Cameron's upbeat Scotland speech cheers unionist camp

IN A SPEECH in Edinburgh yesterday on the issue of the Scottish independence referendum, David Cameron admitted Scotland could go it alone, but said he believed in the United Kingdom "head, heart and soul". The Prime Minister also offered to consider more powers for Scotland should the Scots vote "No" to full independence. His speech has encouraged the pro-unionists, but others are concerned about its lack of substance.

Accentuate the positive
This wasn't the usual tug-of-war with SNP leader Alex Salmond over Scottish independence, says an editorial in The Independent. It was the first time the Prime Minister had set out the case in favour of the union, and it was a "signal moment in the debate". Cameron deserves some credit for his "carefully calibrated performance". He framed the debate less as a matter of totting up pros and cons than one "of shared values, of the ties that bind, of the heart at least as much as the head".

Cameron's strategy was sensible, says an editorial in The Times. He left the warnings about the dangers of independence to others, and instead "chose to emphasise the advantages of the union", ranging from the practical (economic and security issues) to the sentimental (the shared history of Scotland and UK). A tougher job for Cameron will be preventing a devolution option in the referendum without appearing to impose "English rules on the Scottish referendum".

Unionists need to unite
It was a good speech, says an editorial in the Financial Times, but defending the union will take more than a few good speeches. Cameron's biggest problem is that the unionist camp in Scotland is in disarray. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are barely visible, and Labour is resented for taking Scotland for granted. The unionists risk their cause, "not because they say nothing, but because the have nothing to say about Scotland except the union".

No matter what Cameron promises, the slippery Salmond will portray him as a remote Tory Toff, says an editorial in The Daily Mail. That is why the Prime Minister "must build a cross-party alliance" of politicians such as Alistair Darling, Gordon Brown, Charles Kennedy and Sir Menzies Campbell, "who cannot be accused of not having Scotland's best interests at heart, to promote the union".

Salmond on the back foot
Cameron's speech was precisely the sort of boost the unionists needed, says Iain Martin in The Daily Telegraph. It even put Salmond on the back foot for a change, and encouraged other unionists. Alistair Darling has even been asking Salmond tricky questions, like what currency an independent Scotland would use. There's still a long way to go in the referendum campaign, "but thanks to Cameron, the SNP leader faces a proper fight".

But where was the substance?
Cameron's speech did not rely on the customary barrage of hostile, negative, scaremongering, but it didn't say much else either, says Lesley Riddoch in The Guardian. For many Scots, "despite plaudits for Scottish heroes and conciliatory words", Cameron's speech held out the prospect of change if they voted "no" in the referendum, without a single example of powers he might hand over. ·