Scottish independence: Izzard launches UK campaign

COMEDIAN Eddie Izzard is to head a campaign aimed at providing a platform for people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who do not want Scotland to vote to leave the UK.

Eddie Izzard, pictured at the top of Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat in 2009. Picture: Jane Barlow

The Please Don’t Go campaign will be launched with a one-off gig hosted by Izzard in Edinburgh on April 4.

He said: “I won’t have a vote in the Scottish referendum. What I do have is a view and a voice.

“I totally respect that this will be a decision for the Scottish people but I admire Scotland far too much to not say anything about how I feel.”

He added: “I think most people across the UK would feel a deep sense of loss if Scotland left. Opinion polls in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK show a majority of people want the UK to stay together.

“It has always been possible to feel British while being proudly Scottish, Welsh or English. Today our country embraces Mo Farah, a Somali-born distance runner as a British Olympic hero without a second thought. I found our country could even support a far-slower marathon-running transvestite comedian, who was born in Yemen.”

Yes campaigners will hold their own comedy event in the capital on April 5.

The Yes Comedy and Ceilidh features broadcaster and comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli.

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