GORDON BROWN will today again attempt to emphasise his “Britishness”, accusing the Conservatives and Nationalists of presenting voters with an untenable choice that would lead to the break up of the UK.

In a speech given in Edinburgh, the Chancellor will accuse the Tories, through a policy of “English votes for English laws”, whereby Scottish MPs would be excluded on voting on certain issues south of the Border, of wanting the English to choose between England and Britain.

Scottish Nationalists, by campaigning for independence, want to force Scots to choose between Scotland and Britain, Mr Brown will argue.

The Chancellor, who intends to make a series of speeches extolling the benefits of the Act of Union of 1707, will say that he has always “stood up for Britain”. Mr Brown will say: “Around 2½ million Scottish residents are English themselves or have relatives who are English. For the first time ever around half of Scots have relatives south of the border.

“The connection goes beyond personal relationships. By geography we are neighbours, by history we are linked together and by economics we are of course partners. Far from being weaker, our inter-dependence is greater than before and it makes us stronger.”

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