Scottish Greens, the SNP and civic groups have welcomed the publication of the independence referendum consultation in Scotland and the debate it heralds.
At the Scottish Green Party's annual conference in Aberdeen today, co-leader Patrick Harvie MSP has accused the Scottish Government of "hypocrisy and double-speak".
The debate on Scottish independence in advance of a mooted 2016 referendum is only just beginning, but Simon Barrow suggests that the contours of a fresh agenda on both sides is already emerging in surprising comments from representatives of the Westminster parties north of the border.
Will the five different polls that took place on 5 May 2011 prove to be a watershed for politics in Britain? It depends where you see the axis for change and the key tipping points, says Simon Barrow. There are at least two distinct ways of narrating differential outcomes.