- .PM warns vote it is not like an election and result will stand for 100 years
- .Salmond under pressure to accept Scotland's £100billion share of debt
- .Westminster parties have all ruled out a currency union with Scotland
- .David Cameron issues plea to Scots to not 'rip apart' the UK
- .PM, Miliband and Clegg head north to launch new push for the Union
- .Salmond says 'Team Westminster' is 'panicking' in face of independence
- .Fresh warnings that Scotland faces being plunged into a 'deep recession'
- .John Prescott launches bizarre attack on Tories for 'ripping families apart'
- .Standard Life to move jobs to England if Scotland becomes foreign country
- .BP says North Sea oil industry is 'best served' by Scotland remaining in UK
David Cameron today pleaded with Scottish voters not to use the independence referendum to give the 'effing Tories' a kicking.
In an extraordinary intervention, the Prime Minister appeared close to tears during a speech in Edinburgh in which he acknowledged the unpopularity of the Conservatives in Scotland but warned the result of next week's vote will stand for 100 years.
He cancelled his appearance at PMQs to travel to Scotland, leading Alex Salmond to claim Team Westminster is 'panicking', adding: 'The movement in Scotland is decisively towards Yes.'
It comes amid fresh warnings that Scotland faces being plunged into a 'deep recession' as pensions firm Standard Life revealed plans to move jobs to England if independence is backed by voters and oil giant BP warned said the North Sea oil industry is 'best served' by Scotland remaining part of the UK.
Prime Minister David Cameron appeared close to tears during a passionate speech during a visit to Scottish Widows offices in Edinburgh
Mr Cameron urged voters not to use the referendum to give the 'effing Tories' a kicking' and warned the result would stand for 100 years
Senior politicians from all the main parties are campaigning across Scotland today, with barely a week to go until the historic referendum
Mr Cameron cleared his diary to travel to Scotland, after polls showed the Yes and No camps are neck-and neck with barely a week until the historic referendum on Thursday September 18.
In a highly-charged speech, Mr Cameron urged voters not to use the referendum to punish unpopular Westminster parties.
The PM said: 'Because it is an election people think it's like a general election. If you are fed up with the effing Tories, you can give them a kick and then maybe we'll think again. This is totally different.
'This is not a decision about the next five years, but the next century.'
Mr Cameron went on: 'This vote is not about whether Scotland is a nation or not, Scotland is a nation, it's a strong, proud nation with an extraordinary history and incredibly talented people.
'But it is a nation that has chosen over the last 300 years to be part of a family of nations. A family of nations that enables this great country to punch way above its weight in the world.
'This vote is not about Scotland versus Britain it's about two competing visions for Scotland.
'I hope you choose the vision of Scotland that is about Scottish pride, Scottish patriotism, Scottish nationhood, but is also about being part of the family of nations we have created.'
Mr Cameron told workers at the Scottish Widows offices how he had taken the decision to cancel his appearance at Prime Minister's Questions to instead campaign in Scotland
Mr Cameron insisted the referendum is 'not about Scotland versus Britain it's about two competing visions for Scotland'
Mr Cameron cancelled his appearance at Prime Minister's Questions today to visit Edinburgh, while Mr Miliband is in Glasgow and Mr Clegg will campaign in Selkirk.
Addressing crowds in Edinburgh, Mr Salmond accused Westminster parties of 'panicking', adding: 'The movement in Scotland is decisively towards Yes.'
He added: 'What is interesting today is that at this juncture of the campaign Team Westminster - David Cameron, Ed Miliband - have jetted up to Scotland.
This is not a decision about the next five years, but the next century
Prime Minister David Cameron
'Not part of their plans perhaps, but nonetheless they are here.
'What we are arguing is that we've got a key test about jobs in Scotland, about protecting our National Health Service. Their concern with this last-gasp effort seems to be with their own jobs.
