First Minister Alex Salmond and Former Chancellor Alistair Darling took part in live two-hour debate on STV Tuesday Aug 05,2014

Alex Salmond was left floundering last night as he came under pressure to explain how his dream of independence would work in practice

The First Minister failed to secure a decisive victory in the first TV debate of the referendum campaign, floundering when questions about a future currency and labelled 'snide' by audience members.

Better Together leader Alistair Darling shed his reputation for being dull to go on the attack, branding plans to keep the pound 'stupidity on stilts' and accusing the Yes campaign of being based on 'guess work, blind faith and crossed fingers'.  

But millions of people trying to watch the historic head-to-head were dismayed after the STV website crashed under the intense demand from viewers worldwide.

Former Chancellor Alistair Darling had First Minister Alex Salmond on the ropes over what currency and independent Scotland would use, dismissing the idea of keeping the pound as 'stupidity on stilts'

The two men repeatedly clashed over whether Scotland would be better remaining in the UK or becoming an independent country

The debate took place in front of an audience of 350 at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. 

At the start of the debate,Alex Salmond urged voters in Scotland to seize the opportunity of independence with both hands. 

He said: 'It should be a shared position tonight that Scotland could be a successful independent country.

'My case this evening is this: no one, no one will do a better job of running Scotland than the people who live and work in this country.

'On September 18 we have the opportunity of a lifetime. We should seize that opportunity with both hands.'

Former Chancellor Alistair Darling warned 'the future of our country' was now at stake. He added: 'There are times that for the love of our family and the love of our country it's sometimes best to say No, not because we can't, but simply because it's not the best thing to do.

'In six weeks time we will make the biggest decision we've ever made here in Scotland and remember this, if we decide to leave there is no going back, there is no second chance. 

'So let's say with confidence, let's say with pride, let's say with optimism No thanks to the risks of independence, and let's say let's have the best of both worlds not just for us but for generations to come.' 

A new IpsosMori poll released at 8pm suggested the race is tightening, but the Yes vote still trails by about 14 points. 

A snap exit poll by ICM of more than 500 viewers after the STV debate found that 56 % believed Former Chancellor Alistair Darling won, with just 44% backing the SNP leader Alex Salmond

Alex Salmond, journalist Bernard Ponsonby, and Alistair Darling

KEY QUOTES OF DEBATE SO FAR

INDEPENDENCE 

Salmond: 'No one will do a better job of running Scotland than the people who live and work in this country.' 

Darling: 'There are times that for the love of our family and the love of our country it's sometimes best to say No, not because we can't, but simply because it's not the best thing to do. I want to use the strength of the UK to make Scotland stronger.' 

CURRENCY

Salmond: 'We will keep the pound because it is our pound as well as England's pound. It is logical and desirable to keep the pound.'

Darling: 'A currency union is stupidity on stilts. If you leave the United Kingdom you leave the pound. What is your plan B if you don't get a currency union, this is most important.'

GOVERNMENT

Salmond: 'The Tory Party have one MP, there are more pandas in the zoo in Edinburgh than Tory MPs in Scotland. But we still get a Tory Government. That is what is undemocratic about the status quo.'

Darling: 'It's a nice line but it's not an answer.'

BANKS

Salmond: 'I don't think talking about the financial markets is your strongest suit Alistair, given what happened to the financial markets when you were Chancellor of the Exchequer.' 

Darling: 'If Scotland had been independent at the time it would have been in exactly the same position as Ireland and Iceland. Both of those countries are bust now because it couldn't deal with the banking crisis.'

EUROPE

Salmond: 'Isn't the real uncertainty that you have a government which is having an in-out referendum on Europe and you're in bed with people who will say that they're going to vote to leave the European Union. Isn't that the risk for Scotland?'

Darling: 'The big point here is that I've always said yes we'll get back in, the question is the terms and conditions on which we'll get back in and how long it takes to get back in. It's quite clear that Scotland would have to reapply, it's not at all clear what the term and conditions are that we'd have to meet.'

TAX AND SPENDING

Salmond: 'In each one of the last 33 years, Scotland has paid more in tax per person than the average of the UK. Over the last five years we have £8 billion more into the treasury than we have had out of it, in relative terms. that is £1,500 a head for every man, woman and child in Scotland.'

Darling: 'Money has flowed both ways over the last 30 years, but in the last 22 years Scotland has spent more than it has put in, so we have benefited from being part of the United Kingdom. We have higher public spending here per head than they do in the rest of the United Kingdom.'