British PM begs Scotland to stay in UK

Prime Minister David Cameron begged Scots on Wednesday not to rip apart Britain's "family of nations," visiting Scotland in an attempt to stem a steep last-minute rise in secessionist support ahead of a Sept. 18 referendum on independence.

In a sign of new panic in the British ruling elite over the fate of the 307-year-old union, Cameron and opposition leader Ed Miliband scrapped their weekly question-and-answer session in parliament to speak at separate events in Scotland.

"I would be heartbroken if this family of nations … was torn apart," said Cameron in central Edinburgh.

The prime minister, whose job may be on the line if he loses Scotland, warned Scots that a vote for secession would be forever and that Scotland would not share the British pound.

Using unusually strong language, the prime minister added: "I think people can feel it is a bit like a general election — that you make a decision and five years later you can make another decision if you are fed up with the effing Tories, give them a kick and then maybe we'll think again. This is totally different to a general election: This a decision about not the next five years but a decision about the next century."

Cameron has until now been largely absent from the debate after conceding that his privileged background and center-right politics mean he is not the best person to win over Scots, who returned just one Conservative lawmaker out of 59 in 2010.

Given the unpopularity of the Conservatives in Scotland, Cameron's trip is fraught with danger: If Scots vote for independence, Cameron will be blamed just as Britain prepares for a national election planned for May 2015.

Cameron, Miliband and third party Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg — all English-born — raced up to Scotland.

They spoke at rallies in major cities surrounded by supporters bearing "No" posters. But Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said the visits were a sign of panic that would only help the secessionist "Yes" cause.

"If I thought they were coming by bus I’d send the bus fare," Salmond said, describing Cameron as the most unpopular Conservative leader ever among Scots and Miliband as the most distrusted Labour leader.

In Edinburgh, independence supporter James Curry, 33, said he found the visits by politicians from London "insulting and patronizing." "They should've been up here ages ago. Instead, they're having a wee day trip, paid for by expenses," he said. "There's so much at stake, and it seems so real‎ already, I just hope we make it."

Sterling hit a fresh 10-month low against the dollar and a three-month low against the euro, with traders citing an unverified web poll conducted by an independent blogger that gave the "Yes" camp a strong lead.

Several opinion polls have shown a surge in support for independence over recent weeks, discomfiting investors and raising the biggest internal challenge to the United Kingdom since Irish independence almost a century ago.

Following a vote for independence, Britain and Scotland would face 18 months of talks on how to carve up everything from North Sea oil and the pound to European Union membership and Britain's main nuclear submarine base at Faslane. Other uncertainties include the course of the 2015 election, symbols of state such as the "Union Jack" flag and even the role of the monarchy.

With the fate of the UK in the balance and polls showing a swing among Labour voters to the independence camp, the referendum has electrified Scotland. On streets, in pubs and in meeting halls from the Highlands to the windswept islands of the Atlantic, independence is being debated with passion.

Bookshops are full of referendum guides and tracts for and against independence. The Scotsman newspaper published six pages of letters on the vote on Wednesday, equally split between “Yes” and “No,” including some from English people and Scots in England.

Some major companies with Scottish exposure cautioned about the risks of secession: Standard Life said it could transfer business to England while BP CEO Bob Dudley said the future of North Sea oil was best served by keeping the UK together.

Reuters