BBC Online :
The leaders of the main UK parties are heading to Scotland to campaign against independence, ahead of the referendum.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband will abandon their weekly Prime Minister’s Questions clash to head north on Wednesday.
It came as the Scottish pro-Union party leaders announced their backing for more powers for Scotland.
First Minister Alex Salmond said the campaign to keep the Union was now in “absolute panic”.
Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will also be campaigning in Scotland, ahead of the 18 September referendum, although the three leaders will not travel or appear together.
In a joint statement they said: “There is a lot that divides us – but there’s one thing on which we agree passionately: the United Kingdom is better together.”
The intervention came after campaigners said at the weekend that the referendum result was too close to call, after polls indicated a narrowing of the lead that the Better Together campaign for the Union have over their Yes Scotland rivals.
In their statement, the UK leaders emphasised that keeping the UK together was now their priority, adding: “That’s why all of us are agreed the right place for us to be tomorrow is in Scotland, not at
Prime Minister’s Questions in Westminster.
“We want to be listening and talking to voters about the huge choices they face. Our message to the Scottish people will be simple: ‘We want you to stay.'”
William Hague will stand in for Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions, while Harriet Harman will deputise for Miliband.
The announcement came as the leaders of Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Liberal Democrats stood shoulder-to-shoulder to endorse a timetable to deliver more financial and other powers for Scotland, in the event of a referendum “No” vote.
Johann Lamont, Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie backed the plan of action spearheaded by former prime minister Gordon Brown, which would see work to begin on the plan on 19 September, the day after the referendum.
Reacting to news of Wednesday’s visit, Salmond said: “The ‘No’ campaign is in complete and utter disarray, and they are making this farce up as they go along.
“Together, David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are the most distrusted Westminster politicians ever – and their collective presence in Scotland will be another massive boost for the ‘Yes’ campaign.
“The message of this extraordinary, last minute reaction is that the Westminster elite are in a state of absolute panic as the ground in Scotland shifts under their feet.”
Salmond added: “While ‘No’ continue to get it badly wrong, ‘Yes’ will continue with a campaign that is energising Scotland and galvanising support the length and breadth of the country.”
The leaders of the main UK parties are heading to Scotland to campaign against independence, ahead of the referendum.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband will abandon their weekly Prime Minister’s Questions clash to head north on Wednesday.
It came as the Scottish pro-Union party leaders announced their backing for more powers for Scotland.
First Minister Alex Salmond said the campaign to keep the Union was now in “absolute panic”.
Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will also be campaigning in Scotland, ahead of the 18 September referendum, although the three leaders will not travel or appear together.
In a joint statement they said: “There is a lot that divides us – but there’s one thing on which we agree passionately: the United Kingdom is better together.”
The intervention came after campaigners said at the weekend that the referendum result was too close to call, after polls indicated a narrowing of the lead that the Better Together campaign for the Union have over their Yes Scotland rivals.
In their statement, the UK leaders emphasised that keeping the UK together was now their priority, adding: “That’s why all of us are agreed the right place for us to be tomorrow is in Scotland, not at
Prime Minister’s Questions in Westminster.
“We want to be listening and talking to voters about the huge choices they face. Our message to the Scottish people will be simple: ‘We want you to stay.'”
William Hague will stand in for Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions, while Harriet Harman will deputise for Miliband.
The announcement came as the leaders of Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Liberal Democrats stood shoulder-to-shoulder to endorse a timetable to deliver more financial and other powers for Scotland, in the event of a referendum “No” vote.
Johann Lamont, Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie backed the plan of action spearheaded by former prime minister Gordon Brown, which would see work to begin on the plan on 19 September, the day after the referendum.
Reacting to news of Wednesday’s visit, Salmond said: “The ‘No’ campaign is in complete and utter disarray, and they are making this farce up as they go along.
“Together, David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are the most distrusted Westminster politicians ever – and their collective presence in Scotland will be another massive boost for the ‘Yes’ campaign.
“The message of this extraordinary, last minute reaction is that the Westminster elite are in a state of absolute panic as the ground in Scotland shifts under their feet.”
Salmond added: “While ‘No’ continue to get it badly wrong, ‘Yes’ will continue with a campaign that is energising Scotland and galvanising support the length and breadth of the country.”
