>> i think it's all an evolutionary process. you are never comfortable with your eyes pushing for change and growth not just in yourself with the issues that you care about. you have never done it so there's never a point in time we feel like there are, i am now here and i can do this the same way all the time. it's always changing. scotland will hold a referendum in september to decide whether or not it wants to separate in the united kingdom. ridge prime minister david cameron delivered a speech recently urging scotland to stay in the u.k.. he also took a few questions from the audience. this is about a half an hour. [applause]

>> thank you for that introduction and i want to thank glasgow for hosting this event. this is a fantastic forward-looking university and we are very grateful for your support today as we are to the lee valley the other part for hosting us in this magnificent space. less than two years ago this was a cauldron of excitement. a ripping around at 40 miles an hour. i was up there. i had a whole seat but believe me i only use the edge of it. three more golds, an incredible night. but for me the best thing about the olympics wasn't the winning. it was the red, the white in the blue. it was the summer that patriotism came out of the shadows and came into the sun. everyone cheering as one for team gt and its team gb i want

to talk about today, our united kingdom. last year, the date for the scottish referendum was faced. the countdown was set and today we have just over seven months until that vote. centuries of history hang in the balance. it question mark hangs over the future of our united kingdom. if people vote yes in september, then scotland will become an independent country. there will be no going back and as i have made clear, this is a decision that is squarely and solely for those in scotland to make kerry and i believe passionately that it is in their interest to stay in the united kingdom. that way scotland has the space to take decisions while still having the security that comes

with being part of something bigger. they can decide what happens in every hospital, every school, every police station in scotland and in the united kingdom scotland as part of a major global plan. now those are the arguments that we will keep on putting until september the 18th. but it is their choice, their vote. but my argument today is that while only 4 million people who will vote in this referendum all 63 million of us are profoundly affected. there are 63 million of us who could wake up on september the 19th in a different country with a different future ahead of it. that is why this speech is addressed not so much to the people of scotland but to the people of england wales and northern ireland. within these countries there are

a whole range of different views about this referendum. there are those that i would call the quiet patriots ,-com,-com ma people who love the united kingdom, love our flag and our history but think there's nothing much they can detain curt scotland to stay in the u.k. so they stay out of the debate. then there are the shoulder schroders, people who are ambivalent about the outcome who think this doesn't matter much to anyone south of the border. their view is that of scotland left the u.k. then yes, that would he said that we could just wave them a wistful goodbye and carry on as normal. and then there are those, only a few, who think we would be better off if scotland did leave a u.k., that this marriage of nations has run its course and it needs a divorce. now today i want to take on all of these views.

the idea that we would be better off without scotland, the idea that this makes no difference to the rest of the u.k. and the idea that however much we might care, we in england, wales and northern ireland can have no voice in this debate because we don't have a vote. all of the above are wrong. we would be deeply diminished without scotland. this matters to all of our futures and everyone in the u.k. can have a voice in this debate. i want to make this case by putting forward what to me are the four compelling reasons why the united kingdom is stronger with scotland within it. the first is our connections with each other. over three centuries we have lived together, worked together and frankly we have gotten together getting married, having children, moving back and

forwards across arab orders. such is the fusion of our bloodlines that my surname goes back to the west highlands and by the way i am as proud of my scottish heritage as i am of my english and welsh heritage. the name cameron might mean crooked nose but the motto is let us unite and that is exactly what our islands in our nations have done. today 800,000 scots live elsewhere in the united kingdom and more than 400,000 people who were born in the rest of the u.k. now live in scotland. and there are millions of people who do business over the border every single day like the farmers in lincolnshire to grow some of the barley that is used in scotch whiskey. the united kingdom is an intricate tapestry, millions of relationships woven tightly over more than three centuries. that is why for millions of

people there is no contradiction in being proud of your scottishness, your englishness or your britishness. sometimes all at once. now some say that none of this would change with independence. that these connections would stay as strong as ever. but the fact is all of these connections, whether business or personal, they are eased and strengthened by the institutional framework of the united kingdom. when the acts of union were passed the role of the state was limited to things like defense, taxes and property rights. since then the state has transformed beyond recognition and our institutions have grown together like the roots of great trees, fusing together under the foundations of our daily lives. you don't need a customs check when you travel over the border. you don't have to get out your

