LEADERS of the Yes campaign have insisted that the debate over Scotland's future is about "people, not parties", as the drive to win the votes of traditional Labour supporters intensified.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that communities across Scotland were "waking up to the opportunity of independence" and that the crucial vote in less than a fortnight's time is "not about where we have come from or what party we belong to".
The SNP deputy leader made the claim at a visit to Glasgow's Central Mosque in her constituency, where she was given an overwhelmingly positive reception from members of the Muslim community, which she said found "something inherent" in the Yes campaign's message.
An increased willingness among Labour voters to back independence has been seen as a key reason for the Yes campaign's improved performance in the polls, with the latest indicating that the No campaign's lead had narrowed to just six points.
Ms Sturgeon said: "It is about the people of Scotland taking our future into our own hands. The message I'm bringing is that the referendum is a wonderful opportunity for every part of Scotland, every community in the very diverse country we're lucky to live in, to come together, work together, to build a better country. Voting Yes is about getting the powers to build a better country."
While emphasising that she did not want to generalise about communities, Ms Sturgeon said that many Muslims found the Yes message appealing.
The Yes campaign has made a concerted effort in recent days to push the message that the referendum should not be a vote on the SNP or First Minister Alex Salmond, but rather an opportunity to ensure Scotland gets the government it votes for.
The emergence of Labour leader Ed Miliband on the campaign trail on Thursday, when he insisted he was likely to win a majority at next year's Westminster elections, was seen as a response to an increasing number of his party's voters deserting to Yes, while Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has played down her party's chances of winning a Westminster majority.
Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also stepped up his involvement in the campaign in recent days, as the pro-Union parties accused the SNP of trying to create "mood music" rather than answer hard questions about independence.
Yesterday, Scottish party leader Johann Lamont released a polling analysis showing that SNP voters planning to vote No outnumber Labour supporters backing Yes.
Ms Lamont took the fight to Ms Sturgeon's Glasgow Southside constituency, where the SNP deputy leader won more than half of the vote in 2011.
She released figures based on a recent poll suggesting 180,000 SNP voters across Scotland - 20 per cent of the 2011 total - intended to back No in the referendum.
Slightly fewer Labour voters - 176,000, or 28 per cent of the party's total support in 2011 - are voting Yes, the figures suggest.
She said: "We know that Alex Salmond's win in 2011 was achieved despite their policy of independence, and the voters who gave the SNP their support for the first time in that election are key to this referendum.
"In Nicola Sturgeon's constituency in Glasgow Southside, we are speaking to Labour and SNP supporters and are finding two No voters for every Yes voter.
"Devolution has meant that we can make our own choices at the Scottish Parliament but we are backed by the strength of the United Kingdom. It's the best-of-both-worlds argument that is winning this campaign."
Her appearance in Govan - the next-door seat to her own Glasgow Pollok constituency - prompted a Twitter spat between the two leaders.
Ms Lamont sent a message to Ms Sturgeon saying she had enjoyed a "great time" in her constituency.
Ms Sturgeon tweeted back, saying: "I've seen Yes canvass results in your constituency, so know why you don't want to be there."
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