David Cameron makes his first major intervention in the Scottish independence debate, saying the result of the September referendum matters to everyone in the UK.
The prime minister urged the English, Welsh and Northern Irish to do whatever they could to influence the outcome of the vote in Scotland, telling them: “You don’t have a vote, but you do have a voice.” He said the outcome of the referendum was “up in the air” and there were “just seven months to save the most extraordinary country in history”.
In a deeply personal speech, he said he was proud of his Scottish heritage and warned that the rest of the UK would be “deeply diminshed” if Scotland became independent”, while a yes vote would “rip the rug from under our own reputation” in the world.
The keynote speech is Mr Cameron’s most high-profile intervention in a referendum campaign in which he has repeatedly stated his passionate desire to preserve the union. However he has been criticised in Scotland for refusing to debate with Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.
He gave the speech at the velodrome at the Olympic Park in London, where Team GB did so well, and summoned up the spirit of patriotism of the 2012 Games as he argued that the whole of the UK would lose out if Scotland voted to leave.
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused the prime minister of a “shameful” bid to use the Games as a “political tool” on the day the 2014 Winter Games begin in Russia. She said the intervention was a sign of “jitters” in the no camp, amid polls which she said showed growing enthusiasm for independence.
Asked why he made his speech in London rather than Glasgow, the prime minister said he would be speaking in Scotland in the months ahead, but was aiming his message on this occasion at people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The speech was an attempt to convince people outside Scotland that the result of the referendum mattered to them too.
Separation would not only cost the UK some of its economic, political and diplomatic “clout” in the world, but would also tear up an “intricate tapestry” of human connections and relationships which meant that “for millions of people, there is no contradiction in being proud of your Scottishness, Englishness and Britishness – sometimes all at once”.
Recalling that the name Cameron stems from the West Highlands, Mr Cameron said: “I am as proud of my Scottish heritage as I am of my English heritage. The name Cameron might mean ‘crooked nose’, but the clan motto is `Let us unite’ – and that’s exactly what we in these islands have done.”
The prime minister, who has previously acknowledged that his image as a “Tory toff from the home counties” make his anti-independence message more difficult to sell, said he cared too much to stay out of the debate.
“I love the United Kingdom and all it stands for, and I will fight with all I have to keep us together,” he said, describing Team GB as “the winning team in world history”.
He stressed that the decision on independence was “squarely and solely for those in Scotland to make”, saying: “It is their choice, their vote”.
But he added: “My argument today is that though only four million people can vote in this referendum, all 63 million of us are profoundly affected.
“There are 63 million of us who could wake up on September 19 in a different country, with a different future ahead of it. That’s why this speech is addressed not to the people of Scotland, but to the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland…
“We would be deeply diminished without Scotland. This matters to all our futures. And everyone in the UK can have a voice in this debate.”
A wee dram
No comment on Scotland would be complete without the obligatory reference to the "water of life", writes Matthew Moore. The prime minister duly obliged, and why not? After all, it accounts for 80 per cent of the country's food and drink exports."Whether I'm in India or China, there is barely a day that goes by that I don't bang the drum for whisky abroad." This neat line was picked up and tweeted by some of those watching. But what the prime minister said next was not.
"Of course, the first minister fights hard for those deals too but the clout we have as a United Kingdom gives us a much better chance of getting around the right tables, bashing down trade barriers, getting deals signed. The result - Scotch whisky adds £135 to the UK’s balance of payments every single second."
There will have been just a few pro-independence voters thinking that money would be better served in the pockets of Scots. But uncertainty about an independent Scotland's membership of the European Union creates doubt as to whether exports will continue to enjoy low tax tariffs around the world.
Currently the EU is in trade negotiations with Canada, India, the USA - the industry's biggest export market. In recent years the EU has negotiated trade agreements with South Korea and Mexico, meaning cheaper whisky, and more sales in those markets. One European Commission insider told me that “whisky was a major winner” from the agreement with South Korea. Before the agreement the tariff was 20 per cent by 1 July it will be zero.
Typically these deals take years, not months, to agree. That could means years of bureaucratic wrangling, leaving the industry and its 4000 plus employees cross Scotland in a state of flux. So what happens to those trade agreements if Scotland votes yes? The answer is there is no answer... yet.
Cameron to Tories: We're meant to be unionists! Read Gary Gibbon's blog.