David Cameron: 'Game on' for defeating Scottish independence The signing of the deal, called the Edinburgh Agreement, was the culmination of nine months of sometimes tortuous negotiations between the UK and Scottish governments to stage the referendum. Despite being in power since 2007 and winning a landslide election last year, Mr Salmond had refused to table legislation for a vote at the Scottish Parliament. Mr Cameron seized the initiative in January by offering the First Minister the powers to stage a legal referendum, forcing the SNP leader to start negotiations for a vote to be held. Speaking after signing the deal, the Prime Minister said he had made the referendum possible and it was time to "get on with the real arguments" about why the Union should continue. We have to answer the question: does Scotland want to stay in the United Kingdom? If the answer is yes we do want to stay in the United Kingdom, then obviously further devolution is possible," he said. I think that it's much better to have a simple single straightforward question first and to settle that issue, which does need to be settled for the good of Scotland and the good of the United Kingdom. He promised to play his part in the pro-Union Better Together campaign but said he will be only "one voice of many" alongside other politicians, businessmen and trade unionists. Michael Moore, the Scottish Secretary, suggested there was no way Mr Salmond could wriggle out of staging the referendum, saying it was "game on." "The great debate can now take place and we will get beyond all the process stuff and into the hard-nosed arguments about what is best for Scotland," he said. As exclusively revealed in the Daily Telegraph, the Prime Minister highlighted the Union's benefits by spending the morning at the Rosyth shipyard in Fife where two multi-billion pound Royal Navy aircraft carriers are being assembled. He and Mr Salmond then signed the deal in a televised ceremony at the Scottish Government's St Andrew's House offices, kick-starting a 100-week referendum campaign. Speaking afterwards, the First Minister said: "It paves the way for the most important decision the country of Scotland has made in several hundred years. It is in that sense a historic day for Scotland and a major step forward for Scotland's home rule journey. He said he would "delighted" to hold face-to-face debate with Mr Cameron "next week, next year, anytime between now and 2014." However, he was forced to deny accusations the deal represented the beginning of the end of his political career. The Prime Minister rejected participating in a televised debate arguing that this role should be taken by senior politicians north of the Border. Under the terms of the deal, Mr Cameron has agreed to give the Scottish Parliament the powers to hold a referendum before the end of 2014 asking a single proposition on independence. The SNP-dominated Scottish Parliament will have the final say on the question's wording and campaign spending limits but on both elements will be expected to follow the advice of the Electoral Commission. MSPs also have the power to decide the franchise, with the SNP majority committed to giving the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds. However, they have not been given the power to alter the electoral register, meaning they will have to draw up a new one from scratch at huge complexity, expense and effort.