RECOGNITION that the No camp's poll lead will fall as the referendum campaign intensifies helped convince Nick Clegg to sack Michael Moore as Scottish Secretary, Coalition sources have said.
New Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael is today due to come face-to-face with First Minister Alex Salmond.
Both will attend the start of the Commonwealth Games baton relay at Buckingham Palace, the event's equivalent to the Olympic Torch Relay. It will be Mr Carmichael's first public engagement in his new role.
Mr Carmichael will also co-host the Scottish Fashion Awards in the Scotland Office in Whitehall this evening.
Yesterday, he attended his first Cabinet meeting. The Prime Minister was said to be content with the choice.
Coalition sources said Mr Clegg and David Cameron felt the campaign was entering a different phase. Sources said that, while they believed Mr Moore's consensual approach was needed in establishing the referendum criteria, a more aggressive approach was now required.
One source said: "Alistair is a more streetwise campaigner."
Another said that Mr Carmichael, who represents Orkney and Shetland, "speaks people's language".
A third source also admitted Mr Moore's recent TV head-to-head debate with Nicola Sturgeon had not gone as well as hoped.
Yesterday, the Deputy First Minister wrote to Mr Carmichael congratulating him on his new appointment and with a hope they could meet to take forward the Edinburgh Agreement on how the poll should be run.
She added: "I would also find it helpful to discuss the joint statement the Electoral Commission has recommended the two Governments provide to inform voters what will happen after the referendum."
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