passport at carlisle. you don't have to deal with totally different tax systems and regulations when you. you don't have to. in different currencies. our human connections, friendships relationships and business partnerships are underpinned because we are all in the same united kingdom and that is the number one reason why we are stronger together. the second is our prosperity. some people look at the united kingdom only in terms of debit and credit columns tax-and-spend and how they get split between our formations. but that completely misses the bigger picture. this is the world that has been through massive economic storms were economic competition is heating up as never before, where we have to work harder than ever just to make a living. and in that world of uncertainty we are quite simply stronger as a bigger entity and open economy

of 63 million people with the oldest in the most successful single market in the world and we are one of the oldest and most successful currencies in the world. that stability is hugely before investors. last year we were the top destination for foreign direct investment in europe. that is a stamp of approval on our stability and i would not want to jeopardize that. but let me be clear, the central part of my economic argument for the u.k. is not about what we would lose if we were pulled apart but about what we could gain in this world if we stayed together. this government has set out a long-term economic plan for britain getting behind enterprise, dealing with our debts, a plan to give the people of this country peace of mind and security for the future. and it's not just a plan, it is a vision. the united kingdom as the big

european success story of this century, moving from an island sinking under too much debt, too much borrowing and too much taxation to a country that is dynamic, exporting, innovating and creating. scotland is right at the heart of that vision. why? i could give you a list of scottish strengths, their historic universities like edinburgh aberdeen and glasgow in st. andrews great industries from food processing to financial services from shipbuilding to science. it's not about scotland's strengths as some sort of olds on extra. it's about what we the constituent parts of the night again and can achieve together. the power of collaboration. it is there in our past. when the scottish enlightenment met the industrial revolution intellectual endeavor and commercial might combine to shape global economic ideas. and that power of collaboration

is there today. together we are stronger at getting out there and selling our products to the world. like scotch whiskey. whether i am in india or china there is barely a meeting abroad when i don't bang the drum for whiskey abroad. now of course the first minister fights hard for those deals too but the clout we have as united kingdom gives us a much better chance of getting around the right tables, bashing down the trade terriers getting those deals signed. and the results, scotch whiskey as 135 pounds to the uk's balance of payments every single second. and together we are stronger to lead in the industries of the future. we have the wins of scotland decades in aberdeen and a domestic energy market with tens of millions of people to drive and support these new industries. two years ago we set up the green investment bank based in

edinburgh it's invested across united kingdom helping a scottish distillery to fit sustainable biomass oilers financing and energy center addenbrooke's hospital in cambridge. this is what happens will may collaborate. we have come through the great recession together. our deficit down by a third, our economy growing, our exports to china doubled and i believe we stand in much much better chance of holding a prosperous future together. now the third reason we are stronger together is our place in the world. together we get a seat at the u.n. security council, real clout in nato and europe ,-com,-com ma the prestige to host events like the g8. together we have got the finest armed forces on the planet. i think of the fighter pilots originally operating from our air force who flew sorties over

libya ,-com,-com ma the legendary scottish titles now part of the road regiment of scotland and the black watch and the highlanders. i think of the shipyards on the fourth and the clyde where alongside shipyards across the rest of the u.k. they are building the queen elizabeth aircraft carrier launching this year to secure the seas and to keep us safe. now to sum all of this might sound like national vanity. it's the view that if the u.k. split up in a role in the world shrank, would that really matter so much? at this as a country that earns its living through its international ties with millions of our citizens living abroad. when ships are ambushed on lawless seas that hits our trade. when the middle class in china is set to grow by millions a year that presents huge opportunities for our jobs back home here in the u.k.. the world shapes us ,-com,-com ma so our place in the world matters.

