There’s been plenty of chatter going on in the comments thread on Adam’s post here and now UK Chancellor George Osborne has come out with more than a olive branch on BBC tv this morning.

Speaking in the wake of the latest YougGov poll for the Sunday Times which now shows the Yes vote for Scottish independence leading by 51-49 Osborne announced that plans to devolve more powers to Scotland if it stays in the UK will be unveiled within days after a shock poll put the Yes camp in the lead for the first time in advance of the referendum on September 18.

George Osborne said that the final touches were being put to proposals for “much greater” fiscal autonomy and tax-raising abilities that would give Scots “the best of both worlds”.

On BBC’s Andew Marr Show he said

This country faces a very, very big choice. Scotland faces a very big choice.

If people were in any doubt that they can stay at home, that they don’t need to go out to the polls and vote ‘no’ to avoid separation, they won’t be in that doubt today.

They should also be in no doubt about the consequences of this decision, one of which is that Scotland will not be sharing the pound as an independent country with the rest of the UK if the separatists win the vote

Osborne also said that sharing the currency after independence would be equivalent to a couple divorcing but retaining the same bank account.

No ifs, no buts. We will not share the pound if Scotland separates from the rest of the UK

He said it was “clear” that Scotland wanted more autonomy and the Tories, Labour and the Liberal Democrats had agreed to “deliver” on that.

You will see in the next few days a plan of action to give more powers to Scotland. More tax powers, more spending powers, more plans for powers over the welfare state.

The timetable for delivering that will be put into effect the moment there is a ‘no’ vote in the referendum.

Other polls suggest a slender lead for the No vote and this referendum will go down to the wire with the uncertainty for the pound that’s been shown in recent days/weeks surely accelerating, after the first real jitters kicked in almost a week ago

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has recently said that the UK govt had little choice but to allow Scotland to continue with the pound if they wanted to secure the debts owed to it, so now it’s a very dangerous game of bluff. We wait to see what Salmond’s reply will be to this latest development.

Watch the whole interview (possibly just for those in the UK) here kicking in at 32.40 where he also talks on a number of subjects including membership of the EU where he repeats his view that EU reform will take place to ensure the UK stays on board