A vote to leave the European Union will put the future of the United Kingdom at risk, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has warned members of the House of Lords.
Mr Rennie accused the Conservatives of putting two unions at risk with their “deeply divided” stance on Europe, ahead of a meeting with Lords in London on Monday.
The SNP is playing up the possibility of a vote to leave the EU and withholding their full and unconditional support to remain to kickstart another Scottish independence referendum, he said.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to start a new drive to win support for independence in the summer, during an address to her party’s conference at the weekend.
Speaking ahead of his address to Lords, Mr Rennie said: “We heard again this weekend the nationalists are revving up their independence referendum engines.
“Instead of opting to heal the divisions following the last referendum they want to open up fresh rifts.
“For the next Scottish Parliament I think we should be seeking to make Scotland the best again by investing in education, advancing the NHS, protecting the environment and guaranteeing our civil liberties.
“But now with the prospect of a possible leave vote, the nationalists are getting excited all over again.
“They are playing up the possibility of a leave vote so they can claim we are victims and kickstart another vote.
“Instead of putting their full and unconditional support behind a joint campaign they prefer to play up the possibility of exit.
“That is why I am appealing to voters across the rest of the UK who value what is great about Britain to vote Remain in the EU referendum.
“With the Conservatives deeply divided there is a real danger that people don’t understand the consequences of a Leave vote. Not only could we lose the benefits of the European Union but we could also lose the United Kingdom too.
“This is the crisis into which the Conservatives have plunged the country. Their internal divisions from top to bottom have placed two unions at risk. And they are supposed to be unionists, too.
“We can save both unions if we vote to Remain.
“We can continue to enjoy the benefit of open markets across the continent, the partnership between our universities, the shared healthcare, the freedom to move around Europe and the standard social conditions. These are great reasons to vote Remain.”