British PM begs Scots: Don’t rip apart our UK “family of nations”

Thursday, 11 September 2014 01:28 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: 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 rise in secessionist support ahead of a 18 September 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. “We do not want this family of nations to be ripped apart,” Cameron, 47, said in an opinion piece published in the Daily Mail newspaper. “The United Kingdom is a precious and special country.”

But Cameron, whose job may be on the line if he loses Scotland, tempered the emotion with a clear warning: “If the UK breaks apart, it breaks apart forever.” Cameron has until now been largely absent from the debate after conceding that his privileged background and centre-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 - will visit Scotland in what nationalist leader Alex Salmond said was a sign of panic that would only help the secessionist cause. “If I thought they were coming by bus I’d send the bus fare,” Salmond said. The Scottish leader said Cameron was the most unpopular Conservative leader ever among Scots, and Miliband the most distrusted Labour leader. Several opinion poll surveys 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. Aside from the money, nuclear weapons and oil, uncertainties include the course of the 2015 election, the structure of the United Kingdom, symbols of state such as the “Union Jack” flag and even the role of the monarchy.

European shares fall as Fed, Scotland dominate

Reuters: Global shares fell on Wednesday as markets strengthened bets on an early U.S. rate hike while persistent concerns over Scotland’s future unnerved investors in Europe, helping a high-flying dollar hold on to recent gains. European stocks fell for the fourth day in a row and benchmark U.S. Treasury yields rose for the fifth straight session, something not seen since early June. Shares in the euro zone’s biggest bank Santander fell 2%, twice as much as the euro zone financials index and three times as much as the broader pan-European banking index after the sudden death of its 79-year old Chairman Emilio Botin. In early trade the FTSEurofirst index of leading European shares was down 0.5% at 1379 points, Germany’s DAX was down 0.7% and France’s CAC 40 and Britain’s FTSE 100 were both down 0.3%.