Gordon Brown roars into life: On the eve of historic vote, ex-PM gives the speech of the campaign so why wasn't he in charge of the No campaign from the beginning? Daily Mail

  Former Prime Minister launches most passionate defence of the union yet

  Destroys Alex Salmond's attempt to 'own' Scotland as a country

  Brown bellows: 'What we created together, let no nationalist split asunder' 

  Extraordinary speech reignites talk that he should have led No campaign

  Poll shows 60% of Scots think Darling has done badly, but Brown 50%

Gordon Brown today delivered the speech of the referendum campaign, urging voters to have the 'confidence' to say No to independence.

The former Prime Minister tore into Alex Salmond, insisting Scotland does not belong to him or any other politician, declaring: 'Scotland belongs to all of us.'

Speaking without notes, he urged anyone with doubts about the risks of separation to vote No to save the Union, adding: 'What we created together, let no nationalist split asunder.'

The speech could become seen as one of the defining moments of the campaign, and reignite questions about whether Mr Brown should have fronted the No campaign from the start. 

Mr Brown addressed hundreds of UK supporters at a community centre in Glasgow, standing shoulder to shoulder with his former Chancellor Alistair Darling, leader of the Better Together campaign, and Scottish leaders from Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

In a direct challenge to Mr Salmond's claim that to vote Yes is the patriotic thing to do, Mr Brown said: 'Tell the Nationalists, it’s not their flag, their culture, their country or their streets.

'Tell them it’s everyone’s flag, everyone’s culture, everyone’s country and everyone’s streets.

'And tell them that our patriotic vision is bigger than nationalism; we want Scotland not leaving the UK, but leading the UK, and through leading the UK, leading in the world.' 

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