Allan Massie: The UK’s value is immense, The Scotsman

by ALLAN MASSIE

In any democracy, many people endure a government they didn’t vote for. There is still time to think, writes Allan Massie

I can understand why many will vote Yes. I can’t fathom the thinking of those who say: “Let’s give independence a try.” This is like saying, “Let’s try suicide”. If you bring it off, there’s no way back.

Independence is not an experiment we can abandon if we decide it isn’t working. It’s not like resigning from a club because you’ve fallen out with the committee and then re-applying for membership a few years later.

I’m lucky. I’ve never had any difficulty deciding how to vote tomorrow. I’m a Unionist, always have been. Of course, like almost every Scot, I’ve had my nationalist moments, sometimes sparked by momentary indignation when I’ve muttered “Bloody English”, other times patriotically proud or boastful when I think that no small nation except, one admits, the Jews and the Ancient Greeks, has given more of value to the world than the Scots.

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The Seriously Nasty Party: With one day to go, damning evidence of the bullying intimidation of voters by Scots nationalists (just ask Miliband) Daily Mail

Pro-union voters have endured stone-throwing and been called traitors

Many are now said to be too scared to show their support of a No vote

Ed Miliband was forced to abandon visit to Edinburgh shopping centre

The dark side of the campaign for Scottish independence can be laid bare today.

In a string of sinister incidents, separatists have used bullying and intimidation to cow their rivals.

Pro-union voters have endured stone-throwing, been called traitors and faced threats that their houses will be torched.

Many are now said to be too scared to show their support for fear of reprisals that might follow a defeat for the nationalists in tomorrow’s vote.

Yesterday, Labour leader Ed Miliband was forced to abandon a visit to an Edinburgh shopping centre after he was surrounded by Yes supporters who jostled him and branded him a ‘****ing liar’. His minders had to step in to escort him to safety.

Further acts of intimidation have been reported by the No camp across Scotland, including:

·         Hundreds of campaign boards have been daubed with offensive graffiti or destroyed;

·         Homes with ‘No Thanks’ posters have been pelted with eggs and one householder in Edinburgh had ‘traitor’ etched into his front door;

·         Farmers have received anonymous phone calls saying their livestock will be set loose unless they take down campaign boards

·         Nationalists have bragged on Facebook about ripping down No signs and posted videos of them stamping on the posters

·         Pro-union canvassers been called ‘loyalist scum’ and ordered to hand over details of supporters so their ‘houses can be burned down’. 

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Scottish Independence Vote Triggers Mass Banknote Shift Amid Fears Of Run On ATMs

Millions of banknotes have been rushed to Scotland amid growing fears a Yes vote on Thursday could trigger a run on the country's ATMs, it has been reported.

As the future of the union hangs in the balance, Scottish businesses near the border have also purportedly been moving their money into English accounts in Cumbria.

Fearing people will run to withdraw money and put it into English banks, the cash has been moved to ensure the banks and , ATMs do not run out.

The Bank of England prints bank notes and circulates them in high-security vans to where they are needed, depending on the demand.

One source told the The Independent there had not yet a surge in withdrawals: “We have seen a big rise in customers coming in and asking us what would happen, but there is no sign of any significant flow of deposits from north to south.”

Another said: "We are, of course, monitoring the situation very closely from hour to hour.”

Rob Johnson, the chief executive of Cumbria's Chamber of Commerce, said many firms were transferring funds from banks registered in Scotland to those headquartered in England.

"We know it's happening, but we can't give names," he told The Guardian.

"It's inevitable that people would start to do this because uncertainty is something businesses can't handle … It's not about businesses being pro or against independence, it's businesses saying: 'There are some real issues here and we don't know what's happening.'"

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Alex Salmond's Independent Scotland Could Fail In A Year, Warn Experts, Huffington Post

An independent Scotland "would fail within a year" if it kept the pound informally and refused to take on its share of the national debt, according to an influential think-tank.

The National Institute for Economic and Social Research warned that such an approach would lead to "unprecedented" austerity in a newly-independent Scotland. Meanwhile, any attempt to effectively default would see Scotland get a "junk" credit rating from international investors, who would then push up borrowing premiums or bar Scotland from capital markets.

The think-tank also indicated that it either risked isolating Scotland in Europe or setting off a "domino effect" of other European nations defaulting on their debts.

The think-tank said: "If Sterlingisation is combined [with] repudiating Scotland’s fair share of UK debt, we expect this regime would fail within a year."

This comes as Mark Wilson, the head of insurance giant Aviva, warned that the cost of borrowing would "almost certainly go up to cover the increased risk of being a smaller independent country".

The three main Westminster parties have ruled out sharing the pound in a formal currency union arrangement, but pro-independence campaigners have insisted that an independent Scotland would still use it informally, which has sparked warnings that it would need to make drastic cuts or tax rises to build up sufficient currency reserves.

Meanwhile, Alex Salmond has reportedly laughed off questions of how the UK government would react if a newly independent Scotland refused to shoulder its share of the national debt, saying: “What are they going to do – invade?”

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