28/08/2014 Scotland Decides

Tonight, David Cameron travels to Scotland to defend

on the day 200 business leaders sign a letter backing independence.

the knowledge that you keep the pound is currently, you keep your

markets open, you keep your business opportunities as you can today.

Is the campaign dampening or raising spirits

The best way to achieve devolution is to have more local beaver luge.

If the politicians are closer to home, they can be more answerable to

the demands of the people. David Cameron is

in Glasgow tonight defending The Prime Minister says being part

of the UK supports a million Scottish jobs and gives businesses

access to one of the world's oldest Debate about the impact

of independence on Scottish companies has intensified today with

200 bosses signing a letter published in the Herald

in favour of leaving the UK. But first our Political Editor Nick

Robinson has been speaking to The right choice of business, the

right choice of Scotland's business and the economy if the vote to stay

within the United Kingdom. It gives Scottish business the opportunity of

trading within the United Kingdom and in the European Union, it gives

you the opportunity on the world stage and you have the knowledge

that you keep the pound is your currency, the market opened and you

keep the business opportunities as you have today. Isn't there one

other certainty if Scotland does vote know if you want, and you are

still Prime Minister, more austerity, more spending cuts,

possible cuts in NHS budget as well. Isn't that another reason people may

choose to leave? I think Alex Salmond has been trying to frighten

people because he is losing the argument about Scottish separation.

You take for instance the argument about the NHS, under my government

the NHS has been getting more money every year, that means more money

for the NHS in Scotland. And the people who make the choice about the

NHS in Scotland is the Scottish government, Alex Salmond himself.

His scare stories has been completely ineffective because he

has been trying to frighten people about what he might do. You decide

the overall budget for Scotland. In truth, you would deliver more

austerity, spending cuts, there could be a knock`on for the health

budget. Everybody knows the whole of the United Kingdom still faces a big

budget deficit and problems of excessive debt, we have to get on

top of those which we have done it a very sensible and measured way.

People in Scotland have made a contribution to the deficit

reduction but people in Scotland could see the benefit of our

long`term economic plan. 150,000 more people in work than when I

became Prime Minister four years ago. So Scotland is succeeding as

part of the beta kingpin, and its performance in terms of `` part of

the United Kingdom, and its performance is one of the best in

the United Kingdom. I am inviting you to address the voters I talked

yesterday, who never with Alex Salmond but who nevertheless said

they will vote yes because they then get to see the back of the Tories

and austerity of the cuts forever. You say to them? If you want

Scotland to have a greater ability to be determining its own affairs

and still remain part of the United Kingdom, you could have the best of

both worlds. Secondly, whoever is running government in Scotland,

whether as part of the United Kingdom or separately, it has to

deal with debt and deficit and all those other issues that politicians

have been grappling with for the last few years. Let's think of what

Scotland would have had to cope with added beans separate from the United

Kingdom when the Royal Bank of Scotland nearly went bust. It would

have had to shoulder on the taxpayer of Scotland a bank that was many

times bigger than the entire Scottish economy. This is part of my

positive argument. As part of the United Kingdom, there is solidarity

of both parts of the `` different parts of the United Kingdom support

each other in the bad and good times. If there is a no vote, are

you guaranteeing to give more power to the Scottish Parliament and when?

Yes soon is the answer to that. What powers would you give the Scottish

parliament which would actually help create jobs in Scotland? What I

would say is that today, there are advantages of being part of the UK

single market with the single currency. They are all the Scout ``

powers the Scottish Parliament already has to create jobs, there

are the record 157,000 new jobs and with the sort of fiscal devolution

we are looking at, there will be further opportunities for Scottish

MPs to make decisions to help growth in Scotland.

The Prime Minister's comments come after a letter was published

in today's Herald signed by more than 200 business people

Yesterday a similar letter from 130 pro`UK business leaders

said the case for independence had not been made.

Our Scotland economic correspondent Colletta Smith reports.

When it comes to the right support for business, the man behind the

property firm Springfield is convinced that an independent

Scotland would be the best structure. He has more than 1000

staff working for him across Scotland and he has signed today's

letter because he thinks his business would get a boost if the

Scottish government had more power to help. We are operating with our

hands tied behind our back. We have seen in the last is the news how

successful we can run our country with devolution, with limited

powers, and like the guise of a building site here, we has served

our apprenticeship. But when we look at the tool box, hospitals are

missing. Plenty of `` tools are missing. 20 of other bosses do not

believe in that analysis. You cannot simply believe in a proposition that

will reduce taxes and increased spending is credible. My worry is

that what `` taxes would go up at an individual and business level to

make the books of an independent Scotland balance.

Duncan Tannahill talking to Coletta Smith.

With me now is the former senior civil servant turned adviser to

the Better Together campaign, Professor Jim Gallagher.

And I'm also joined by Professor Murray Pittock who's

Vice`Principal of the University of Glasgow and a member

200 business leaders have signed the letter. I think the Prime Minister

has been right. The argument that there will be a wider UK market, and

the majority of Scotland's trade is with the UK, all hell you that the

placing of the Scotland in an economic union works for business

and job. `` all tells you. Cameron makes the point that Scotland does

trade with the UK more than with the rest of the world together. So there

would be disruption to that if there is separation. The real single

market is the European single market and that is the single market that

counts. There is no point harking back to Imperial preference and the

UK single market, that is not the world we live in. One of the

important things is the Prime Minister talking about Scottish food

production. Scottish food production has been rising three times faster

after the government started promoting internationally in 2007.

