British Prime Minister David Cameron travelled to Scotland on Monday to urge Scots to vote against independence or face dire consequences in his most forceful speech yet ahead of this week's historic referendum.
Cameron was speaking in Aberdeen on what could be his last visit to Scotland before the vote on Thursday and promised to give Scotland sweeping new powers in the event of a "No" result against independence.
"Head, heart and soul, we want you to stay," Cameron said to applause from a mostly elderly audience of hundreds of people who were bussed in for the event in a city that is a hub for Scotland's offshore oil and gas industry.
"Independence would not be a trial separation, it would be a painful divorce," he said, warning of a risk to pensions and the difficulties of a physical border.
"There is no going back from this," he said.
Back in London, thousands rallied to plead with Scotland to stay in the union, waving union jack flags and holding signs such as "Scotland we love you, don't go" in a rally in central Trafalgar Square.
"We think that unity is better than division, and cooperation is better than competition," organiser Dan Snow, a broadcaster and historian, told the crowd.
- 'Strong, robust and united' -
The United States has stepped into Scotland's knife-edge debate by saying that it hoped to maintain its "special relationship" with a "united" Britain.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest stressed that Washington respected the right of Scots to decide their future in Thursday's referendum, but hoped for a "strong, robust and united" ally.
Ron Fowlie, a 73-year-old pro-independence activist who was handing out leaflets in Aberdeen's city centre on Monday, dismissed the pressure to keep the United Kingdom together.
He said he was "confident" of victory and stated: "We would like to run our own country."
Gilliam Wanterbberin, 39, who attended Cameron's speech, was more sympathetic to the pro-unity stance. "He's done a good thing in coming here and not staying in London," he said.
With polls showing an extremely tight vote on Thursday, campaigners for and against keeping Scotland in the United Kingdom pulled out all the stops, with English football icon David Beckham declaring support for the "Better Together" camp.
Meanwhile, Scotland's pro-independence first minister, Alex Salmond, met some business leaders who have argued that leaving the United Kingdom makes economic sense.
"This is about creating a more prosperous Scotland but also about creating a fairer society," Salmond said, accusing Cameron of "orchestration" in getting other business leaders to come out against independence.
"People have got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in three days' time to put Scotland's future in Scotland's hands," he said.
- 'More invigorated' -
Support for a "Yes" vote has grown in recent weeks. The campaign got a further boost on Sunday with top Scottish bands Franz Ferdinand and Mogwai playing a gig in the capital Edinburgh and encouraging Scots to cast ballots against the union.
"People are excited. The 'Yes' camp, I feel, are more invigorated," Calum Forbes, a 22-year-old recent graduate and "Yes" supporter, said at the concert.
Three surveys published over the weekend put the pro-union campaign ahead by varying margins: 47 percent for "No" to 40.8 percent for "Yes" in a poll by Survation; 47.7 to 42.3 percent in an Opinium survey; and 47.1 to 46.1 percent in a Panelbase poll.
An ICM online poll for The Sunday Telegraph newspaper however gave the "Yes" camp 49 percent, ahead of the pro-UK camp at 42 percent with 9.0 percent undecided, although pollsters warned the sample size could be too small to be representative.
Campaigners for and against disagree over the economic impact of a "Yes" vote.
The "No" camp warns that independence would be a vote for uncertainty and a risk to living standards.
Economists too disagree about the consequences.
Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz dismissed the warnings as "fear-mongering", arguing that the risks of the UK leaving the European Union were "significantly greater".
This contradicted fellow Nobel economics laureate and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who said Scots face "huge risks" and should "be very afraid" of independence.
British Prime Minister David Cameron travelled to Scotland on Monday to urge Scots to vote against independence or face dire consequences in his most forceful speech yet ahead of this week’s historic referendum.
Cameron was speaking in Aberdeen on what could be his last visit to Scotland before the vote on Thursday and promised to give Scotland sweeping new powers in the event of a “No” result against independence.
“Head, heart and soul, we want you to stay,” Cameron said to applause from a mostly elderly audience of hundreds of people who were bussed in for the event in a city that is a hub for Scotland’s offshore oil and gas industry.
“Independence would not be a trial separation, it would be a painful divorce,” he said, warning of a risk to pensions and the difficulties of a physical border.
“There is no going back from this,” he said.
Back in London, thousands rallied to plead with Scotland to stay in the union, waving union jack flags and holding signs such as “Scotland we love you, don’t go” in a rally in central Trafalgar Square.
“We think that unity is better than division, and cooperation is better than competition,” organiser Dan Snow, a broadcaster and historian, told the crowd.
– ‘Strong, robust and united’ –
The United States has stepped into Scotland’s knife-edge debate by saying that it hoped to maintain its “special relationship” with a “united” Britain.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest stressed that Washington respected the right of Scots to decide their future in Thursday’s referendum, but hoped for a “strong, robust and united” ally.
Ron Fowlie, a 73-year-old pro-independence activist who was handing out leaflets in Aberdeen’s city centre on Monday, dismissed the pressure to keep the United Kingdom together.
He said he was “confident” of victory and stated: “We would like to run our own country.”
Gilliam Wanterbberin, 39, who attended Cameron’s speech, was more sympathetic to the pro-unity stance. “He’s done a good thing in coming here and not staying in London,” he said.
With polls showing an extremely tight vote on Thursday, campaigners for and against keeping Scotland in the United Kingdom pulled out all the stops, with English football icon David Beckham declaring support for the “Better Together” camp.
Meanwhile, Scotland’s pro-independence first minister, Alex Salmond, met some business leaders who have argued that leaving the United Kingdom makes economic sense.
“This is about creating a more prosperous Scotland but also about creating a fairer society,” Salmond said, accusing Cameron of “orchestration” in getting other business leaders to come out against independence.
“People have got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in three days’ time to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands,” he said.
– ‘More invigorated’ –
Support for a “Yes” vote has grown in recent weeks. The campaign got a further boost on Sunday with top Scottish bands Franz Ferdinand and Mogwai playing a gig in the capital Edinburgh and encouraging Scots to cast ballots against the union.
“People are excited. The ‘Yes’ camp, I feel, are more invigorated,” Calum Forbes, a 22-year-old recent graduate and “Yes” supporter, said at the concert.
Three surveys published over the weekend put the pro-union campaign ahead by varying margins: 47 percent for “No” to 40.8 percent for “Yes” in a poll by Survation; 47.7 to 42.3 percent in an Opinium survey; and 47.1 to 46.1 percent in a Panelbase poll.
An ICM online poll for The Sunday Telegraph newspaper however gave the “Yes” camp 49 percent, ahead of the pro-UK camp at 42 percent with 9.0 percent undecided, although pollsters warned the sample size could be too small to be representative.
Campaigners for and against disagree over the economic impact of a “Yes” vote.
The “No” camp warns that independence would be a vote for uncertainty and a risk to living standards.
Economists too disagree about the consequences.
Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz dismissed the warnings as “fear-mongering”, arguing that the risks of the UK leaving the European Union were “significantly greater”.
This contradicted fellow Nobel economics laureate and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, who said Scots face “huge risks” and should “be very afraid” of independence.
