Anthony Barnett (London, OK): As OK readers will know (thanks Doug) Wendy Alexander has turned over her views on a referendum and has now challenged Alex Salmond to "bring it on". I'll leave her motivation and calculation to others closer to the scene. But I have just been reading a fascinating exchange over at ConservativeHome on whether the Tories should back a quick referendum now which they assume supporters of the Union will win, or reject the call as it will become a "neverendum" - ie just the next stage of an SNP campaign that will not take 'no' for an answer. Or, in other words just putting the question will be a kind of official recognition of its legitimacy and even the eventual likelihood that the Scots will say 'why not'.
For the record immediate, official response from the Scottish Tories is:
Scotland's future should be the subject of calm and considered debate, not knee-jerk panic by a Labour Party in political meltdown.
But I am struck by the lively exchange of strategies in the comments that follow.
