Last-gasp rallying call to Scottish voters ahead of independence referendum

Former chancellor Alistair Darling, who is leading the campaign to keep the UK together, said: " We are on the eve of the most momentous decision that Scotland will ever take.

"We will decide our country's future. It's that important."

While he insisted it was "very clear that the case for separation has not been made", Dennis Canavan, chairman of the pro-independence Yes Scotland, urged voters to "go for it" in tomorrow's referendum.

The former Labour MP told the crowd that independence would create a more prosperous and fairer Scotland.

Mr Canavan added: "When we succeed in getting that message across to the people of Scotland, we shall win that famous and historic victory."

He addressed a rally of activists in Glasgow city centre that was also attended by famous Yes supporters, including Line of Duty actor Martin Compston and Deacon Blue singer Ricky Ross.

Mr Darling, chairman of the Better Together campaign, warned that the "risks of separation are very, very clear" as he addressed a rival rally in Glasgow.

He said: "When we go to the polls tomorrow we are not voting for a one-term government, we are voting for Scotland's future forever, it is that important.

"If we vote to leave, there is no going back."

Mr Darling continued: " If you have such a momentous decision to take you need to have certainty, but what is very clear at the end of this long campaign from the nationalist side is there is no certainty at all.

"For anyone in Scotland who has any doubt, be in no doubt you have to say No."

He insisted that the offer of more powers from the three Westminster parties was a better option than the "years of wrangling and uncertainty" that would follow a Yes vote.

Mr Darling said: " A vote to say No is a vote to keep the currency, a vote to say No is to safeguard the payment of pensions, a vote to say No is to guarantee the funding and the strength of our National Health Service.

"A vote to say No is a vote, too, for a stronger, strengthened Scottish Parliament with control over key services like health, like education, to make Scotland stronger, sooner and safer.

"Far better than years of wrangling of uncertainty that would follow a vote for separation."

While David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have all pledged to deliver more powers to Holyrood if Scotland rejects independence, Mr Canavan insisted the people of Scotland would "not be fooled".

The commitment to further devolution, coupled with a promise to maintain the Barnett Formula, which determines how funding is distributed across the UK, could spark a backlash among Conservative backbenchers.

Philip Davies, the Tory MP for Shipley in Yorkshire, said he would not back such a deal.

Mr Davies said on Twitter: "For the record I will not be voting to maintain an unfair funding settlement for Scotland, whatever Messrs Cameron, Miliband and Clegg say.

"In the event of a a No vote I will be doing all I can to stop MPs from Scotland voting on issues in Parliament which don't relate to Scotland."

Mr Canavan said comments such as that showed that the pro-UK campaign was " in a complete state of disarray, with their so-called vow for extra powers for the Scottish Parliament".

He hit out: " A vow - it looks like something written on the back of a fag packet at the fag end of a long campaign. But the people of Scotland will not be fooled.

"There is only one guarantee of getting more powers for the Scottish Parliament, and that is by voting Yes "So let's take that message out, let's take our message out to every street, every city, every town, every village. every community, every workplace, every home in Scotland.

"Our message is quite simple, it is a positive message saying it is only by voting Yes on Thursday that the people of Scotland will be empowered, empowered to vote for a new Scotland.

"Yes to a prosperous Scotland, but also a fairer Scotland and a Scotland that will take its proud place in the international community to help to build a better world."

With the future of the UK at stake in tomorrow's vote, senior politicians from Westminster had joined in the campaign.

UK Business Secretary Vince Cable urged Scots to reject independence as he headed north of the border.

The veteran Liberal Democrat said: " I have a lot of personal connections with Scotland: I lived here, have worked here and my children were born here.

"It is a place for which I continue to have a deep affection and I would hate to see Scotland leave the United Kingdom.

"As a Yorkshireman, as an MP for a London constituency and as a former councillor in Glasgow, I am proud of what we have achieved as a UK family of nations."

He said the UK had " so much shared history from our great industrial past to forging a new industrial future in renewables, life science and technology"

Mr Cable highlighted the introduction of the national minimum wage, investment in universities and the benefit to businesses from having a single tax and regulatory regime across the UK as being some of the benefits of the union.

He said: " When I go overseas promoting our businesses, investors trust the UK brand.

"They value the strength, stability and security that the United Kingdom offers and Scotland has benefited immensely from foreign direct investment.

"These are just some of the positive things we have achieved together so why walk away from it? I would urge people in a nation that was home to me for many years to say No to separation. I want Scotland to stay with us."

Former prime minister Gordon Brown, who has been pivotal in the pro-UK parties' fast-tracked timetable for new powers, said No campaigners were proud of their " patriotic vision, proud of our Scottish identity" as well as being "proud of the Scottish Parliament that we, not the nationalist party, created".

He went on to say they were "proud also that we are increasing the powers of that parliament", adding that what they are offering is "faster, safer, better, friendlier change than ever the nationalists could have proposed".

