Cameron pleads with Scotland to stay in UK

Reuters/London

Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday conceded that Scotland had what it takes to be an independent nation, but said it currently enjoyed “the best of both worlds”, imploring it not to break the United Kingdom apart.

Stepping up his government’s campaign to hold Britain together ahead of an independence referendum expected next year, Cameron urged Scotland not to sever a union with England that dates back 306 years.

“Put simply: Britain works. Britain works well. Why break it?” he wrote in an article published in Scottish newspapers.

“This big question is for Scotland to decide. But the answer matters to all of our United Kingdom. Scotland is better off in Britain. We’re all better off together and poorer apart.”

Cameron’s political future and historic legacy are on the line. He has pledged to contest the next general election in 2015 and his own Conservative party would never forgive him if he presided over the break-up of a United Kingdom comprising England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

London’s main parties are campaigning jointly against independence, knowing that Alex Salmond’s Scottish National Party (SNP) is an astute and highly motivated political machine that will spare no effort to win a vote on its flagship policy.

Tapping into an emotive cocktail of historical rivalry, opposing political tastes, and a perception that the British parliament in London does not nurture Scotland’s national interests, the “Yes Scotland” campaign wants independence to be a reality by 2016.

Scottish secession could create serious problems for the remainder of the United Kingdom.

Britain’s Trident nuclear submarine fleet is based in Scotland, revenues from Scottish North Sea oil remain important to its coffers, and analysts say Britain would find it harder to maintain its voice in international bodies such as the UN Security Council as well as in European Union decision-making.

The SNP published a document this month suggesting the transition arrangements could be made within 16 months, and that Independence Day for Scotland could come in March 2016, a timetable opponents dismissed as unrealistic.

Opinion polls suggest support for independence has stalled. The latest put it at 32% and opposition at 47%. But Cameron and politicians from other parties remain nervous.

The government is expected to release the first of many policy papers on Scottish independence today, analysing the legal and constitutional implications of a “Yes” vote.

One of the central planks of Cameron’s argument is that Scotland already enjoys a high degree of autonomy through its own parliament, and he has hinted that it would be able to repatriate even more powers if it rejected full independence.

Scots could face new border controls: May

Home Secretary Theresa May has refused to rule out the construction of new controls at the English border if Scotland gets independence. May said passport checks could be necessary to cross between the countries in order to monitor immigrants, after the break-up of the UK. May’s comments came during a visit to Glasgow in which she also accused the SNP of failing to understand the security implications of independence in the event of a Yes vote in next year’s referendum. Scotland would be a separate state from the rest of the UK and there’s absolutely no doubt it would be an international border, she stressed. Ministers in London have previously suggested passport controls could become standard if Scotland breaks away because of the Schengen Agreement, which allows for free travel between 25 EU states.