:00:22. > :00:23.Tonight, David Cameron travels to Scotland to defend
:00:24. > :00:42.on the day 200 business leaders sign a letter backing independence.
:00:43. > :00:47.the knowledge that you keep the pound is currently, you keep your
:00:48. > :00:49.markets open, you keep your business opportunities as you can today.
:00:50. > :00:51.Is the campaign dampening or raising spirits
:00:52. > :01:04.The best way to achieve devolution is to have more local beaver luge.
:01:05. > :01:06.If the politicians are closer to home, they can be more answerable to
:01:07. > :01:11.the demands of the people. David Cameron is
:01:12. > :01:16.in Glasgow tonight defending The Prime Minister says being part
:01:17. > :01:20.of the UK supports a million Scottish jobs and gives businesses
:01:21. > :01:23.access to one of the world's oldest Debate about the impact
:01:24. > :01:28.of independence on Scottish companies has intensified today with
:01:29. > :01:30.200 bosses signing a letter published in the Herald
:01:31. > :01:36.in favour of leaving the UK. But first our Political Editor Nick
:01:37. > :01:49.Robinson has been speaking to The right choice of business, the
:01:50. > :01:52.right choice of Scotland's business and the economy if the vote to stay
:01:53. > :01:59.within the United Kingdom. It gives Scottish business the opportunity of
:02:00. > :02:02.trading within the United Kingdom and in the European Union, it gives
:02:03. > :02:05.you the opportunity on the world stage and you have the knowledge
:02:06. > :02:08.that you keep the pound is your currency, the market opened and you
:02:09. > :02:12.keep the business opportunities as you have today. Isn't there one
:02:13. > :02:18.other certainty if Scotland does vote know if you want, and you are
:02:19. > :02:23.still Prime Minister, more austerity, more spending cuts,
:02:24. > :02:27.possible cuts in NHS budget as well. Isn't that another reason people may
:02:28. > :02:31.choose to leave? I think Alex Salmond has been trying to frighten
:02:32. > :02:33.people because he is losing the argument about Scottish separation.
:02:34. > :02:39.You take for instance the argument about the NHS, under my government
:02:40. > :02:42.the NHS has been getting more money every year, that means more money
:02:43. > :02:46.for the NHS in Scotland. And the people who make the choice about the
:02:47. > :02:50.NHS in Scotland is the Scottish government, Alex Salmond himself.
:02:51. > :02:52.His scare stories has been completely ineffective because he
:02:53. > :02:59.has been trying to frighten people about what he might do. You decide
:03:00. > :03:03.the overall budget for Scotland. In truth, you would deliver more
:03:04. > :03:09.austerity, spending cuts, there could be a knock`on for the health
:03:10. > :03:13.budget. Everybody knows the whole of the United Kingdom still faces a big
:03:14. > :03:17.budget deficit and problems of excessive debt, we have to get on
:03:18. > :03:20.top of those which we have done it a very sensible and measured way.
:03:21. > :03:22.People in Scotland have made a contribution to the deficit
:03:23. > :03:27.reduction but people in Scotland could see the benefit of our
:03:28. > :03:31.long`term economic plan. 150,000 more people in work than when I
:03:32. > :03:35.became Prime Minister four years ago. So Scotland is succeeding as
:03:36. > :03:42.part of the beta kingpin, and its performance in terms of `` part of
:03:43. > :03:46.the United Kingdom, and its performance is one of the best in
:03:47. > :03:54.the United Kingdom. I am inviting you to address the voters I talked
:03:55. > :04:00.yesterday, who never with Alex Salmond but who nevertheless said
:04:01. > :04:03.they will vote yes because they then get to see the back of the Tories
:04:04. > :04:11.and austerity of the cuts forever. You say to them? If you want
:04:12. > :04:15.Scotland to have a greater ability to be determining its own affairs
:04:16. > :04:19.and still remain part of the United Kingdom, you could have the best of
:04:20. > :04:23.both worlds. Secondly, whoever is running government in Scotland,
:04:24. > :04:26.whether as part of the United Kingdom or separately, it has to
:04:27. > :04:30.deal with debt and deficit and all those other issues that politicians
:04:31. > :04:33.have been grappling with for the last few years. Let's think of what
:04:34. > :04:37.Scotland would have had to cope with added beans separate from the United
:04:38. > :04:43.Kingdom when the Royal Bank of Scotland nearly went bust. It would
:04:44. > :04:46.have had to shoulder on the taxpayer of Scotland a bank that was many
:04:47. > :04:51.times bigger than the entire Scottish economy. This is part of my
:04:52. > :04:56.positive argument. As part of the United Kingdom, there is solidarity
:04:57. > :05:00.of both parts of the `` different parts of the United Kingdom support
:05:01. > :05:05.each other in the bad and good times. If there is a no vote, are
:05:06. > :05:16.you guaranteeing to give more power to the Scottish Parliament and when?
