Myopia

The outcome of the latest polls, showing a diminishing gap between the yes and no sides, would suggest that the coalition government might be in the process of committing an egregious error.  The FT reports:

David Cameron’s official spokesman said on Monday that officials had no detailed plans on what would happen in the event of a surprise Yes vote.

“No such work (is being) undertaken,” the prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters when asked if the government had produced contingency plans for a Yes vote. “The government’s entire focus is on making the case for the UK staying together.”

So, just supposing that the yes campaign were to deliver the extra three percentage points required, the result in  Whitehall would be chaos:  a mad dash to pull together negotiating positions on the many issues requiring decision, with ongoing speculation about the future of the Prime Minister who lost the union.  It's not as if they can simply let the matter rest until after next May's general election.