Nick Clegg yesterday drew comparisons between the SNP and UKIP as he warned against the “lure of false patriotism”.
On the opening day of the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference in Aberdeen, the deputy prime minister issued a rallying call to the party faithful to provide a “positive” vision for the future of the UK.
With September’s referendum on independence looming and a vote on Britain’s place in the EU on the horizon, Mr Clegg said the country was at its best when united and “standing tall in our own backyard”.
He told a near-packed exhibition and conference centre hall that the SNP were “willing to gamble” with Scotland’s place in the EU.
He said there were parallels between Alex Salmond’s Nationalists and the anti-EU party led by Nigel Farage, although he stressed there were also “big differences” between the two.
He added: “They 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.”
He said there was currently a “clear fault line” in British politics, between those who believed in “strength in numbers” and those who thought that countries could stand alone.
He added: “It is irresponsible to sow division and build walls between nations and communities.”
The Liberal Democrats, Mr Clegg argued, would give people a reason to “resist the lure of false patriotism – wherever it rears its head”.
Speaking afterwards, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said the main difference between the two leaders was that Alex Salmond was pro-European.
But he said that an independent Scotland “could be sure” it would find itself on the outside of the EU, at least for a period of time.
In his speech to conference, the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey MP said that nationalism and separatism “put barriers” between people.
He added: “It is narrow in character and limited in vision. It emphasises what is different between us – not what unites us.
“Liberalism is about tearing those barriers down. And I want our home, our country, to be open-minded and forward looking.”
Yes Scotland chief executive Blair Jenkins said the problem for Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leadership in general and the other No parties, was that the people of Scotland have heard all their fine talk before.
“Yet the evidence is clear that a discredited and dislocated Westminster system is simply incapable of delivering what Scotland wants and needs,” he said.
Today, Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie will turn the focus back to childcare. In his keynote address, he will urge the Scottish Government to expand free childcare provision for two-year-olds to 40%.
He will say the SNP should go further than the 27% provision planned for August next year.
Mr Rennie will say: ” I want John Swinney to use the extra money he has received in that Budget to fully match the excellent work south of the border on early education and childcare. Future generations will thank us for this.”