LONDON
With opinion polls reporting that "Yes" and "No" votes are running neck and neck, the prime minister Wednesday utilized the pages of one of Britain's most popular newspapers to make a passionate plea to the people of Scotland to stay within the United Kingdom.
Just eight days remain until Scots take to the polls to vote whether to choose independence or to stay within the union.
“We desperately want you to stay; we do not want this family of nations to be ripped apart,” David Cameron pleaded in the Daily Mail.
The premier reiterated Wednesday plans put forward by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown which outline a timetable for handing over more powers to Scotland - plans First Minister Alex Salmond called “a retreading, a repackaging, a re-timetabling of what they said in the spring."
If people voted “No,” then they would have the “best of both worlds,” he wrote. They would have “power over the policies that matter, and the stability of the United Kingdom; the freedom to chart its own destiny, and the support of three other nations; the reputation in the world as a successful nation, and the clout of a world-renowned union."
In an unprecedented move, the three main party leaders - Cameron, Labour Leader Ed Miliband and Liberal Leader Nick Clegg - are to miss Prime Minister’s questions Wednesday and scramble up to Scotland to campaign for a “No” vote.
In a joint statement the trio said, “There is a lot that divides us - but there's one thing on which we agree passionately: the United Kingdom is better together... That's why all of us are agreed the right place for us to be tomorrow is in Scotland."
"The choice for you is clear," wrote Cameron Wednesday. "A leap into the dark with a 'Yes' vote, or a brighter future for Scotland by voting 'No.'”
The trip follows the pound plummeting to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in ten months Monday - following an opinion poll that suggested that the "yes" vote had pulled ahead. It has remained around that level for the last two days.
On Tuesday, the Scottish flag was also raised above the premier's home at 10 Downing Street illustrating that the government was rattled.
The referendum will be held September 18, threatening a union that has lasted for 305 years.
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