Mr Tony Blair has challenged Scots to blaze a trail for constitutional reform, and the better government of the United Kingdom as a whole, in Thursday's crucial devolution referendum. With just three days to go to the historic vote, the Prime Minister relaunched the "Yes, Yes" campaign - suspended last week following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Despite some anxiety that the sensational scenes of national mourning would bolster proUnion sentiment, Mr Blair was almost overwhelmed by supporters as he went on a walkabout in Glasgow. He expressed himself confident that the government would carry its proposals - both to create a Scottish Parliament, and to give it tax-raising powers.
As the Conservatives and the Scottish CBI kept up their attack on the "cost" of devolution, and the implications for investment, the bookmakers cut the odds against Scots voting No to taxvarying powers - while holding that a `Yes,Yes' result was still the likeliest outcome.
But while the Prime Minister said his government would abide by the will of the people, he dismissed fears of a `Yes, No' result. As if to underline that confidence, Mr Blair's office confirmed last night that he would not be returning to the campaign trail in Scotland ahead of Thursday's vote.
Mr Blair said he understood why the possibility of change might make some people nervous. But he told them: "Trust us, and trust yourselves." He went on: "The idea that this is a power with which the Scottish people cannot be trusted I just find wrong, absurd even."
Speaking to an audience of staff and pupils, as well as business leaders, at Trinity Academy in Edinburgh, Mr Blair said the proposed parliament would be "good for business" because it would give Scotland a strong voice. "It is a good change, it is the right change, it is the right change for the times we live in," he said. Urging voters to have confidence in themselves and in the people they would elect, Mr Blair said: "It is the classic example of nothing to be afraid of other than fear itself." He made clear his belief that Scottish devolution is central to the vision of Britain as a "young country" he offered during the general election campaign. He said: "The change that is happening this week is of huge significance, not just for Scotland but to show the whole of the United Kingdom that there is a better way Britain can be governed, that we can bring power closer to the people, closer to the peoples' priorities, and that we can give Scotland the ability to be a proud nation within the United Kingdom."
Proclaiming that the government was winning the argument, Mr Blair said the case against was a Tory case. "Basically, the Tories are running the No campaign and their argument is the argument against change."
As the Conservative Party's constitutional affairs spokesman, Mr Michael Ancram, pressed his argument that Scotland's economic competitiveness was the heart of the matter, Mr Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown showed again their sensitivity on the taxation issue, repeating Labour's pledge not to change the basic or top rates of income tax for the lifetime of a parliament.
Those assurances were dismissed as "meaningless" by Mr Ancram. Campaigning in Inverness, he insisted a Scottish parliament would raise taxes if given the power to do so. "I have never seen a Parliament given the power to tax that has not used it." Anti-devolution campaigners declared their case made as Chancellor Brown appeared to concede that the government's pledge not to raise income tax for five years covered the Westminster term, and would in reality cover only the first two years of the Edinburgh parliament.
The latest opinion polls confirm a clear majority in favour of a Scottish parliament, but suggest support for tax-varying powers is beginning to falter - a trend the Conservative leader, Mr William Hague, will hope to encourage when he arrives in Scotland this morning.