Scottish independence: Pro-Union figures step up campaign

Supporters of Scotland remaining in the UK are stepping up their campaign with just 10 days until the vote on independence.

Labour leader Ed Miliband has joined Conservative Chancellor George Osborne in saying the process of handing more powers to Scotland should begin immediately after any ‘No’ vote.

The SNP has dismissed the proposal as a last-minute “bribe”.

It comes after a poll suggested the pro-Union camp had lost its lead.

On Sunday, Chancellor George Osborne promised a timetable for further devolution if voters in Scotland rejected independence at the ballot box. “You will see in the next few days a plan of action to give more powers to Scotland; more tax powers, more spending powers, more powers over the welfare state.”

SNP leader Alex Salmond said it was a “panicky measure” announced without credibility because his Yes Scotland campaign was “winning on the ground”.

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has pledged to “oversee a further and big transfer of financial powers from the Treasury to the Scottish government” under any future Labour government.

The pound fell to its lowest level in 10 months amid uncertainty about Scotland’s decision.

Buckingham Palace has insisted the Queen remains neutral, despite a number of newspapers reporting her apparent concern about the potential break up of the United Kingdom.

Voters in Scotland go to the polls on Thursday, 18 September, when they will be asked the “Yes/No” question: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”

In the last full week of campaigning, Miliband is expected to be joined on the stump by Gordon Brown. The former Labour PM has said Westminster must deliver on its promise of further devolution so “a No vote doesn’t mean nothing happens”.

A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times over the weekend was the first mainstream study to put Yes Scotland narrowly ahead.

The poll of 1,084 people, carried out between 2 and 5 September, suggested that, of those who have made up their mind, 51% planned to back independence, while 49% intended to vote no.

The cross-party Better Together campaign had previously retained a lead in polls, often reaching double digits.

In London, the Tory mayor Boris Johnson said Scotland going independent would be “an utter catastrophe”.

“We are on the verge of trashing our global name and brand in an act of self-mutilation that will leave our international rivals stunned, gleeful and discreetly scornful,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

What are the No parties offering?

Scottish Labour Its devolution commission has backed increased tax-varying powers and control over some elements of welfare and benefits policy. It said MSPs should be able to vary tax by up to 15p, giving them the option of restoring the 50p rate for top earners – but there would be no power to cut the upper income tax rate, which currently sits at 45p.

Scottish Conservative Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has said Scotland should be given full income tax powers, a key recommendation of the party’s devolution commission, chaired by Lord Strathclyde. The commission, which said the income tax plan would see the Scottish Parliament accountable for 40% of the money it spent, also said there was a case for a share of Scottish VAT receipts being assigned to Holyrood.

Scottish Liberal Democrats Its commission, chaired by former UK party leader Sir Menzies Campbell, said the Barnett formula – used to work out Treasury funding to the UK’s devolved areas – should be replaced with a “needs-based” arrangement. Oil would continue to be managed at a UK level, as would welfare and pensions, defence and foreign affairs.

And over the weekend, the leader of the pro-Union Better Together campaign, Alistair Darling, clarified that the chancellor’s announcement was “about the process and timetable” for more devolution, not new powers.