:05:17. > :05:18.Yes soon is the answer to that. What powers would you give the Scottish
:05:19. > :05:25.parliament which would actually help create jobs in Scotland? What I
:05:26. > :05:28.would say is that today, there are advantages of being part of the UK
:05:29. > :05:32.single market with the single currency. They are all the Scout ``
:05:33. > :05:38.powers the Scottish Parliament already has to create jobs, there
:05:39. > :05:45.are the record 157,000 new jobs and with the sort of fiscal devolution
:05:46. > :05:47.we are looking at, there will be further opportunities for Scottish
:05:48. > :05:49.MPs to make decisions to help growth in Scotland.
:05:50. > :05:51.The Prime Minister's comments come after a letter was published
:05:52. > :05:54.in today's Herald signed by more than 200 business people
:05:55. > :05:57.Yesterday a similar letter from 130 pro`UK business leaders
:05:58. > :05:59.said the case for independence had not been made.
:06:00. > :06:08.Our Scotland economic correspondent Colletta Smith reports.
:06:09. > :06:13.When it comes to the right support for business, the man behind the
:06:14. > :06:16.property firm Springfield is convinced that an independent
:06:17. > :06:20.Scotland would be the best structure. He has more than 1000
:06:21. > :06:23.staff working for him across Scotland and he has signed today's
:06:24. > :06:27.letter because he thinks his business would get a boost if the
:06:28. > :06:31.Scottish government had more power to help. We are operating with our
:06:32. > :06:35.hands tied behind our back. We have seen in the last is the news how
:06:36. > :06:40.successful we can run our country with devolution, with limited
:06:41. > :06:49.powers, and like the guise of a building site here, we has served
:06:50. > :06:54.our apprenticeship. But when we look at the tool box, hospitals are
:06:55. > :06:59.missing. Plenty of `` tools are missing. 20 of other bosses do not
:07:00. > :07:03.believe in that analysis. You cannot simply believe in a proposition that
:07:04. > :07:08.will reduce taxes and increased spending is credible. My worry is
:07:09. > :07:12.that what `` taxes would go up at an individual and business level to
:07:13. > :07:13.make the books of an independent Scotland balance.
:07:14. > :07:15.Duncan Tannahill talking to Coletta Smith.
:07:16. > :07:18.With me now is the former senior civil servant turned adviser to
:07:19. > :07:20.the Better Together campaign, Professor Jim Gallagher.
:07:21. > :07:22.And I'm also joined by Professor Murray Pittock who's
:07:23. > :07:24.Vice`Principal of the University of Glasgow and a member
:07:25. > :07:50.200 business leaders have signed the letter. I think the Prime Minister
:07:51. > :07:56.has been right. The argument that there will be a wider UK market, and
:07:57. > :08:00.the majority of Scotland's trade is with the UK, all hell you that the
:08:01. > :08:09.placing of the Scotland in an economic union works for business
:08:10. > :08:15.and job. `` all tells you. Cameron makes the point that Scotland does
:08:16. > :08:19.trade with the UK more than with the rest of the world together. So there
:08:20. > :08:25.would be disruption to that if there is separation. The real single
:08:26. > :08:28.market is the European single market and that is the single market that
:08:29. > :08:34.counts. There is no point harking back to Imperial preference and the
:08:35. > :08:37.UK single market, that is not the world we live in. One of the
:08:38. > :08:41.important things is the Prime Minister talking about Scottish food
:08:42. > :08:49.production. Scottish food production has been rising three times faster
:08:50. > :08:52.after the government started promoting internationally in 2007.
