Nick Clegg: EU no vote could lead to Scottish independence

A vote to leave Europe in the forthcoming referendum could move Scotland closer to independence, former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has warned.

Speaking to his party’s conference in Bournemouth, the former Deputy Prime Minister said the result of the in/out referendum could be close.

England would then be in danger of becoming isolated in the world, he warned.

RELATED CONTENT: 

EU exit would justify second referendum, says senior Tory

Last of the big guns: Alistair Carmichael on challenging times for his party and himself

Britain needs Liberals: a Q&A with Tim Farron

"The stakes could not be higher: not just one, but two, unions now hang in the balance.

"If we vote to leave the EU, I have no doubt that the SNP will gleefully grab the opportunity to persuade the people of Scotland to leave the UK as well.

“Then what? Do we want our children and grandchildren to live in a once great country now pulled apart? A Great Britain turned into a Little England, drifting friendlessly somewhere in the mid-Atlantic?" he told delegates, insisting the Liberal Democrats could be the “comeback kids of British politics”.

Clegg is one of only eight Liberal Democrat MPs to keep their seat at the General Election in May.

The comments follow a warning from Sir Vince Cable that the prospect of indefinite Tory rule will push Scotland closer to the UK exit door.