and make no mistake, we matter more as a united kingdom politically, militarily, diplomatically and culturally too. our reach is about so much more than military might. it's about our music, our film, our tv, our fashion. the u.k. is the soft power superpower. you get teenagers in tokyo and sydney listening to emily s&a. you get people in kazakhstan taiwan watching bbc experts like sherlock. there's a good example written by a scott 100 years ago created for tv by a scotsman. the world service transmitting to hundreds of millions. famously long san suu kyi has said it helped her through her long years of detention saying everywhere i have been the bbc has been with me. the bbc itself founded by a

scotsman. my wife samantha is an ambassador for the british fashion council and she sees and raves about the international impact of our fashion helped a lot massively by scottish designers like christopher kaine and jonathan saunders. sometimes we can forget just how big our reputation is, that the world over, the letters u.k. stand for unique, brilliant, creative, eccentric, it in genius. we come as a brand and a powerful brand. separating scotland out of that rant would be like separating the waters of the river tweet and the north sea. if we lost scotland, if the u.k. changed we would rip the rug from our own reputation. the fact is we matter more in the world if we stayed together. these are all i believe compelling practical reasons for the united kingdom to stick together.

but pounds and pence, institutional questions, that's not really what it's about for me. it's about the slave who escaped his master after the american revolution because he was offered liberty and lands by the british crown. in gratitude he named himself this, british freedom. it's about lord love it on the beach on d-day the bagpipes playing as his brigade landed at short. it's about hms sheffield hms glasgow, hms antrim, hms glamorgan ships plowing through grey seas for a thousand miles to the falkland islands and for what? for freedom. this is a country that has never been cowed by the holies and dictators. this is a country that stands for something. this really is why i'm standing here today. our shared values. freedom, solidarity, compassion.

not just overseas but at home. in this country we don't walk on by when people are sick, when people lose work, when people get old. i know when you talk about an englishman a welshman and a scotsman and northern irishman that might sound like the beginning of a bad joke but it's actually how we started our nhs our welfare system, our state pension system and these values aren't trapped in the pages of history but. they are alive. when the people of benghazi were crying out for help when a girl in pakistan was shot for wanting an education when children around the world are desperate for food or aid we don't walk on by. and let's be clear. our values are not just a source of pride for us, they are a source of hope for the world. in 1964 nelson mandela stood in the dock in the pretoria supreme court. he was making the case for his

life against apartheid and in that speech he invoked the example of britain. he said i have great respect for british political institutions and for the country system of justice. he said i regard the british parliament is the most democratic institution in the world. our parliament, our laws, our way of life so often down the centuries, the u.k. has given people hope. we have shown that democracy and prosperity can go hand-in-hand, that resolution is found not through the bullet at the ballot box. our values are of value to the world. in the darkest times in human history there has been in the north sea a light that never goes out. and if this family of nations broke up, something very powerful and very precious the world over with go out forever.

so there is a moral, economic, geopolitical ,-com,-com ma diplomatic and yes let's say proudly emotional case for keeping the united kingdom together. but still however strongly we feel we can be a reticent nation. it can seem bolder to fly the flag. some people have advised me to stay out of this issue and don't get too sentimental about the u.k.. but frankly i care too much to stay out of it. this is personal. i have an old copy of our island story my favorite book as a child and i want to give it to my three children and i want to be able to teach my youngest when she is old enough to understand that she is a part of this great world beating story. and i passionately hope that my children will be able to teach their children the same thing,

that the stamp on their passport is a market pride, that together these islands really do stand for something more than the sum of our parts. they stand for bigger ideals, nobler causes, greater values. our great united kingdom brave brilliant buccaneering generous tolerant crowd. this is our country and we built it together. brick by brick, scotland, england, wales and northern ireland rick by brick. this is our home and i could not bear to see it torn apart. i love this country. i love the united kingdom and all it stands for. i will fight with everything i have to keep us together. and so i want to be clear to everyone listening, there can be no complacency about the results of this referendum. the outcome is still up in the air and we have just seven

months to go. seven months to do all we can to keep the united kingdom as one. seven months to save the most extraordinary country in history and we must do whatever it takes so to everyone in england, wales and northern ireland, everyone like me who cares about the united kingdom want to say this. you don't have a vote but you do have a voice. those voting are our friends, our neighbors and her family. you do have an influence. so get on the phone, get together e-mail tweet and speak. the let the message rang out from manchester to motherwell from pembrokeshire to perth from belfast to ute from us to the people of scotland. let the message be this, we want you to stay. think of what we have done together, what we can do together, what we stand for together. teamed gb the winning team in

the history of the world. let us stick together for a winning future too. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> thank you, thank you. time for some questions from those in the audience. let's hear from the lady in blue. >> people have been told to leave their homes in the night and many people are still cut off because of the floods.

