ELECTIONS in this country whether to Westminster or Holyrood have become all about the personalities.

We are encouraged by the system to vote not for a local representative but a party based on which leader we want to run the country.

The referendum should be different, because it is not an election, we are not choosing a person or even a party, but a future.

We either choose Scotland as an independent country or reject that idea to stay in the UK. But the debate we had on TV this week was all about personalities and parties. How disappointing.

Alistair Darling, effective though it might have been, focused on Alex Salmond not having a plan B on the currency. The next day Better Together were on the streets with a big pound coin shaped leaflet with Salmond's head on it.

Mr Salmond in turn tried to lump his opponent in with the Tories, goading Mr Darling to accept he agreed with David Cameron, so he must be one of those nasty Tories.

We are not voting for Alex Salmond or Alistair Darling or any other politician, we are voting for every man, woman and child in this country and what we think is best for them, not just for the next five years or even twenty years, but for generations not yet born.

Mr Salmond thought it was a good idea to bring in Andy Burnham, now I doubt not many of you have given him much thought, and Phillip Hammond, you probably wouldn't recognise him in the street.

The strategies were carefully chosen, based on who each side wants to target and what message they think is most effective.

For politicians and those immersed in the campaign since 2011 it may seem like the final days, but for many it is only just beginning.

If this was an election with six weeks to go it would be the start of the intense campaigning period. Yes are going into the last six weeks with fewer people to persuade than they did back in 2011 when the referendum was announced.

They have had three years to get to this stage and if the numbers of undecideds is to be believed they will be content there is still an opportunity to gain new voters. So they want to make people think 'you don't want to be associated with Alastair Darling, he talks to Tories'. ' Come to us instead'.

Better Together have only to hold the lead and identified a weak point, the currency and it's Alex Salmond who can't answer the question so they want to convince people 'if you vote Yes you'll have Alex Salmond in charge and he doesn't have a clue'.

The strategists might think it will pick up the key votes they need to secure their desired result.

But I've said it before and I'll say it again and again. Of course we want answers but it's not their referendum, it's yours, it's ours. It's not about winning or losing, but people making a decision.

Our decision.