DAVID Cameron has claimed Scots should vote with both their hearts and heads to remain in the UK.
The Prime Minister said there was a stronger emotional and rational case for Scotland staying in Britain. He spoke out during a visit to defence manufacturer Thales, in Glasgow, after earlier going aboard nuclear-armed submarine HMS Victorious off the west coast.
Addressing workers at the Govan plant, he said Scotland's future was "a matter for Scottish voters" but added: "I very much hope the decision will be to keep the UK together.
"There are arguments of the heart but also arguments of the head. I believe the case for the UK can win on both.
"The Scottish Nationalists may believe they have an advantage when it comes to arguments of the heart – Braveheart and all that. But I think we should be very proud of what the UK has achieved together."
The Prime Minister cited Britain's victory over fascism in the Second World War, the creation of the NHS and BBC and joint achievements in art, architecture and science as part of the emotional case for the UK.
However, he added: "I think arguments of the head, when we look at issues like jobs, finance and stability, are even stronger in the direction of maintaining the United Kingdom.
"Defence jobs is a case in point. There are over 12,000 people employed in Scotland in defence industries – defence industries that are backed by the whole of the United Kingdom with a defence budget that is the fourth largest in the world."
Around 300 workers – almost half the Govan plant's workforce – gathered around the Prime Minister for a 25-minute question-and-answer session, part of the "PM Direct" event.
Earlier he was winched from a helicopter aboard the Vanguard class sub which was marking its 100th patrol. While on board he scanned the horizon through the ship's hi-tech periscope, made in Govan by Thales.
The Prime Minister used the visit not only to press the case for Scotland's staying in the UK but to underline his support for a direct replacement for the Trident nuclear weapons system. The Conservatives LibDem Coalition partners, and Labour, have called for a cut-price alternative to be considered.
Taking questions from Thales staff, he also took a swipe at the SNP's policy of free university tuition. He said charging students to ensure universities remained properly funded was "absolutely vital for the future industrial strength of the UK." Later, in a TV interview, he dismissed Alex Salmond's calls for a head-to-head televised debate in the run-up to next year's referendum.
He claimed the move was a "diversion tactic," adding: "He spends most of the time telling me to butt out of Scotland's business, now he seems to want me to butt back in again.
"I think that's because Alex is losing the argument."
The two sides remain deadlocked on the issue of TV debates as Mr Salmond has refused to debate with Alistair Darling, the head of the pro-UK Better Together campaign, arguing he should face the PM instead.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon rejected Mr Cameron's claims independence would cost defence jobs. She said: "We contribute far more than is actually spent on defence in Scotland, as the official figures show.
"The real damage to the defence footprint in Scotland is being inflicted by the UK Government. The cuts in Scotland have been disproportionate – with the loss of 8800 military and civilian MoD posts between 2000 and 2012 – a decrease of over one-third in Scotland, compared to just one-fifth across the UK."
She said Scots were more concerned about the UK Government's so-called bedroom tax housing benefit cuts and added: "For the Prime Minister to focus his visit on the case for nuclear weapons shows his priorities are wrong and that he is out of touch with the needs and aspirations of ordinary families in Scotland."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article