A senior Treasury minister has banned the word "unionist" in an attempt to foster more positive language in the fight against Scottish independence.
Danny Alexander, a Scottish Liberal Democrat MP and chief secretary to the Treasury, has told his officials not to use the word because it “plays into the hands of the Nationalists”.
Mr Alexander, the MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, is one of a number of ministers who believe that the anti-independence campaign will have to come up with better, more positive language if it is to defeat the Nationalists in the referendum battle.
His decision to phase out the word "unionist" in his dealings with the referendum reflects a growing acceptance inside the UK government that the term is old-fashioned, difficult to understand and has associations with both Northern Ireland and sectarianism which they are keen to bury.
“If you have to explain what a word means, it’s probably not a good idea to base a campaign around it,” one government source said.
Instead, the slogan “Scotland in Britain” is expected to spearhead the campaign against Scottish independence.
Alex Salmond’s Scottish government is already well underway in preparing for a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 or 2015.
The anti-independence camp has been struggling for some time in trying to work out how best to combat Mr Salmond’s separatist message, but it now appears as if some limited progress has been made.
David Mundell, a Conservative minister in the Scotland Office, explained the thinking behind the new approach.
He said: “We have to run a relentlessly positive ‘Scotland in Britain’ campaign that appeals to the whole of Britain. We have to stress the benefits of being together. That is the task we all face and we have to bring clarity to the debate.”
A senior Conservative source added that the term "unionist" sometimes carried echoes of the conflict in Northern Ireland, sectarian divisions in the west of Scotland and was often misunderstood by members of the public.
The new approach is also being backed by Scottish Labour figures, many of whom have never liked using the term "unionist" because it is part of the title of their political rivals – the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party.
A Labour spokesman said: “The vast majority of people don’t see themselves as nationalist or unionist, most are entirely comfortable being proudly Scottish and proudly part of the UK.”
But he added: “The referendum will not be won or lost on words used to describe the campaigns, rather it will be won by those bringing a positive message of what Scotland gains from being an integral part of the UK.”
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