Scottish independence referendum: A date with destiny

The date of the Scottish independence referendum is now known

A quick - a very quick - glance discloses that it is the same date as the laying of the cornerstone of the US Capitol by George Washington.

A coincidence, no doubt.

Alex Salmond has chosen Thursday 18 September as the date for the independence referendum. It was the key announcement in a statement publishing the referendum bill which sets out the rules for the plebiscite.

Mr Salmond, mostly, was in cool, governmental mode, thus inviting viewers to infer that the bill itself was sufficiently momentous in its own right, that it did not require amplification.

Nonetheless, there was historic talk too: of an "ancient nation" gaining an opportunity, democratically, to decide its destiny.

Mr Salmond also took the opportunity to evangelise for independence itself, rather than the bill which is its intended conduit.

In response, Labour's Johann Lamont opened in deliberately jaundiced fashion.

She consciously echoed a comment by one of her erstwhile colleagues, Tony Blair, when she declared that if the first minister had "the hand of history upon his shoulder, then I wish it would give him a shove" so that he might get on with it.

Ms Lamont suggested that Mr Salmond might now usefully begin to answer detailed questions on matters such as the currency and the European Union.

She went further and suggested that the process might be truncated still further with the immediate publication of the White Paper, the prospectus for independence.

For the Tories, Ruth Davidson urged Mr Salmond to be straight with the people.

For the Liberal Democrats, Willie Rennie said the "trailer was more exciting than the movie".

He wanted Mr Salmond to contemplate, now, the consequences of defeat - and to prepare for a form of Devo Max.

Mr Salmond demurred in all cases.

Detailed discussion would indeed follow.

The White Paper would come in autumn this year.

And, no, he was not anticipating defeat.

"Should Scotland be an independent country?" The people will decide. On 18 September next year.

Alex Salmond outlined his vision for an independent Scotland

Thoughts as to why 18 September? Ministers looked long and hard at October but there were big obstacles.

There are school holidays dotted throughout that month, meaning families might be absent from home.

That would have pushed the date either to late October or early October. Late October? Too dark and cold. Early October? That would have meant the final stages of campaigning coinciding with the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.

Plus, 18 September means avoiding the UK party conference season in late September/early October.

These would have been dominated by anti-independence messages.

As one minister put it to me, "September 18 feels like the end of summer rather than the beginning of winter. It feels like referendum time."

The 1997 devolution referendum was also held in September.

PS: The winner of the big Holyrood sweep on the date? Margaret Burgess MSP, a Scottish government minister. She didn't know. Honest.