COMMENT: Bookmakers were wrong to tip gambler Alex Salmond in independence TV debate, Scottish Daily Express

The bookies obviously reflect the mood of their punters, who do not as a rule enjoy taking too many risks with their hard-earned cash.

But sometimes bookies, and their punters, can be wrong, and last night they were.

Almost everyone has at least a grudging admiration for the swashbuckling, everconfident manner of Mr Salmond - which is why he was the bookies' favourite - but with little more than a month before the referendum, most people were watching from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

And they will have been looking for reassurance and stability.

Now that we are virtually on the last lap of this seemingly interminable campaign, the thought of taking the kinds of risks that Alex Salmond and his Nationalist supporters propose is distinctly unappealing.

Mr Salmond, as lubricious as ever, did not fail his admirers.

But most of last night's viewers, I suspect, would not wish to follow this man - and his wonky financial nous - into the dense thicket of uncertainty he proposes.

That is why, in the absence of any immediate verdict by STV's 350-strong audience, last night's winner - out there in the real world - was Alistair Darling.

He was never going to set the studio in Glasgow's Royal Conservatoire alight with his booming oratory, but his calm, incisive delivery, and his ability to unravel the untold consequences of Mr Salmond's reckless venture, will surely have told on the electorate.

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Further Reading:

Duel that ignored the hard questions: MAX HASTINGS delivers his forthright verdict on last night's Scottish independence debate . Daily Mail

'You are really scrabbling around now!' Alistair Darling takes the fight to Alex Salmond in first live TV debate on Scottish independence Daily Mail,

Scottish Independence, a Vehicle for Alex Salmond's Grandiose Ego ?