"We can't give our children a one way ticket to an uncertain destination," warned Alistair Darling at the launch of Better Together, the campaign to keep Scotland as a partner in the UK.
The former chancellor argued that pro-unionists must "make a positive case for staying together".
But SNP MP Angus MacNeil told Total Politics that the Labour MP had made his case through "fear and worry".
"Our children only live once," he said. "We've got to make the right decision for them."
Speaking alongside MSP Annabel Goldie, Alistair Darling told an audience this morning: "This referendum challenges all of us in Scotland to answer some deep questions – not just what we believe but who we are.
"We are part of a social union underpinned by an economic and political union.
"We need more growth, more jobs for a new prosperous Scotland.
"The choice we make will be irrevocable.
"We can't give our children a one-way ticket to a deeply uncertain destination."
He criticised calls for independence as "a gamble", adding: "The SNP don't know what independence will mean for Scotland.
"What is a justification for such upheaval? Why would we want to turn our biggest market into our biggest competitor?"
And the Scottish MP tried to move the campaign beyond party lines, stating: "Even if you've never joined a political party before, it doesn't matter. Come and join our cause."
But fellow Scottish MP, Angus MacNeil, hit out at Darling, describing his speech as "riddled with inaccuracies".
The SNP politician said that England is now a bigger market for Ireland than it had been before, and unemployment in the UK is now higher than it ever was in Iceland since the crash.
Business will not be affected by independence, he added.
"When businesses phone each other, they don't ask whether we share a government," MacNeil told TP.
He dismissed Darling's performance as "empty".
But added: "I think he read the teleprompter brilliantly."
Comments
Nick / June 25 2012 12:48pm
"When businesses phone each other, they don't ask whether we share a government," MacNeil told TP.
Of course they don't at the moment but they are concerned about whether there will be independence in the future.
Why would an English person want their pension run by Scottish Widows or Standard Chartered in a foreign country ?
Siôn Eurfyl Jones / June 25 2012 1:10pm
"We can't give our children a one way ticket to an uncertain destination," in and independent Scotland.
Instead, we will consign them to a certain future in a brutal, savage Britain where Welfare provision has been abolished, foreign wars are a fact of life, and the poor are exploited for the comfort of the rich. Good plan!
iain crichton / June 25 2012 1:43pm
Why would a Scottish person want a foreign country like England in charge of every single penny that is raised in Scottish territory?
Answer.They wouldnt,unless,of course, they are a self seeking quissling like Darling.
starfish / June 25 2012 2:01pm
You have to admire the SNP - they have a better class of troll
Darling has askwed a question - the only answer s vitriol. The truth is the future is uncertain, boh inside and outside the Union
Where lies Scotland's best chance?
If they leave the Union they can assume nothing with regard to support from their former partners
Hamish / June 25 2012 2:12pm
Mr MacNeil should think before he makes unsubstantiated assertions. If he had any knoweldge of history, he would know that trade between the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom dropped significantly after the signing of the Treaty setting up the state in 1921 with a very serious impact on the Free State economy. In the face of intimidation by nationalists, many Unionist-owned businesses closed, investment from the UK dried up, de Valera's economic nationalism led to the Economic War in the 1930's, GDP fell and unemployment rose.
Unemployment in the UK today is 8.1%. Unemployment in Iceland has fallen in recent months, having been higher than in the UK a year ago, and now stands at 7.1%. In any case, given the size of the relative sizes of the two countries workforces, it would be legitimate to argue that such comparisons are irrelevant.
I'd rather have a politician who reads the teleprompter brilliantly than one who hasn't the first idea what he is talking about.
To use Alex Salmon's immortal words after endorsing unreservedly RBS's disastrous bid for ABN Amro, "Yours for Scotland".