Former chancellor urges British unity at Ayr meeting

Jan 18 2013 by Stuart Wilson, Ayrshire Post

Scotland should stick with the UK instead of voting for independence.

That was the message from union campaign leader, Alistair Darling, as he visited Ayr Town Hall.

The former Chancellor spoke to a public meeting and took questions from the audience on the 2014 referendum.

Schoolkids and politicians joined the crowd as they took their chance to grill Mr Darling on the big issue.

He fielded questions on a range of topics from foreign policy and the health service to the welfare state.

And Mr Darling insisted: “I am fiercely proud to be Scottish, as I am sure most of you in this room are, but I am also fiercely proud to be British.”

Caitlin Bell, a fifth year pupil at Prestwick Academy, challenged Mr Darling over the Iraq War and the large number of civilian deaths in that country since 2003.

She argued an independent Scotland would have provided strong opposition to that conflict.

Mr Darling responded: “It is all about what you believe is the right thing to do. I believed that intervening in Iraq was correct.”

Other issues on the agenda included Scotland’s potential membership of NATO.

The meeting was part of Mr Darling’s trip around Scotland ahead of the independence vote in two years. He also held events in Prestwick and Dumfries on Friday.

Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock MP Sandra Osborne, who chaired the meeting, said: “It was a real pleasure to be able to invite Alistair Darling to the town to make the case for staying in the United Kingdom.”