Scottish independence: Salmond and PM to hit campaign trail

First Minister Alex Salmond and Prime Minister David Cameron are due to hit the Scottish campaign trail ahead of Thursday’s independence vote.

Salmond is to join business leaders to argue that a “Yes” vote would help to grow Scotland’s economy.

Cameron will be in Scotland to give a speech arguing there are strong “head and heart” reasons to vote “No”.

Meanwhile, footballer David Beckham has backed the “No” campaign, urging a vote to renew the UK’s “historic bond”.

The ex-England captain urged voters in Scotland not to ditch a union that was the “envy of the entire world”.

“What unites us is much greater than what divides us. Let’s stay together,” he said in an open letter released by the Better Together campaign.

It comes as the Queen on Sunday said she hoped “people will think very carefully about the future” ahead of the referendum.

With three full days of campaigning left before the vote, politicians on both sides of the debate are set to renew efforts to win over undecided voters.

Scottish Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will argue that pensioners should vote for independence to ensure their grandchildren have the opportunities she says were denied to previous generations by years of Conservative governments.

She will say Scottish pensions are legally guaranteed and protected in the event of independence, and that future generations deserved to benefit from Scotland’s wealth.

Meanwhile, Cameron will talk about the emotional and financial benefits of staying in the Union during his second visit to Scotland in a week.

The prime minister will say there would be “no way back” if Scotland voted to leave the UK, with a “Yes” vote resulting in an irreversible split in the UK.

The latest polls suggest the independence vote remains too close to call.

Three polls published at the weekend have put the “No” campaign in the lead, while one has put the pro-independence “Yes” campaign ahead.

The latest poll of polls collating the six most recent surveys – carried out between 9 and 12 September and excluding “don’t knows” – puts the “No” campaign on 51% and the “Yes” campaign on 49%.

On Sunday, Salmond said the independence referendum was “a once in a generation opportunity” and he was aiming for “a substantial majority”.

Asked if he would seek another referendum if there was a “No” vote on Thursday, the SNP leader told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: “We’re not aiming to win by one vote. We’re aiming to achieve a substantial majority if we can.”

He added: “We tend to take the attitude that there isn’t so much as a ‘No’ voter in Scotland, there are only deferred ‘Yeses’, and that’s been one of the successes of our campaign.”

“In my opinion, and it is just my opinion, this is a once in a generation opportunity for Scotland,” he added.

Better Together leader Alistair Darling said the “No” campaign would seek to target undecided voters.

“I said a year ago that this race would narrow as we got towards the wire and that is precisely what has happened,” he said.

“It’s not surprising. It’s the biggest single decision we will ever take.

“If we vote to leave the UK on Thursday then there’s no going back. It’s not like an election where you can change your mind if things don’t work out,” the former chancellor added.

The campaign events later come after some of Scotland’s top musical talent, including Mogwai, Franz Ferdinand, Amy Macdonald and Frightened Rabbit, took to the stage to urge people to back independence.

The concert at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall also featured performances by Eddi Reader and Deacon Blue pair Lorraine McIntosh and Ricky Ross.