Cameron will stay away on polling day
Kate Devlin
UK Political Correspondent
Monday 18 August 2014

DAVID Cameronwill stay away from Scotland on the day of the independence referendum, Downing Street sources have indicated.

A No 10 source said that during the final push for support for the pro-Union side, the Prime Minister would "leave it to Scottish politicians and the [Better Together] campaign".

Polls suggest the Conservative leader's unpopularity could have an effect on the result, with voters more likely to back independence if they think Mr Cameron will win next year's General Election.

A senior Labour member of the pro-Union campaign has also claimed that Mr Cameron knows that he is "toxic" in the battle on Scotland's future.

Reports last month suggested that Mr Cameron was planning to be in Scotland for a couple of days ahead of the vote, following a similar plan revealed for Labour leader Ed Miliband.

However, No 10 said Mr Cameron would not be based in Scotland in the run up to the vote and have confirmed he will not be north of the border when voters go to the polls on September 18.

On Friday the Prime Minister sent an email to Conservative supporters asking them to post an image on the social networking site Facebook ­featuring the Union flag with the words "Let's Stick Together", in a bid to boost support for a No vote.

In the message he also said that he was "passionate about the United Kingdom", adding: "Our family of nations has achieved so much over the years."

If "we keep working together, even brighter days lie ahead for all of us", he added, telling those living outside Scotland that all 64 million people in the UK had a part to play in the referendum.