British Prime Minister David Cameron will take his cabinet to Scotland for the first time to warn of the economic cost independence could have on the North Sea oil industry.
David Cameron giving a speech on Scottish independence in east London earlier this month. Photo: AFP
Monday will mark only the third time in history a British cabinet has sat in Scotland and a further shift in tone by Mr Cameron, who has so far relied on dire warnings about the risks of independence.
The Prime Minister says Britain's "broad shoulders" would support investment in the important oil sector that would give a "vital boost" to Scottish communities for decades to come.
AAP reports the fate of North Sea oil revenues is one of the biggest issues ahead of a referendum on 18 September that will decide whether Scotland will end its 300-year-old union with England.
Scotland's pro-independence First Minister Alex Salmond will meanwhile lead a rival cabinet meeting of the devolved Scottish government just a short drive from where Mr Cameron's ministers are gathering.
Cameron's Conservatives only have one member of parliament in the whole of Scotland.
Opinion polls have consistently shown a majority of Scots preferring to stay in Britain, although the gap with those who want independence is narrowing.
The 18 September referendum will ask voters: "Should Scotland be an independent country?".
An estimated 5.3 million people live in Scotland.