We are now selling more whiskey to France in a month than they are

buying cognac for themselves in the year. The promotion of Scotland

internationally, it is one of the most recognised international

brands, will gain from independents. I am not surprised that a lot of

Scotland's traders expect, Scotland cannot promote itself with the

recognition of its brand. Europe has reared its head yet again with the

defection of darkness Carswell and there are a lot of people `` Douglas

Carswell and there are a lot of people concerned that if the UK

leads the EU, Scotland will be dragged out with it and it might be

safer to vote for an independent Scotland that would at some point

during the EU. That is the worst of both worlds. The difficult thing for

Scotland, in the undesirable way that the UK leads the EU will ``

leaves the EU, means that we are faced with an very bad choice. We

should maintain both unions. There is is a big difference between the

single market of the EU and the domestic market that is the domestic

United Kingdom. The single market only works well for some things,

like whiskey for example, but it does not work at all for financial

services. And 200,000 jobs in the UK, in Scotland, depend on the UK

selling financial services companies. The prime list also makes

the point that it is the that has the trade

around the world that can work to promote Scottish exports. They

don't, that is the point. As someone who frequently speaks abroad on

Scottish related events, I know the embassies are not present and we

could present ourselves better abroad.

It is independents to improve promote ourselves across a smaller

pictures at the station in Paris! That it is the single image, the

serious image is, 2012, 217,000 jobs created in London, 47,000 in the ten

biggest cities next combines. This is a London British economy, it is

not in British British economy. I appreciate that is a general English

issue but it is also is also to Scottish problem.

How much does it help the better together caused to have the Prime

Minister in Scotland? It is a well worn joke that there are more pandas

in the Scotland because `` than Tory MPs. The David Cameron coming to

visit help the cause? I have seen the pandas and BNP so I can make the

comparison. If the promote `` Prime Minister did not come, I think he

would be rightly criticised. He is also right to say that in the end

this is a decision for Scots. He does not have a vote and I think it

is quite right. He comes and makes his argument, set to people, stay in

the UK. The choice is for us, not for him. You would be critical of

the Prime Minister if he did not come to visit, but at the same time

the yes campaign is not keen to seem to be keen to be having him here. I

am sure he has got a good Scottish welcome from the yes campaign he has

met. If David Cameron wants to join the debate, he should be debating

the first Minister and he is not doing that. Alex Salmond has renewed

the challenge for head to head debate with David Cameron, he has

had two with Alistair Darling, any chance the Prime Minister will

agree? It is unlikely, of course Alex Salmond wants to present it as

Scotland versus England, that is his game. This is a decision for us here

in Scotland. I think if that is the case, I think the Prime Minister

should not be in the Scottish debate on his own terms, he should be in

the Scottish debate on terms that are agreeable to a wider range for

people in Scotland. When he brought them to Cabinet, he met hardly

anybody. It is not about being shepherded around, it is about

coming to Scotland are being engaged.

The Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael has indicated he could

join Scotland's negotiating team for talks on independence

Speaking to the Scotsman the senior Liberal Democrat said he

would find it difficult to remain in his current job if Scots support

Alex Salmond has said he would want all the best talents

in the country to take part in any independence talks.

A champagne celebration organised by a Conservative association

in anticipation of a no vote has been cancelled.

An advert for the event in Dumfries said an all`night party on September

18th would be followed by a celebration champagne brunch.

A Conservative spokesman said the party was not taking anything

The referendum campaign has ignited a debate about Scottish identity

and it's often in small island communities where that debate is

Our special correspondent Allan Little has been visiting Islay

in the Hebrides where he's been finding out that both sides are keen

for change whatever the outcome of the vote.

Just 90,000 people live in Argyll and Bute, but it has a coastline

longer than that of France. There are so few people in Scotland, it

has a population density just one seventh that of England and Wales.

Pro independence campaigners say that makes it different kind of

country, with different political challenges and needs. The Islay

hotelier David Graham leaves his guest in no doubt about his

allegiance. For him, independence is about making government more

accountable. We still feel distant from Westminster, Westminster still

control a lot of the key levers that can make such a difference to

Scotland as an independent Scotland. I personally feel that if

we have the politicians closer to home, they can be more answerable to

the demands of the people. The independence debate reaches

into every community. The level

of engagement is unprecedented. The annual isle agricultural show

brings the community together. Minds are being made up

in places like this, in lengthy, passionate conversations

between friends and neighbours. What's the point

in saying we want to be separate, in the meantime we only get a list of

the things we don't want to lose. It must be nice to be either one or

the other and I keep getting pulled back

and forward. It is the one and only chance

in my lifetime we will be able to It won't be easy,

it will be hard and cost money, Neither side now is backing

the status quo. For even the most passionate

no campaigners, like the local Centralisation has not helped

in the islands. The best way to achieve

devolution is not just increasing evolution to Edinburgh, but from

Edinburgh more local devolution. The nationalists have

a terrible track record on this. In a place like this you see

something very important about It's not just about national

identity, it's also about power. About where it should properly

reside, how to make the centre accountable

to people who live at periphery. Yes there has been national flag

waving, but this has been an extraordinary and energetic

debate that has energised people In groups of friends, families,

about the nature of democracy The pace of that debate is

now accelerating fast. Both sides say they want change,

and the decision, change in and out of the

United Kingdom, is just weeks away. Stay with BBC News for the latest on

the Scottish referendum. And get the latest online

whenever you want it Gavin Esler will be live in Islay

tomorrow, hearing more about the impact of the campaign

there, as local people gather for I'll be back

on Monday with all the latest from the capaign trail, but James Cook

will here tomorrow at 7.30pm with be