The Labour MP said of tomorrow's referendum: " The silent majority will be silent no more."

He claimed the only vision of the SNP was to "break every single constitutional and political link with our neighbours and friends in the United Kingdom".

But Mr Brown insisted: "We will not have this."

He continued: "The vote tomorrow is not about whether Scotland is a nation - we are, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

"It's not about whether there is a Scottish Parliament - we have it.

"It's not about whether there are increased powers, we are all agreed to increase the powers.

"The vote tomorrow is whether you want to break and sever every link, and I say let's keep our UK pensions, let's keep our UK pound, let's keep our UK passports, let's keep our UK welfare state."

He added that the UK had fought and won wars together, had "built the peace together", as well as establishing the National Health Service and the welfare state together.

"We will build the future together," he said.

"What we have built together, by sacrificing and sharing, let no narrow nationalism split asunder ever."

Scottish Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon dismissed the offer of more powers for Holyrood, saying: "T he No camp's panicked scramble to try and bribe the people of Scotland with a last-minute flimsy and meaningless offer is fooling no-one.

"Despite the fact the 'vow' doesn't guarantee a single power, it has taken less that 24 hours to fall apart - Tory MPs are already up in arms about it. They are desperate to grip on to power over Scotland and - in the event of a No vote - they would not let it go.

"This is absolute proof that the only way to guarantee Scotland gets the full powers we need to create more jobs, protect the NHS and build a fairer Scotland for generations to come is to vote Yes."

She added: " With a Yes vote, we will no longer be hamstrung by Tories who want to keep power at Westminster.

"It is an opportunity to build a better Scotland. Scotland is a wealthy country and there is no longer any doubt that we can be a successful independent country. Both the Yes campaign and the No campaign agree on that.

"With a Yes vote we will be able to ensure that everyone in Scotland is able to benefit from that wealth. With a Yes vote we will be able to secure the job-creating powers we need so that all of our young people have the opportunity to fulfil their careers in Scotland.

"We will have access to the resources we need to deliver more and better childcare for all of Scotland's families and to secure higher education for all who want it, instead of seeing our resources wasted on nuclear weapons dumped on the Clyde.

"We will be able to protect our NHS from Westminster cuts and privatisation south of the border, and pay a better and fairer pension to our older people."

She said: " In recent weeks people across Scotland have woken up to the opportunity of independence.

"With a Yes vote, we can make that opportunity a reality and build a stronger more prosperous Scotland for the generations to come."

Yes Scotland chief executive Blair Jenkins said he was "very confident we are going to get a Yes majority tomorrow" as he said campaigners would be "working hard for every vote between now and the closing of the polling stations tomorrow".

Another leading figure from the Yes campaign, Scottish Green Party co-convenor Patrick Harvie said: "We are on the verge of victory because we have reconnected so many people to the political process, people who have been justifiably angry at a broken political system."

Actress and comedienne E laine C Smith, who also addressed the independence supporters at their rally in Glasgow, said: "What it takes to change the world is a pencil and a piece of paper on a ballot, and putting your cross on Yes can change the world."

She added: "To quote Oscar Wilde, I would like to say at this point, I don't want to live in a world where Utopia isn't on the map. E ven if we never reach it, let us lift anchor and set sail."

Eddie Izzard, who has been campaigning for a No vote tomorrow, told the Better Together rally that Live Aid founder Bob Geldof had said "No can be a positive word if it is saying no to a negative thing."

Izzard added: "Glasgow was the first city in the world to honour Nelson Mandela, giving him the freedom of the city. Scotland said no to apartheid - no to a negative thing - no to poverty and pain, no to the separation between rich and poor and we can, Scotland, say no to this separation from the United Kingdom."

The actor and comic also told activists that Harry Potter author JK Rowling had just tweeted: "My head says no, and my heart shouted it, but whatever happens I hope we are all friends."

Izzard added: "The referendum on Thursday is going to go one way or the other, so a lot of people are not going to be happy, but I personally would just like you to get to a good place whatever happens so I wish you well."

Scores of groups who have been campaigning for independence issued an open letter to the people of Scotland, claiming a No vote tomorrow would leave power in the hands of Westminster.

The letter, signed by some 50 groups across the Yes movement, said: " Across our country, people are aware, as never before, of Scotland's great wealth.

"As a nation we are waking up to the massive opportunity we now have to make that wealth work better for all the people of Scotland.

"We have had a fantastic empowering debate, involving every strand of Scottish society. That spirit tells us that our country will come together after the vote so that we can build a better, fairer society."

It added: " However, in an attempt to hold back Scotland's progress, the leaders of the Westminster parties have made us a series of promises they can't and won't keep. And they are promises we can't make them keep if we vote No on Thursday.

"A No vote means we no longer have Scotland's future in Scotland's hands - it is back in the hands of politicians at Westminster."