Alex Salmond: Obama intervention shows Cameron is running scared

Scottish first minister says prime minister right to be worried as recent showed 46% of Scots in favour of independence



Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister, has said that President Obama's decision to intervene in the debate on Scottish independence showed how alarmed David Cameron was about the prospect of the no camp losing.

In an interview on the BBC's Andrew Marr show, Salmond said he was surprised to hear Obama suggest that he was opposed to Scotland breaking away from the UK because in the past the American government has made it clear it was remaining neutral in the contest.

"But then, of course, David Cameron has been begging everybody internationally to say anything to help with his travails at the moment," said Salmond, referring to reports that Cameron asked Obama to speak out on Scotland before the two leaders appeared at a joint news conference in Brussels on Thursday, where the question was raised.

Salmond said Cameron was "right to be worried" because a recent Populus poll showed 46% of Scots in favour of independence, and 54% against, when don't knows were excluded.

"Perhaps on the Richter scale of presidential interventions, this was pretty mild," Salmond added. "[Obama] hopes that the UK will be strong and united as an ally. Well, if Scotland becomes independent, America will have two allies in these islands, not one."

Obama said that ultimately this was a decision for the Scots. He also said that the UK seemed to have worked "pretty well" and that Washington had "a deep interest in making sure that one of the closest allies that we will ever have remains a strong, robust, united and effective partner".

Although all the three main Westminster parties are proposing further devolution in the event of Scotland voting no, Salmond said the Scots would be "foolish" to rely on these promises.

"The only guarantee of getting more powers is to vote yes on 18 September," he said, pointing out that before the 1979 referendum, in which the Scots voted for devolution but not by enough to pass the threshold required for devolution to take place, the Tories had suggested that a no vote would not rule out further devolution.

"Scots voted yes and, as it was, we didn't get devolution and what we got was 18 years of Margaret Thatcher. So I think, having had that experience, we'd be very foolish to rely on promises from unionist parties."

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/08/alex-salmond-obama-cameron-scottish-independence

And I think that is the main reason the proportion of the yes vote seems to be rising quite quickly. Scots simply have never trusted the Conservative Party, and never will. Shows very good taste   

Seems Andy missed this and had to post his own, could you merge the two please Ben?  ::D:: 

Sassy wrote:Seems Andy missed this and had to post his own, could you merge the two please Ben?  ::D:: 

Does it say here that Cameron had ASKED BraccaBarma to intervene?

I think to merge the two would not give people the opportunity to see the headline and think "what the flip"!

9th June 2014

Cameron - what a complete traitor - always has been, always will be!

US President Barack Obama was asked to chip into the Scottish independence debate by the UK government, according to Sky sources.

The president was asked about the issue during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron after the G7 summit in Brussels last Friday.

He told reporters: "There is a referendum process in place and it is up to the people of Scotland.

"The United Kingdom has been an extraordinary partner to us. From the outside at least, it looks like things have worked pretty well.

"And we obviously have a deep interest in making sure that one of the closest allies we will ever have remains a strong, robust, united and effective partner.

"But ultimately these are decisions that are to be made by the folks there."

'No' campaigners seized on the US president's comments as evidence that the UK is better off staying together.

Sky's Niall Paterson said: "I have been speaking with a very senior source in the Scottish government who tells me he recently had a conversation with a similarly senior source within the US administration - very close to President Obama himself - who confirmed that President Obama's remarks on Scottish independence followed a direct request from the UK government.

"More than that, the senior source within the US government claimed that President Obama's remarks represented the minimum that they could say.

"I think, essentially, there are three ways you can look at all of this. First, that my source within the Scottish government is perhaps telling porkies, 100 days out from the referendum, to make political hay.

"The second way of looking at this is of course international leaders do speak to each other all the time, officials speak to each other all the time, and frankly, President Obama at a press conference such as that should have expected to receive a question on Scottish independence.

"He was never going to say, 'I think an independent Scotland would be a great thing'.

"The third way to look at it, if this is all true, is that perhaps figures within the Scottish government such as the First Minister Alex Salmond would make the point that if David Cameron is having to request the assistance of the US president to weigh into the Scottish independence referendum debate then perhaps it is not the 'Yes' campaign that is on the back foot, it is the 'Better Together' campaign."


http://news.sky.com/story/1278462/downing-street-asked-obama-to-back-union

I would not listen to a thing BO says. His politics are more dangerous than Liebours. Silly DC for thinking he is a popular President

It's beginning to look like I know so and so and he knows best 'cause he thinks he is important.  Where is 007 ?

Ah!!!!!so Cameron ASKED O'Bama to intervene?...I did wonder why O'Bama mentioned it while on telly right next to Caneron,...

I just thought because O'bama was himself concerned?....

So you lied again Andy, and posted that from a link of YOUR choosing?!!!

Dirty Dave is getting other world leaders to do his dirty work because they yes vote is almost level with the no vote!!!!

Andy, just when I thought you had showed a bit if credibility there.


The usual lies and dirty ticks.

That's a bit better Andy, you should have just said this first time...I did wonder to myself,,,' strange as he would still have Scotland and the rest of the uk working with him and being allies , so what's the difference?' ...

All the while it WAS Cameron...at the scaremongering again.

You know Cameron is more an arse than I had him down for...what a snake.

Whilst he is less then the leader I would like compared with Millibabble he is head and shoulders above. I've yet to see Millibabble get anything right yet.