Union 'really precious', says PM (From Your Local Guardian)

Union 'really precious', says PM

2:33am Thursday 16th February 2012 in National News © Press Association 2011

Saving the Union is not an issue of policy but a matter of the "head, heart and soul", David Cameron has said before a visit to Scotland.

Dismissing questions over how national debt and North Sea oil revenues would be carved up as "not the point", the Prime Minister argued the best case for retaining the United Kingdom was that each nation was "better off together".

As well as having more "clout" globally, the UK benefits from shared defences vital in an "increasingly dangerous world", he said.

"The fight is now under way for something really precious: the future of our United Kingdom," Mr Cameron said.

"I am 100% clear that I will fight with everything I have to keep our United Kingdom together.

"To me, this is not some issue of policy or strategy or calculation - it matters head, heart and soul.

"Our shared home is under threat and everyone who cares about it needs to speak out.

"Of course, there are arguments that can be made about the volatility of dependence on oil, or the problems of debt and a big banking system.

"But that's not the point. The best case for the United Kingdom is entirely positive. We are better off together."

Mr Cameron will give a speech making the case for the Union and later meet First Minister Alex Salmond.