why is the government still not getting a grip on what is happening in some sense? >> we are doing everything that we can. i chaired a programming yesterday evening on this issue. progress has been made and we finance extra money to go into flood defenses. we will start dredging as soon as we can. we have the army helping out the environmental agency including in somerset and other parts of the country. i spoke personally to the gold commander running the operation. all of the things that we can do to help people whether it is helping people get out of their homes, whether it's essential infrastructure or moving tackle off of the land we will do everything we can to help coordinates with a still very difficult situation. like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to people from the environmental services for volunteers to the military who've been working

around-the-clock to try and deal with this issue. we will keep on doing whatever it takes coordinating via two but he and investing in the necessary money bringing military assets where necessary everything that needs to be done we have will be coordinator and will be done. we have the lady over here. >> i work in fashion and retail in scotland and the scots play a significant role in this wonderful british heritage in kashmir and textile manufacturing. do you believe now is the time for scotland instead of arguing amongst themselves we should be combining our resources and tackling the french and the italians in the global competition? >> i think it's a very good point about how we are stronger and more prosperous together. it's a classic example. as i said in my speech there brilliant scottish designers that make a huge contradiction to british design that will

date -- more forcefully if we work together and take on the great fashion houses of the italians and the french having the strength of great britain united kingdom brand behind this is a huge source of strength. here we are being hosted by university that has set up a fashion school here in london to bring together the best of the british so it's a good example exactly of what you have said. the gentleman over there. spinney prime minister there's a brand-new ballot to open in glasgow. can i ask why you are making the speech in london and not in glasgow? >> i will be making a number of visits to scotland to make points in this the important debate about the future of our country. i want to make this feature today because i said in the speech of course i hope this message resonates in scotland but i am saying a particular thing today to those in england, and wales and northern ireland

who don't have a vote in this referendum but who care passionately about it is i karen and i want people in scotland to know that the rest of us in the united kingdom are not looking the other way walking on by just thinking well it's a mainstream decision you make. we want them to stay. i think it's so important to people in scotland understand that the rest of the family see this as a very important family decision and we will all feel less about ourselves, about her country about our family of scotland voted to become separate. that is why it's important to make this speech here in london. i could've made it in any other part of england or wales or northern ireland and perhaps i will do that but believe me i will also be in scotland. indeed i'm taking the entire cabinet scotland to make these arguments their too. one more question and the gentleman in the back.

>> prime minister the scottish national party is arguing for an end to political union with the united kingdom. a. [inaudible] >> i think the way you put the question is the way i think sometimes the first minister is trying to say there are lots of unions between england and scotland and really i'm just trying to make a small change to the political union. i think in a way that betrays the weakness of the case because the truth is of course that scotland votes to separate itself from the rest of united kingdom that is what it will become, separate. i think that would be tragic. we can go through all the individual institutions and issues and jobs in defense or financial services or what have you. a lot of attention has been paid particularly to the issue of the currency and i think it would be

extremely difficult to make a currency union work between an independeindepende nt separate scotland and the rest of united kingdom so all these institutional questions are really arguing for separation. he needs to answer the questions about a separation. and yet the white paper really didn't answer those questions at all. we should be making this positive argument about how these institutions work for all of us together. of course we have an extra strength in our argument because all those who want further devolution they should all vote no because voting no to separation leaves open all the possibilities of devolution where as voting yes for separation means the process is at an end. i think that is a very important point for people to bear in mind. it's been a huge pleasure to come today an enormous pleasure

to make this speech which i have wanted to make so passionately and i hope that comes across. all of us in the united kingdom weather our blood may be scottish but our home is in england we may not have a vote that we care passionately about the outcome. i want people in scotland to know just how passionately we feel. i think if use gretchen englishman a welshman or a northern irishman underneath the surface underneath the surface is a deep and passionate pride in our united kingdom. we have felt that here on that night when it was a lot hotter than it is today but actually we feel it every day and we would be diminished if scotland were to leave our extraordinary successful and remarkable family. thank you very much indeed. [applause]

.. >> host: now on the fifth here on the commission, commissioner