Gordon Brown has declared his intention to lead the fight for a greater devolution of power to Scotland in the event of a “no” vote.
The former prime minister, who will lead a rally for the Union in Glasgow next week, has written to the Speaker to ask to lead a Commons debate and galvanise cross-party support for reforms.
Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have signed a pledge committing themselves to transferring more powers to the Scottish parliament. However, the three pro-Union parties have come up with radically different packages.
Mr Brown said yesterday: “A ‘no’ vote will mean the choice you have made is against separation but for further devolution. Over the next few months after the referendum, we can take the lead in ensuring that these powers — that the Conservatives and Liberals say they would support — can be implemented as quickly as possible.”
Mr Brown’s speech at the Progress pressure group in London is part of Labour’s resolve to fight harder for the Union. A YouGov poll for The Times showed that 30 per cent of the party’s supporters plan to back independence.
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Yesterday, Johann Lamont, the Scottish Labour leader, called on voters in the constituency of Nicola Sturgeon, deputy first minister, to back the Union. The YouGov poll shows that 20 per cent of SNP supporters plan to vote “no” on September 18. With about 900,000 SNP voters at the last election, this means that there are about 180,000 who back the No campaign, according to Labour strategists.
Ms Lamont said: “There are significant numbers of SNP voters who are voting ‘no’. I think that is because they understand you can have the benefits of devolution but with the security and protection of the United Kingdom.”
Pro-Union politicians have been under serious pressure since the YouGov poll showed that their lead, which had once been more than 20 points, has reduced to six. In The Times today, William Hague, leader of the House of Commons, says that he hopes that their “minds are really focused”.
Mr Hague, who will speak in Glasgow next week, said the security risk caused by separation would be immense. “We have one of the best diplomatic networks, some of the most effective intelligence agencies, and the whole of the UK benefits from that,” he said. “In a less stable, more dangerous world it’s even more important to stick together.”
David Cameron made that point at the Nato summit:“To have all those networks and abilities to work with allies to keep us safe, isn’t it better to have those things than to separate yourself from them?”
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