WHAT does Scotland mean to you in 2007? That was the first question posed to panellists at all eight nationhood debates in our Scotland 300 series. The answers were extremely varied, although the phrases "my home", "a country that has punched above its weight" and "great scientific discoveries" were mentioned often.
The debates went on to discuss everything from the economics of independence to Scottish literature, Trident, the referendum question and universities. Here, we assess how the main parties fared and choose our star performers:
LABOUR: From the fi
rst debate in Glasgow, when Bristow Muldoon was left looking like a sulky schoolboy after an attack from Solidarity's Tommy Sheridan, to Cathy Jamieson's wobbly answer on Trident six weeks later, Labour was on the defensive. No-one seemed to want to talk about a positive legacy in England (low unemployment, rising living standards) or Scotland (smoking ban, free personal care). Instead, there were endless historical tales of inventors and inventions and what amounted to little more than an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" defence of the Union. There seemed to be a paranoia that even suggesting more powers for the parliament was tantamount to carrying Alex Salmond shoulder-high into Bute House - and this led to weak platitudes about the importance of health, education and social justice. Iain Gray made an effort in North Berwick, but it was largely left to Henry McLeish to set out a positive agenda. He said devolution was always about evolution, and if there was a case to debate further powers there was no reason why the debate couldn't happen within existing structures. Otherwise, there were customary "black hole" scare stories and poor attempts to suggest Iraq and Trident were issues Scots would not think about at the ballot box in May.
CONSERVATIVES: Made a better fist of defending the Union (and the retention of Trident) than Labour, because their representatives sounded like they meant it. They suffered, though, from a thin harvest of policies at national level - it was rich of Annabel Goldie to lament the lack of opportunity to debate education, health and crime ("issues that matter on the doorsteps - not Trident") when she could have expounded her vision for Scotland. Yet some of the younger Tories showed considerable skill on the public stage, with Derek Brownlee in Galashiels and Alex Johnstone in Ballater impressive.
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: Nicol Stephen was too quick with the clichés and lacked detail in Edinburgh, but across Scotland, the Lib Dems put up a solid show. They plugged familiar territory between being part of government (taking credit for the absence of tuition fees in Scotland whenever the chance arose) and avoiding blame for the bad bits of devolution. Just about all Lib Dem representatives argued for additional powers for the parliament within the existing Union, with Mike Rumbles in Ballater calling for a "rejuvenated and more relaxed Union". Charles Kennedy, the former leader, was the party's star performer in Inverness.
SNP: The Nationalists got off to a good start, with Nicola Sturgeon (and co-star Tommy Sheridan) dominating Glasgow. They benefited throughout by having a positive message to sell to the audiences (often well-populated by supporters) while Labour retreated into its bunker. Ms Sturgeon put up a solid show in the final debate in Edinburgh after replacing Alex Salmond to become the only person to appear in two debates. She managed to tread a fine line, expounding a passion for an independent Scotland but delivering her points in a measured manner.
Most SNP performers were solid, rather than spectacular, displaying confidence without arrogance. Bruce Crawford in Stirling, Maureen Watt in Ballater and Kenny MacAskill in North Berwick all did a sound job, with Mr MacAskill outlining a clear argument why Scotland needed to be a nation state rather than a sub-national unit. There was a consistent theme of an outward-looking Scotland playing a big part in Europe and the world, in an effort to get away from accusations of insularity. Tricia Marwick was steady in Cupar, but struggled to explain in a meaningful way why the SNP was so passionate about Europe.
GREENS: Robin Harper's denunciation of Trident was well-received in Edinburgh, while his party did well in Galashiels and Inverness, with George Baxter particularly feisty in Ballater.
INDEPENDENTS: Stars of the show - Tommy Sheridan in Glasgow, Professor John Curtice in Stirling, Brian Monteith in Cupar and Margo Macdonald in North Berwick all had plenty to say and said it with panache. Mr Monteith was just about the only advocate of tax cuts to stimulate the economy, while Mr Sheridan made his usual impassioned appeals for a fairer society.
Prof Curtice was a revelation but fellow independent panellist Archie Stirling was disappointing. The founder of the New Scottish Democrats spoke extremely quietly, but even when you could hear him, there was little vision of why he was entering the political scene. "It's time for a new kind of politics," was as good as it got.
THE STAR DEBATE PERFORMERS
• DEREK BROWNLEE: Honest, commonsense approach; didn't try to score party political points for no good reason.
• PROFESSOR JOHN CURTICE: Who says psephologists are boring? Curtice was witty and offbeat, but underpinned what he had to say with facts and figures, not party politics.
• CHRISTINE GRAHAME: Ballsy and passionate, and backed up points with solid argument. Also good to hear someone harrumphing loudly when an opponent upsets them.
• CHARLES KENNEDY: Assured and still a cut above his party's MSPs.
• HENRY McLEISH: Admitted it was easier to be bold outside Holyrood, but spoke with informed assurance lacking from those Labour members still in parliament, outlining a way forward under an evolving Union.
• TOMMY SHERIDAN: Passionate, but measured and always employed supplementary arguments rather than a half-minute platitude.
