Speaker’s Corner: Why I am passionate about staying together

And there is plenty that I could say on that front.

For example, on the last afternoon of the Parliamentary recess I called in at the Haresfoot Brewery in Berkhamsted. It has only been in operation for a few months but is already doing very well. I can personally recommend the product and, with Tring Brewery also going from strength to strength, we are emerging as a strong location for the sector.

I also met with the team at Tring-based charity Golden Giving. They provide online support to other charities in terms of collecting donations or selling event tickets. I learnt how they do this in such a way as to ensure that more of a donation goes to the charity.

And I also met with the Berkhamsted Workers Education Association where I attempted to answer some frighteningly well-informed questions on national issues.

I could say more about all of these visits but I wanted to focus in this column on the biggest constitutional moment in my lifetime – the vote on Scottish independence.

This article will be published the day before the vote but let me set out my thoughts on the matter.

First, is it right that the Scots should have the chance to vote on this? Yes. At the last Scottish Parliamentary elections, the Nationalists won. There is clearly a large number of Scots who want to leave the union. The UK Government effectively had no choice in allowing a vote to find out where the people of Scotland stood.

Second, how should Scotland vote? I passionately hope that they will vote No. The United Kingdom has a proud history. We have been a force for good around the world and the union has provided relative stability, prosperity and freedom to its peoples. We are tied together by what Abraham Lincoln described, in a different context, as our ‘mystic bonds of memory’. To break those bonds would be tragic.

I am conscious that, as a Conservative, my party’s interests may be better served by the removal of 41 Labour MPs from Parliament. But country must come before party.

How should we respond to a No vote? It is clear that, even if there is a No vote, there is a sizeable body of opinion (including amongst the No voters) for more powers to be located in Scotland. That should be respected and recognised. Ignoring that view will only cause a future constitutional crisis.

All the unionist parties recognise this. So we need to work constructively to deliver further devolution and also ensure that there is constitutional fairness for all parts of the UK, including England.

And if there is a Yes vote? Well I hope the Scottish voters do not underestimate the challenges they will face. In recent days, many businesses and economists have highlighted the risks.

One point the UK Government has made is that Scotland and the Rest of the UK will not enter into a currency union. In other words, we will not share the Pound.

As recent history has shown, if you share a currency, you share monetary policy – interest rates and so on – and if you do that, you need to co-ordinate other policies relating to taxing and spending. A central bank would have to stand behind banks in the currency area and, standing behind central banks, ultimately, is the taxpayer.

With an independent Scotland, I cannot see how it would be in the interests of the people of South West Hertfordshire (and England, Wales and Northern Ireland as a whole) to enter into a currency union with another country. It would put our economic future at risk – a risk I would not be prepared to take.

Alex Salmond says we are bluffing. He’s wrong.

The breaking up of one of the most successful countries in the world is no small thing. All of us who are proud to be British should want a No vote.