BRITAIN:British Conservative leader David Cameron has accused Labour of seeking "to cow and bully Scotland" into remaining part of the United Kingdom.
In a significant intervention yesterday, Mr Cameron conceded that the "bread and butter" issues for the devolved elections on May 3rd had been eclipsed by the growing debate about the future of the union. He promised to lead a pro-union crusade, while claiming Labour leaders Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were adopting the wrong approach in "threatening the people of Scotland".
Mr Brown was also back on the campaign trail, this time in Glasgow, again warning that SNP plans would destabilise the Scottish economy. Scottish National Party deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon hit back, accusing the chancellor of scare-mongering and insisting that the SNP's programme had galvanised support within the business community.
As Labour and the nationalists clashed, Mr Cameron started his day at Gretna Green - the famous wedding venue right on the border with England - to make the case for maintaining the 300-year-old "marriage" between the two countries.
Accompanied by new Tory recruit David Trimble, Mr Cameron insisted the peoples of both countries were safer, stronger, richer, fairer and "more civilised" when united.
Speaking at Stormont village hall, Mr Cameron said: "I support the union not only for what it has achieved in the past but for what it can achieve in the future. The Labour Party's approach is to cow and bully Scotland into remaining part of the union. I believe this is the wrong approach. Instead of threatening the people of Scotland we must inspire them."
Omitting any reference to Iraq, Mr Cameron said that over the centuries Scots had made an outstanding contribution to the UK's military successes, "from Waterloo to D-Day, the Falklands to Afghanistan". Scotland punched "above its weight" in the armed forces, he said, while Britain "punches above its weight in the world because of the expertise and bravery of those armed forces".
Likewise, Mr Cameron said, Scotland benefited from the expertise of the Metropolitan Police and MI5 in fighting terrorism and organised crime. Britain's seat on the UN Security Council gave it influence smaller countries could only dream of, while her ability to influence the EU derived from "our size within it", he said.
With the UK the fourth largest economy in the world, London was overtaking New York as "a global powerhouse", with Edinburgh's role as a major financial centre "built on the expertise of its workforce and underpinned by its position in the UK".
Elsewhere, Liberal Democrat leader Nicol Stephen again suggested that the SNP's proposed referendum on independence was an obstacle to governing with the nationalists. However retiring Lib Dem MSP Donald Gorrie said his colleagues should be prepared to "negotiate away disagreements".