Scots won't be punished for no vote, claims Alexander

PREDICTIONS of a London backlash if Scotland says no to independence are "nonsense", according to Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander.

He said the vast majority of people in England and Wales wanted Scotland to stay in the Union and only the SNP talked about a backlash.

But independence campaigners said the harshest austerity measures were still to come from Westminster and Scots will not be rewarded for saying no.

The concerns were raised by a Liberal Democrat supporter at a pro-Union meeting at the Millburn Academy community Complex in Inverness on Friday.

Mr Alexander shared the platform with former Liberal Democrat leader and fellow Highland MP Charles Kennedy and the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Willie Rennie MSP.

A member of the audience asked the panel how No supporters could step up the fight against claims the UK establishment will punish Scots over the referendum.

He said: "The Yes campaign say we are going to be savaged if we vote ‘No’ because there will be a backlash against the campaign that’s taking place. How do we deal with that when arguing with those that are supporting the Yes camp?"

Mr Alexander said the facts spoke for themselves. "People in England and Wales are not saying ‘Scotland, be off with you’. They’re saying ‘Scotland, we want you to stay’. It’s nonsense and the only people talking about a backlash are the SNP," he said.

Mr Kennedy said the Tories were too busy trying to mend their split over Europe to think about counter-blasting the north.

"If you see them getting bitter and trying to settle scores, it won’t be about anything that’s going on in Scotland. It’s the intense arguing that’s going on about Europe. That’s where their fanaticism-cum-obsession has been for 20 years."

He also claimed there was "no chance" Scotland would end up out of the EU if it voted no, saying David Cameron had no intentions of opting out. "No British prime minister would actually want to see the UK out of Europe no more than a British prime minister would want to give up a UK seat at the UN Security Council."

David Cameron has, however, promised to hold a referendum over the EU, meaning voters will decide.

And independence campaigner Sarah MacRae, from Inverness, said the backlash claims were "not nonsense".

The 42-year-old said TV host and journalist Piers Morgan was not the only celebrity to have made made nasty comments about Scotland.

In a series of referendum-related tweets, Mr Morgan posted "OK, Scotland, you’ve had your fun. Now just quietly vote ‘NO’ and we’ll say no more about it."

Inverness man Paul Campbell, who also attended Friday’s debate, said: "There’s a report from Cardiff University’s marketing manager it about the opinions of people in England. Only 12 per cent disagreed with cuts to Scottish spending. That’s got to filter down to voters."

Robin McAlpine, a former political lobbyist turned radical thinker, who spoke at the Beaufort Hotel in Inverness last month, said: "MP’s in England will have the power to alter Scotland’s relationship with the UK, and not in a good way – the Barnett Formula will go, the statements from various figures in Labour and the Tories in Scotland and England make that clear, and that will only lead to reduced funding in Scotland."

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