DUNDEE WAS definitely Scotland’s referendum city this week. Alex Salmond made and early pitch to claim it as the country’s “Yes city” before Gordon Brown rallied Labour No voters the following day.
And, of course, The Courier provided some balance with our lively and informative debate bringing the three back-to-back events to a close.
Do the interventions of political “beasts” like Brown and Salmond make any difference to voters? Do their interventions at a town-near-you really sway folks to cast their ballot differently?
Well, it certainly can’t hurt having the current First Minister and last Prime Minister arriving in your locality when you begin to wonder if the campaigns care at all about you.
There was definitely a lot of preaching to the converted by both our Yes and No big hitters, though. Mr Salmond performed well to a pretty sympathetic audience for Dundee University’s excellent Five Million Questions project, while Mr Brown was surrounded by entirely his own people at the Bonar Hall.
Much ground in this referendum will be won by how effective the campaign groups’ respective ground wars are. Chapping on doors and speaking to folk will incentivise them more than simply rallying your own troops, although that undoubtedly has an important part to play.
Whoever wins the streets, will win the vote.