of a Conservative government that we didn't vote for, that is intent on implementing further cuts and austerity that will hit our public services and hit the most vulnerable in our society," said Nicola Sturgeon, Salmond's deputy.
Darling is expected to highlight latest government figures that suggested an independent Scotland would need to sharply raise basic rates of income tax rates just to maintain current spending levels.
He is also likely to repeat comments made last week by Ian Wood, a well-respected and leading figure in the oil industry, who warned that the Scottish government's predictions for North Sea oil recovery are up to 60 percent too optimistic and that it could run out within 35 years.
When the pair met three weeks ago, Darling landed his heaviest blows on the issue of currency, and is expected to return to this theme on Monday.
He repeatedly accused Salmond of having no "plan B" if London rejected a currency union in the event of independence. The three major Westminster parties have all ruled out any union.
Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney, a member of the pro-independence SNP, on Monday demanded that the "No" camp pull a campaign add claiming that an independent Scotland would be poorer than Pakistan.
Swinney accused "No" campaigners of "deliberately talking down the Scottish economy" after they issued a document entitled "The Facts You Need", which said an independent Scotland would be 45th richest country in the world, behind Pakistan and Finland.
A YouGov poll for The Times newspaper last week put support for independence at 43 percent compared to 57 percent for those who wanted Scotland to stay part of the United Kingdom. Undecided voters were not included.
The campaign on both sides has adopted a lighter tone in recent days with leading figures including Salmond and Darling taking on the ice bucket challenge the social media sensation which sees public figures being doused in freezing water to raise awareness of neurodegenerative disease ALS.
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