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Scottish Lib Dem conference: Clegg to outline Union case Scottish Lib Dem conference: Clegg says 'resist false patriotism' of SNP and UKIP
(about 9 hours later)
The prospect of Scotland staying in the UK must be portrayed as "just as thrilling as the drama of leaving it", the deputy prime minister will say. The deputy prime minister has urged voters to resist the "lure of false patriotism", as he drew comparisons between the SNP and UKIP.
Nick Clegg will say Union supporters are right to set out independence risks but must also press home the opportunities of voting to stay. Nick Clegg said both parties were seeking to "break apart" established partnerships between nations.
His speech to the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference comes ahead of the 18 September independence referendum. His speech to the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference comes ahead of the Scottish independence referendum.
Mr Clegg will also say a vote for the Union means more powers for Scotland. Mr Clegg said a "No" vote on Thursday, 18 September, could see greater Scottish Parliament powers.
However, the pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign cast doubt on whether new powers would come to Scotland in the event of a "No" vote. As well as the referendum in less than six months, there will be European elections in May in which UKIP is seeking to challenge the main UK parties.
Addressing the conference in Aberdeen, Mr Clegg will say: "I'm not here to hector, or lecture or frighten people - much as the SNP will doubtless want to claim that I have. Mr Clegg, who this week debated head-to-head with UKIP leader Nigel Farage, said: "In politics, there is always the temptation to overstretch an analogy, so I'm not going to claim that the SNP and UKIP are the same. Obviously there are very big differences.
"But I will say this: In our competitive, fast-moving, interconnected world, we are all stronger together and poorer apart." "But they do both want to bring an end to a partnership between nations that has been forged over time and serves us well. And they both represent the same impulse: to pull away, to break apart."
Mr Clegg will say the referendum campaign is about more than numbers and economics, adding: "It's also about who we are: our bonds, our closeness, the ties that make us stronger in an uncertain world. The deputy PM said the Liberal Democrats would fight for "unity, togetherness and openness," adding: "We will give people a reason to resist the lure of false patriotism - wherever it rears its head.
"We will provide a positive vision for a prosperous future, filled with possibility - for every part of the UK.
"Britain is at its best when we are united, when we stand tall in our own backyard, when we are open, outward-facing and engaged - and that is the Britain we will protect."
Turning to the referendum, Mr Clegg said he believed supporters of the Union must set out both the risks of independence and the opportunities of voting to stay, like having a "strong and secure currency".
He said: "Of course the UK isn't perfect. Nor is Westminster. Nor is Brussels. Institutions, alliances, unions - by their very nature they are living, evolving things, in perpetual need of reform.
"But the response to imperfection is not isolation."
'Mix of identities'
Mr Clegg said the debate over Scotland's future was about more than numbers and economics, adding: "It's also about who we are: our bonds, our closeness, the ties that make us stronger in an uncertain world.
"Like so many people across Britain, I know what it's like to be part of a family brimming with different heritages and traditions - that's what my family is like."Like so many people across Britain, I know what it's like to be part of a family brimming with different heritages and traditions - that's what my family is like.
"And for me it has always been this mix of identities - distinct yet overlapping - that make our Union so great."And for me it has always been this mix of identities - distinct yet overlapping - that make our Union so great.
"Scottish. English. Northern Irish. Welsh. British.""Scottish. English. Northern Irish. Welsh. British."
The UK Lib Dem leader will tell the conference the campaign is about "capturing imaginations". The UK Lib Dem leader told the conference the campaign was about "capturing imaginations".
"Just as it is right that we must explain the risks and consequences of Scotland voting to leave the Union, we must also set out the opportunities of voting to stay," he will say. He said: "Just as it is right that we must explain the risks and consequences of Scotland voting to leave the Union, we must also set out the opportunities of voting to stay.
"The prospect of remaining in the UK must be just as thrilling as the drama of leaving it.""The prospect of remaining in the UK must be just as thrilling as the drama of leaving it."
At the same time, Mr Clegg will insist rejecting independence will not be the same as choosing the status quo, arguing that his party, along with Labour and the Conservatives, were heading towards agreement on giving new powers to a devolved Scottish Parliament within the UK.
The Lib Dems' own devolution commission has called for cross-party support on increasing Holyrood's financial powers.
Outlining his party's home rule vision, Mr Clegg will say: "A Scottish parliament that doesn't just spend the cheque handed over from Westminster, but which has the power to raise the majority of its budget too - creating greater accountability and the power to affect radical change here in Scotland.
"Where the UK parties have promised powers to Scotland, we have worked together and delivered.
"And if Scotland makes the positive choice this September to stick with the UK family, we will come together again."
Ahead of the speech, Blair Jenkins, the chief executive of Yes Scotland, said: "Nick Clegg appears not to have been paying attention to what is happening in Scotland.
"The Tory leader Ruth Davidson has expressly said that the anti-independence parties will not agree a 'more powers' scheme before the referendum - they can scarcely agree within their ranks, never mind across them.
"And the Labour proposals have been widely discredited as a watering down of what was previously promised, and unlikely ever to be delivered."