:08:53. > :08:57.We are now selling more whiskey to France in a month than they are
:08:58. > :09:01.buying cognac for themselves in the year. The promotion of Scotland
:09:02. > :09:08.internationally, it is one of the most recognised international
:09:09. > :09:15.brands, will gain from independents. I am not surprised that a lot of
:09:16. > :09:18.Scotland's traders expect, Scotland cannot promote itself with the
:09:19. > :09:23.recognition of its brand. Europe has reared its head yet again with the
:09:24. > :09:27.defection of darkness Carswell and there are a lot of people `` Douglas
:09:28. > :09:31.Carswell and there are a lot of people concerned that if the UK
:09:32. > :09:34.leads the EU, Scotland will be dragged out with it and it might be
:09:35. > :09:38.safer to vote for an independent Scotland that would at some point
:09:39. > :09:48.during the EU. That is the worst of both worlds. The difficult thing for
:09:49. > :09:53.Scotland, in the undesirable way that the UK leads the EU will ``
:09:54. > :10:01.leaves the EU, means that we are faced with an very bad choice. We
:10:02. > :10:04.should maintain both unions. There is is a big difference between the
:10:05. > :10:09.single market of the EU and the domestic market that is the domestic
:10:10. > :10:14.United Kingdom. The single market only works well for some things,
:10:15. > :10:19.like whiskey for example, but it does not work at all for financial
:10:20. > :10:26.services. And 200,000 jobs in the UK, in Scotland, depend on the UK
:10:27. > :10:29.selling financial services companies. The prime list also makes
:10:30. > :10:34.the point that it is the that has the trade
:10:35. > :10:38.around the world that can work to promote Scottish exports. They
:10:39. > :10:42.don't, that is the point. As someone who frequently speaks abroad on
:10:43. > :10:46.Scottish related events, I know the embassies are not present and we
:10:47. > :10:50.could present ourselves better abroad.
:10:51. > :11:15.It is independents to improve promote ourselves across a smaller
:11:16. > :11:27.pictures at the station in Paris! That it is the single image, the
:11:28. > :11:36.serious image is, 2012, 217,000 jobs created in London, 47,000 in the ten
:11:37. > :11:40.biggest cities next combines. This is a London British economy, it is
:11:41. > :11:48.not in British British economy. I appreciate that is a general English
:11:49. > :11:54.issue but it is also is also to Scottish problem.
:11:55. > :12:01.How much does it help the better together caused to have the Prime
:12:02. > :12:08.Minister in Scotland? It is a well worn joke that there are more pandas
:12:09. > :12:14.in the Scotland because `` than Tory MPs. The David Cameron coming to
:12:15. > :12:21.visit help the cause? I have seen the pandas and BNP so I can make the
:12:22. > :12:26.comparison. If the promote `` Prime Minister did not come, I think he
:12:27. > :12:30.would be rightly criticised. He is also right to say that in the end
:12:31. > :12:34.this is a decision for Scots. He does not have a vote and I think it
:12:35. > :12:40.is quite right. He comes and makes his argument, set to people, stay in
:12:41. > :12:43.the UK. The choice is for us, not for him. You would be critical of
:12:44. > :12:46.the Prime Minister if he did not come to visit, but at the same time
:12:47. > :12:53.the yes campaign is not keen to seem to be keen to be having him here. I
:12:54. > :12:57.am sure he has got a good Scottish welcome from the yes campaign he has
:12:58. > :13:01.met. If David Cameron wants to join the debate, he should be debating
:13:02. > :13:05.the first Minister and he is not doing that. Alex Salmond has renewed
:13:06. > :13:13.the challenge for head to head debate with David Cameron, he has
:13:14. > :13:20.had two with Alistair Darling, any chance the Prime Minister will
:13:21. > :13:23.agree? It is unlikely, of course Alex Salmond wants to present it as
:13:24. > :13:28.Scotland versus England, that is his game. This is a decision for us here
:13:29. > :13:31.in Scotland. I think if that is the case, I think the Prime Minister
:13:32. > :13:35.should not be in the Scottish debate on his own terms, he should be in
:13:36. > :13:43.the Scottish debate on terms that are agreeable to a wider range for
:13:44. > :13:46.people in Scotland. When he brought them to Cabinet, he met hardly
:13:47. > :13:52.anybody. It is not about being shepherded around, it is about
:13:53. > :13:54.coming to Scotland are being engaged.
