Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has today used a campaign stop in Edinburgh to urge voters to reach for recovery and declare that his party can make the gains that will ensure the next parliament puts recovery first, not independence. 

Launching his party’s “Reach for Recovery” poster van, Mr Rennie said: 

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has today used a campaign stop at Edinburgh Zoo to say that electing Lib Dem MSPs can build bridges for the next five years and ensure the parliament is not dominated by arguments over borders, currencies and the timeline for another independence referendum. 

Mr Rennie said: 

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has today used a campaign stop in Edinburgh to urge voters to help the Lib Dems cross the finish line and secure seats in every region of Scotland.

His comments come as two new polls show the Liberal Democrats on the brink of securing seats across the country.

Mr Rennie said:

Responding to comments from Alex Salmond in which he claimed that Scotland should go for a "clean break"  with the UK during any independence talks, refusing to pay a share of national debt after a potential yes vote, campaign chair Alistair Carmichael MP said:

"Refusing to take on a share of the national debt after independence would make Scotland an international pariah. No one would lend to the new Scottish government ever again.

Starting the final lap of the election campaign at a racetrack at Ingliston, the leader of the Liberal Democrats Willie Rennie said that his party has a track record of gaining seats in Scotland.

He pointed to evidence that only the Liberal Democrats have gained seats at each of the last four elections in Scotland.

Mr Rennie said that the gains that Liberal Democrats make next Thursday will change the balance of the parliament, take the referendum off the table for five years and put the recovery first.

Willie Rennie said:

Responding to Nicola Sturgeon's Today programme interview and her comments on RBS and a border with England, Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign chair Alistair Carmichael MP said:

"Nicola Sturgeon is inching towards admitting that independence would mean major firms leaving and a border that would disrupt trade and split friends and families. She cannot deny what RBS bosses have said.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has today used a campaign stop in Edinburgh to declare that votes for his party can make the worry of five years of debates over borders, the currency and the deficit go away. 

On Tuesday, Willie Rennie warned of divisions in the nationalist movement over currencies, the border and the difficulty of joining the EU. 

Since then, in the past three days alone: 

• A shock poll showed around half of Green Party supporters don’t want independence; 
• An SNP policy paper suggested they could start the process for another independence referendum after just 100 days of the new parliament starting; 
• Nicola Sturgeon said that the troubled Northern Irish border protocol represents a template for a future Scotland-England border; 
• The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland owner NatWest Group said that the institution would move its headquarters from Edinburgh to London in the event of Scottish independence.
• The Institute for Government warned that the likely size of the Scottish deficit could prove overwhelming.

Mr Rennie said: 

Responding to a new poll for The Scotsman showing support for Scottish independence has slid to just 42%, the lowest level since the last general election, campaign chair Alistair Carmichael MP said:

"The public can clearly see that putting an independence referendum before the recovery is a fool's errand.

Responding to comments from the chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland owner NatWest Group in which she reiterated that the institution would move its headquarters from Edinburgh to London in the event of Scottish independence, Treasury spokesperson and Edinburgh West MP Christine Jardine said: