Gordon Brown has made a final, impassioned plea for Scots to "stand up and be counted" and vote No for the sake of their children and the country's future.

At Better Together's eve-of-poll rally, the former Prime Minister was applauded wildly by the 600 supporters packed into a community hall in Maryhill, Glasgow, as he urged people to "have confidence" and reclaim Scotland from the SNP, in an unscripted tour de force of a speech.

Mr Brown has emerged as the No campaign's most effective performer over the past few weeks, speaking at nearly 50 events. Yesterday, as before, he attacked the SNP, describing its economic proposals as a ­"trapdoor from which we might never escape," and hailed shared British achievements including the creation of the NHS and the welfare state.

But in a final outpouring of passion and anger, he thundered: "Hold your heads high, show dignity and pride, be confident. Let's have confidence that our values are indeed the values of the majority of the people in Scotland. Have confidence, stand up and be counted tomorrow.

"Have confidence, say to our friends, for reasons of solidarity, sharing justice and pride in ­Scotland, the only answer for Scotland's sake, for Scotland's future is vote No."

Seeking to embolden the so-called "shy Nos," the silent majority of Scots he believes has been reluctant to speak out against the vociferous and ­occasionally intimidating Yes campaign, he urged them to reject Alex Salmond's claim to speak for the people of Scotland.

He said: "Tell people this is our Scotland. Tell them it does not belong to the SNP or the Yes campaign. It does not belong to any politician, to Mr Salmond, Mr Swinney, to me, it belongs to all of us."

Repeatedly interrupted by cheers, he said: "The vote I will cast is not for me, it's for my children, it is for all Scotland's children, it is for Scotland's future."

Dismissing the Nationalist slogan, "It's our time," he went on: "Are they not forgetting one thing? This is not a decision for this time, this is a decision for all time, a decision that could never be reversed or undone."

Mr Brown, a son of the manse, spoke with the cadence of a fire-and-brimstone preacher and the syntax of the Old Testament.

"We'll build the future together. And what we've built together with solidarity and ­sharing, let no narrow Nationalist split asunder," he said.

Better Together, which has been criticised for fighting an uninspiring campaign based predominantly on economic arguments, also put grassroots campaigners at the heart of its final appeal to voters.

One was Vicki Greig, a trainee oral surgeon who was treated for a heart condition on the NHS and whose mother was treated for breast cancer. She said: "I would not be speaking at this event today if the SNP had not told lies about our NHS. It was dishonest. It was unethical. It was wrong.

"They have attempted to manipulate the most vulnerable people in our country, those reliant on the NHS. We deserve better than that. That's why I'm voting No tomorrow. I'm voting No to protect our NHS."

Also addressing the rally was Clare Lally, who was subjected to online abuse after she spoke at a Better Together event in June.

The Labour activist and mother-of-two said: "I'm proud to be back. We are not just casting this vote for ourselves but for out children, their children and generations who haven't been born yet. Tomorrow I'll walk to the polling station confident that cross in the box is the best gift I can give to my children."