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PMQs: David Cameron hijacked by ‘Yes’ poster as he hits out at Scottish Independence campaign
David Cameron was interrupted by an SNP member waving a 'Yes' poster as he attempted to derail arguments for Scottish independence at Prime Minister's Questions today.
The Prime Minister had an unusually easy time of it at the pre-lunch session, with many in the House of Commons asking questions that allowed him to go over well-worn arguments in favour of the Better Together campaign.
In fact, the waving of a 'Yes' campaign poster by Na h-Eileanan an Iar MP Angus MacNeil stuck out as rare rogue act – and one which speaker John Bercow condemned as being unstatesmanlike.
Primed by a question from former health secretary Andrew Lansley, the PM took the opportunity to rubbish as “complete and utter nonsense” the chance that healthcare could be privatised from Westminster.
“The only person who would privatise healthcare in Scotland is Alex Salmond,” he said. “You can tell someone has lost the argument when they start making ludicrous [claims].”
There was some heckling of Lynsey Roy when he obliged the PM with a question about independent Scotland defaulting on its debt, but it was laughed off and Cameron went on to describe the suggestion as “one of the most chilling” to have arisen from the debate.
We all know what happens [if you default] – no one will lend you any money unless you pay a punitive interest rate. And we all know what that means: for homeowners, much higher mortgage rates; for businesses, crippling interest rates. Those are the consequences of what separatists are proposing, and we need to get that message out.
Asked to drop party politics and stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the other leaders in the run-up to the vote, Cameron somewhat bombastically said he spoke “on behalf of everyone in England, and I believe Northern Ireland and Wales, when I say we want Scotland to stay”.
Later in the session, he was given the opportunity to highlight how the Yes campaign had been unable to answer questions around the impact separation would have on Scotland's international standing, particularly its inclusion as a member of the European Union. “Another piece of the puzzle falls away,” he claimed.
Responding to a different question about its future place in Nato, Cameron said: “When it comes to all the big questions – what currency Scotland will have, what Scotland's position in Nato will be, what position it will have in the European Union – they [Yes campaigners] have not been able to provide a single credible answer.”