'That's the contrast between the breadth and reach of Team Scotland and the narrow focus of Team Westminster, and that's why we're decisively winning the campaign on the ground in Scotland.'
Meanwhile Mr Salmond has been accused of laughing off the prospect of an independent Scotland not paying its debts, joking: 'What are they going to do - invade?'
The First Minister, on the campaign trail in Edinburgh today, is under pressure to accept Scotland's £100billion share of Britain's national debt if the UK refuses to let him use the pound.
Alex Salmond, campaigning in Edinburgh with his deputy Nicola Sturgeon, sought to pitch the battle between Team Westminster and Team Scotland
The First Minister boasted that the 'movement in Scotland is decisively towards Yes' as he accused No campaigners of 'panicking'
Mr Salmond reportedly brushed off threats to force an independent Scotland to accept its £100billion share of the UK's debts
Mr Salmond was embraced by supporters today, as he welcomed the arrival of Westminster politicians to the campaign trail
With barely a week until the referendum, Scots are finding increasingly eye-catching ways to show which way they will be voting
The economic impact of independence has been one of the strongest cards the No campaign has been able to play, with Mr Salmond refusing to say what currency Scotland would use if it leaves the UK.
He insists he would enter a currency union to continue using the pound – something Labour, the Tories and Lib Dems have all rejected.
What we're seeing today on the other side is Team Westminster jetting up to Scotland for the day because they are panicking in the campaign
First Minister Alex Salmond
The Scottish National Party has suggested that a currency deal would be a condition of Scotland accepting its share of the national debt.
Mr Salmond reportedly taunted the Westminster parties with a joke apparently suggesting he could default on Scotland's share of the UK's national debt if the pound was not shared.
Sources close to the Scottish leader told ITV News he had exclaimed: 'What are they going to do? Invade?'
A spokesman for Mr Salmond later dismissed the claim as 'total nonsense' but it highlights the growing tensions over the central questions of the currency and debt.
On the campaign trail today, Better Together leader Alistair Darling also issued a grave warning to Scots about independence.
'Remember this: this vote next week is one that, if we decide to leave, there is no going back,' he said in Glasgow.
'This isn't a protest vote, this isn't a by-election where we're kicking the Government in the teeth. This is a decision that will effect not just our generation, but generations to come.'
Labour leader Ed Miliband has urged cities, towns and villages in England to fly the Saltire to show their support for Scotland remaining in the UK
Writing in the Daily Mail today, Mr Cameron told Scots that the rest of the UK 'desperately wants you to stay'.
But he warns there will be no second chances after next week's referendum: 'If the UK breaks apart, it breaks apart for ever.'
In his passionate defence of the 307-year-old Union, he says the UK family of nations has 'punched above its weight for centuries' – and cites as evidence the Industrial Revolution, the abolition of slavery and victory in the First World War.
He also puts party hostilities aside to back a last-ditch plan unveiled by his former foe Gordon Brown to fast-track new powers for Edinburgh.
'Our message to the Scottish people will be simple: We want you to stay,' Mr Cameron writes. 'Together, the United Kingdom embodies the values the world looks on with awe and envy.'
With panic growing in Westminster over a surge in support for independence, Mr Cameron, Labour's Ed Miliband and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg have taken the extraordinary step of agreeing to abandon Prime Minister's Questions today.
Instead, they are making unscheduled trips to Scotland to try to rally the faltering No campaign.
But there were signs of the cross-party united front fracturing. Former Tory Prime Minister John Major today blamed Labour for the growing threat of Scottish independence – claiming the party had spent years attacking the Conservatives and Westminster.
Sir John said Labour and the SNP 'have fed a divisive narrative that has bitten deep, ignoring the revolution in Scottish living standards brought about, in large part, by Conservative policies'.
Writing in The Times, he added: 'It would be ironic indeed if Scotland voted for separation, and Labour lost all its significant representation in the House of Commons. If this comes to pass, no one should weep for them.'