:13:55. > :13:56.The Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael has indicated he could
:13:57. > :13:58.join Scotland's negotiating team for talks on independence
:13:59. > :14:02.Speaking to the Scotsman the senior Liberal Democrat said he
:14:03. > :14:05.would find it difficult to remain in his current job if Scots support
:14:06. > :14:09.Alex Salmond has said he would want all the best talents
:14:10. > :14:14.in the country to take part in any independence talks.
:14:15. > :14:17.A champagne celebration organised by a Conservative association
:14:18. > :14:20.in anticipation of a no vote has been cancelled.
:14:21. > :14:23.An advert for the event in Dumfries said an all`night party on September
:14:24. > :14:27.18th would be followed by a celebration champagne brunch.
:14:28. > :14:30.A Conservative spokesman said the party was not taking anything
:14:31. > :14:37.The referendum campaign has ignited a debate about Scottish identity
:14:38. > :14:40.and it's often in small island communities where that debate is
:14:41. > :14:45.Our special correspondent Allan Little has been visiting Islay
:14:46. > :14:48.in the Hebrides where he's been finding out that both sides are keen
:14:49. > :15:00.for change whatever the outcome of the vote.
:15:01. > :15:05.Just 90,000 people live in Argyll and Bute, but it has a coastline
:15:06. > :15:09.longer than that of France. There are so few people in Scotland, it
:15:10. > :15:13.has a population density just one seventh that of England and Wales.
:15:14. > :15:16.Pro independence campaigners say that makes it different kind of
:15:17. > :15:25.country, with different political challenges and needs. The Islay
:15:26. > :15:28.hotelier David Graham leaves his guest in no doubt about his
:15:29. > :15:32.allegiance. For him, independence is about making government more
:15:33. > :15:35.accountable. We still feel distant from Westminster, Westminster still
:15:36. > :15:39.control a lot of the key levers that can make such a difference to
:15:40. > :15:45.Scotland as an independent Scotland. I personally feel that if
:15:46. > :15:46.we have the politicians closer to home, they can be more answerable to
:15:47. > :15:55.the demands of the people. The independence debate reaches
:15:56. > :15:57.into every community. The level
:15:58. > :15:58.of engagement is unprecedented. The annual isle agricultural show
:15:59. > :16:00.brings the community together. Minds are being made up
:16:01. > :16:03.in places like this, in lengthy, passionate conversations
:16:04. > :16:07.between friends and neighbours. What's the point
:16:08. > :16:21.in saying we want to be separate, in the meantime we only get a list of
:16:22. > :16:24.the things we don't want to lose. It must be nice to be either one or
:16:25. > :16:27.the other and I keep getting pulled back
:16:28. > :16:31.and forward. It is the one and only chance
:16:32. > :16:36.in my lifetime we will be able to It won't be easy,
:16:37. > :16:42.it will be hard and cost money, Neither side now is backing
:16:43. > :16:53.the status quo. For even the most passionate
:16:54. > :16:55.no campaigners, like the local Centralisation has not helped
:16:56. > :16:59.in the islands. The best way to achieve
:17:00. > :17:02.devolution is not just increasing evolution to Edinburgh, but from
:17:03. > :17:10.Edinburgh more local devolution. The nationalists have
:17:11. > :17:12.a terrible track record on this. In a place like this you see
:17:13. > :17:15.something very important about It's not just about national
:17:16. > :17:20.identity, it's also about power. About where it should properly
:17:21. > :17:22.reside, how to make the centre accountable
:17:23. > :17:26.to people who live at periphery. Yes there has been national flag
:17:27. > :17:30.waving, but this has been an extraordinary and energetic
:17:31. > :17:34.debate that has energised people In groups of friends, families,
:17:35. > :17:39.about the nature of democracy The pace of that debate is
:17:40. > :17:53.now accelerating fast. Both sides say they want change,
:17:54. > :17:56.and the decision, change in and out of the
:17:57. > :18:01.United Kingdom, is just weeks away. Stay with BBC News for the latest on
:18:02. > :18:10.the Scottish referendum. And get the latest online
:18:11. > :18:12.whenever you want it Gavin Esler will be live in Islay
:18:13. > :18:17.tomorrow, hearing more about the impact of the campaign
:18:18. > :18:19.there, as local people gather for I'll be back
:18:20. > :18:25.on Monday with all the latest from the capaign trail, but James Cook
:18:26. > :18:29.will here tomorrow at 7.30pm with be