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Scottish Tory Party conference: Labour's Darling delivers pro-Union message Scottish Tory Party conference: Labour's Darling delivers pro-Union message
(about 1 hour later)
Former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling has addressed a fringe meeting of the Scottish Tory Party conference.Former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling has addressed a fringe meeting of the Scottish Tory Party conference.
He was introduced by former Scottish Conservative Party leader Annabel Goldie and spoke in favour of keeping the Union intact.He was introduced by former Scottish Conservative Party leader Annabel Goldie and spoke in favour of keeping the Union intact.
The Tories and Labour are delivering the same anti-Scottish independence message.The Tories and Labour are delivering the same anti-Scottish independence message.
Mr Darling appeared at the event organised by pro-Union group Better Together, which he is chairman of.Mr Darling appeared at the event organised by pro-Union group Better Together, which he is chairman of.
The people of Scotland will take part in a Scottish independence referendum on Thursday, 18 September 2014. They will be asked the yes/no question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?".The people of Scotland will take part in a Scottish independence referendum on Thursday, 18 September 2014. They will be asked the yes/no question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?".
During his speech Mr Darling said he was confident the case against yes to independence could be won. Former Tory leader Annabel Goldie said: "I understand Alistair attending the Conservative conference is a bit like me leading the Bolshoi ballet: unexpected.
He emphasised his pride in being Scottish, but also his pride in being British. "The SNP are trying to make political capital out of his attendance - Labour in cahoots with the Tories - but the SNP has underlined how important the UK is and how powerful an advocate Better Together has become."
"I don't want to choose, I want to be both," Mr Darling said. She acknowledged the parties' political differences but said on the issue of keeping the UK together "Alistair is my darling".
The remark was similar to that of Scottish Conservative Party leader, Ruth Davidson, who used her conference speech just moments before to say: "I don't want to have to choose between two different parts of my identity." She also suggested Mr Darling's late great uncle Sir William Darling, a former Tory MP for Edinburgh South, was "looking down benignly like a friendly spirit".
Military communities Mr Darling said: "One thing that has struck me since I stepped down from frontline politics is just how nice your opponents are about you once they're absolutely sure you're not coming back.
The presence at the conference of Mr Darling, who was chancellor from 2007 to the general election in 2010, was referred to when Conservative Party leader David Cameron made his keynote speech to delegates on Friday morning. "Whether or not my great uncle is looking down on me I don't know, but I will resist the temptation to point out that he was indeed a Tory MP in the days when the Conservatives actually won seats in Edinburgh. I think he will be on my side of the argument today."
He told those gathered: "We've even got Alastair Darling coming to this conference to say we're better together. Mr Darling outlined his argument that the UK benefits Scotland through providing a strong voice in Europe, a combined armed forces, a single market, jobs, cultural ties and a shared energy market.
"When one of our conference darlings is a Labour MP - you know that this isn't about party politics. He criticised the SNP's plan to keep the pound, arguing that it will require the political union that the nationalists are trying to destroy.
"Because we all know that we're stronger together. Richer together. Better together." A shared currency would also render the SNP's plan to undercut UK corporation tax by 3% impossible, he said.
The theme of the Better Together fringe meeting focused on the British Army. He added: "The nationalists only need to win once by one vote and there is no going back, so that is why we need to win this campaign and win it well.
Mr Darling told the meeting that over the coming weeks, the pro-UK campaign group would visit military communities to discuss the importance of Scotland remaining part of the UK. "We also need to pose questions to the nationalists. When you ask them questions they say you're being negative, or scaremongering.
A new Better Together promotional film was shown for the first time at the event, featuring former members of the British Armed Forces and their families. "The definition of scaremongering is asking Alex Salmond a question he doesn't know how to answer."
Mr Darling's appearance was greeted by about 400 nationalist and anti-"bedroom tax" protesters outside the conference, complaining about his alliance with the Tories and Labour leader Ed Miliband's stance on the spare room subsidy.
Protesters waved banners branding Mr Darling "The Abominable No Man".