PRESCOTT IN A BIZARRE ATTACK ON TORIES 'RIPPING FAMILIES APART'
Labour bruiser John Prescott used a speech in Glasgow to make a bizarre attack on the Tories
The former Deputy Prime Minister waved a copy of the Daily Mail, which today published an article by Prime Minister David Cameron
He was supposed to take the fight to the SNP in defence of the 300-year-old Union.
But Labour bruiser John Prescott today launched a bizarre attack on the Tories, accusing them of ripping families apart.
The former Deputy Prime Minister was in Rutherglen campaigning with Alistair Darling in an attempt to woo Labour voters who are tempted to back independence.
But Lord Prescott took the microphone to instead criticise David Cameron's article in today's Daily Mail urging Scots to stay in the UK.
In his article, the Prime Minister tells Scots that the rest of the UK 'desperately wants you to stay'.
But he warns there will be no second chances after next week's referendum: 'If the UK breaks apart, it breaks apart for ever.'
Clutching a copy of the Daily Mail, Lord Prescott bellowed: 'I picked up the Mail. Never been known to pick the Mail up.
'I think one of the reporters is here. What a headline! Cameron says 'Don't Rip Our Family Apart'. Bloody hell, they've ripped our families apart for decades. They are the values of the Tory party which are fundamentally different from the values of the Labour party.'
He also told a strange anecdote about how his wife Pauline had told him to buy a bottle of whiskey.
'I go to the airport today and my wife told me to bring a bottle of the proper stuff up and they took it off me and said, 'You can't take that. You can pay £40 or it might be smashed.'
'Have we got border controls already beginning? Will there be a little note saying the Scots, the Welsh, the English? No, it's for Britain, a United Kingdom!'
Lord Prescott also turned to football, claiming that 'if England and Scotland together had one team we could at last beat the Germans'.
Meanwhile, Mr Salmond suffered a double blow from two of Scotland's biggest businesses.
The boss of oil giant BP warned that future long-term investments aimed at extending the life of existing assets in the North Sea and managing the future costs of decommissioning required 'fiscal stability and certainty'.
Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief executive, backed earlier comments from oil industry veteran Sir Ian Wood who said that Scottish people were being misled by forecasts of a new oil boom.
Mr Dudley said: 'BP has been in the UK North Sea for 50 years and we hope to operate here for many years to come. However, the province is now mature and I believe Sir Ian Wood correctly assesses its future potential.
'The opportunities today are smaller and more challenging to develop than in the past. We also face the challenges of extending the productive life of existing assets and managing the future costs of decommissioning.
'Much of this activity requires fiscal support to be economic, and future long-term investments require fiscal stability and certainty.'
'Our business invests for decades into the future. It is important our plans are based on a realistic view of the North Sea's future potential and the challenges the industry faces in continuing to operate here.
'As a major investor in Scotland - now and into the future - BP believes that the future prospects for the North Sea are best served by maintaining the existing capacity and integrity of the United Kingdom.'
Pensions and savings giant Standard Life also revealed it is preparing to transfer parts of its business to England if Scotland votes in favour of independence.
The company, which has been based in Scotland for 189 years, said pensions, investments and other long-term savings held by UK consumers could be moved south of the Scottish border in order to 'help to ensure continuity and peace of mind'.
It said the precautionary plans are being put in place due to continued uncertainty over a range of key issues, including the currency that an independent Scotland would use, the approach to taxation and the arrangements for consumer protection in the event of a Yes vote.
The company's chief executive David Nish said: 'This transfer of our business could potentially include pensions, investments and other long-term savings held by UK customers.'
The firm said that if Scotland votes Yes, 'we understand it would be at least 18 months before Scotland could become a separate country from the United Kingdom'.
