Supporters of the UK fought back to stop Scotland voting for independence in next week’s referendum after polls showed a surge in support for the split yesterday.
The pound slumped to a 10-month low on fears of a break-up of the 300-year-old union following a shock weekend poll that put the “Yes” campaign 2 points ahead.
The collapse of the pro-union side’s long-held lead was confirmed yesterday when a second poll put the two camps neck-and-neck.
Photo: EPA
Senior politicians from the opposition Labour Party hit the campaign trail amid signs that growing support among their voters for independence is driving the narrowing of the polls.
In a speech urging Scots to vote to stay in the union, former British prime minister Gordon Brown set out a timetable for granting the Scottish parliament more powers if independence is rejected.
“A ‘No’ vote on Sept. 18 will not be an end point, but the starting gun for action on Sept. 19, when straightaway we will kick off a plan to deliver the enhanced devolution that we want,” Brown said.
Brown said draft laws to grant further powers over taxation and spending, which are broadly backed by the three main parties in Westminster, would be ready by January.
However, the pro-independence campaign said the promises could not be guaranteed by the opposition party and contained nothing new.
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, the leader of the pro-independence Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), warned of “panic” in the unionist camp.
His deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, on Monday said that the pro-independence campaign was still “the underdog in the referendum, but there’s no doubt the momentum is towards ‘Yes.’”
Yesterday’s poll by TNS Scotland showed the “Yes” side on 38 percent and the “No” side on 39 percent — a stark change from the research agency’s poll last month that gave the pro-union side a 13-point lead.
“This poll reveals a remarkable shift in voting intentions,” TNS Scotland head Tom Costley said. “It is too close to call and both sides will now be energized to make the most of the last few days of the campaign and try and persuade the undecided voters of the merits of their respective campaigns.”
The polls have shaken up a campaign that until just a few weeks ago looked almost certain to end in defeat for the independence campaign.
The weekend poll by YouGov in the Sunday Times newspaper gave the “Yes” camp 51 percent support, compared with the “No” camp’s 49 percent, excluding undecided voters.
The 2 point gap is still within the margin of error, but Peter Kellner, the president of the YouGov pollsters, which carried out the survey, said it was a major development.
“The ‘Yes’ campaign has not just invaded ‘No’ territory; it has launched a blitzkrieg,” he wrote in a blog posting.
The latest figures sent the pound tumbling over continued uncertainty about the effect that independence would have on the British economy.
The SNP say Scotland would keep the pound, but the unionist parties in London say this will not be possible.
Britain’s currency slid to a 10-month low point of US$1.6128 — before rebounding slightly to US$1.6147 — and dropped to £0.8024 against the euro, its lowest in three weeks.
The FTSE 100 also came under pressure as companies with links to Scotland saw their shares slide, CMC Markets UK chief analyst Michael Hewson said.
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