A Saltire and Union Flag hang from a shop front in Edinburgh, as the No campaign urges supporters to fly the Scottish flag to show their support
Campaigning has stepped up ahead of the independence referendum on September 18 when 4million Scots will have their say
Bank of England governor Mark Carney yesterday gave his strongest warning yet that Mr Salmond's dream of sharing the pound was 'incompatible with sovereignty'.
As major global investors were last night revealed to be moving billions of pounds out of Scotland, Mr Carney argued that any currency deal would require strict cross-Border agreements on tax and spending as well as on banking rules.
He also noted the opposition of Westminster's three main political parties to sharing the pound, telling the Trades Union Congress in Liverpool: 'First, you have to have free movement of capital and labour and goods and services, trade, across the various parts of the currency union.
A currency union is incompatible with sovereignty
Mark Carney,
Bank of England governor
Bank of England governor
'Secondly, you need something called a banking union, in other words you need the same regulation, same supervision, same standards in the banking sector.
'And you very importantly need the institutions that stand behind those banks, the lender of last resort, which is a central bank, a deposit guarantee scheme that is credible.
'And thirdly, you need some form of fiscal arrangement. So it needs tax, revenues and spending flowing across those borders to help equalise to some extent the inevitable fluctuations, differences in the various economies. I think we likely have to look across the Channel (to the eurozone) to see what happens if you don't have those components in place.
'So that's just the economics of it, I've said this before but we take note of the positions of all the major Westminster parties to rule out a currency union.
'So it is in that context, if you put it together, in that context a currency union is incompatible with sovereignty.'
Major European bank Credit Suisse yesterday became the latest big firm to voice fears about the possibility that Britain is on the verge of breaking up.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney gave his strongest warning yet that Mr Salmond's dream of sharing the pound was 'incompatible with sovereignty'
Emotional: Gordon Brown spoke from the heart as he launched a passionate defence of the NHS against the SNP 'lie' about privatisation of the health service
Senior bankers at Credit Suisse issued a private strategy report for investors with a devastating verdict on the future of Scotland.
It warns investors to avoid buying shares in Scottish firms, particularly banks, which they fear will be severely impacted by a Yes vote.
But the note also warns that Scotland is at serious risk of an economic crisis with the country very quickly plunging into recession. It said: 'In our opinion Scotland would fall into deep recession. We believe that deposit flight is highly likely and highly problematic and should the Bank of England move to guarantee Scottish deposits, we expect it to extract a high fiscal and regulatory price.
'The re-domiciling of the financial sector and public sector jobs, as well as a legal dispute over North Sea oil, would further accelerate any downturn.'
A YouGov poll at the weekend put the independence campaign ahead for the first time – with 51 per cent of Scots planning to vote for separation.
Following the news, sterling fell to a ten-month low against the dollar while more than £2.5billion was wiped off the value of blue chip Scottish firms.
The pound continued to fall yesterday as a second poll put the Yes and No camps neck and neck and sterling is now down 4.2 points in a month.
Paul Frame of Glasgow-based Tilney Bestinvest said: 'Irrespective of where one stands on the great constitutional issues, the simple fact is the financial markets hate uncertainty. Investors need to hold their nerve.'
Japan's biggest bank has also warned investors to pull cash out of the UK to avoid the 'cataclysmic' impact of independence.
Nomura yesterday warned that sterling could plunge by 15 per cent in the event of a Yes vote – amid warnings over a 'run on UK assets' threatening savings and pensions of ordinary families.
The head of the UK's financial regulators admitted contingency plans are being put in place in the event of a Yes vote as customers worry about the consequences.
English-based banks reported a rise in the number of Scots inquiring about opening new accounts as they fear about what will happen to Scotland's main institutions.
Meanwhile, the head of the UK's second-biggest defence firm warned it could pull out of the UK altogether if Scotland breaks away, in a move which would cost 7,500 jobs – including 500 in Govan.
Jean-Bernard Levy, of Thales, said an 'amputated Britain' without Scotland would raise questions about the firm's continued investment in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment