Scottish independence: People who vote 'No' in referendum are bad parents, claims former SNP MSP Lloyd Quinan

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has distanced himself from the comments

A former Scottish MSP said Scots who vote to remain in the UK are 'bad parents' (Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

A video has emerged in which a formed SNP MSP claims that Scots who plan to vote ‘No’ in the Scottish referendum on independence are bad parents.

Lloyd Quinan, who represented the West of Scotland from 1999 to 2003, told the audience at a ‘Yes’ vote meeting in North Berwick on 9 June that the Scottish people “have an opportunity to change the lives and life chances of our children for the future.”

“That’s a huge responsibility,” he urges.

He continues: “I will be partisan about it [the Scottish referendum]. If you vote 'No' you leave them with more of the same, then you're a bad parent.”

A spokesperson for Alex Salmond told The Herald: “Abuse has no place in the referendum campaign, whether from Yes or No supporters. Lloyd Quinan is not a member of the SNP - and indeed hasn't been for over a decade.”

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Scotland will take to the polls on 18 September, with fresh polls suggesting the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow has so far failed to produce a bounce in support for independence.

A Survation poll put the Yes vote on 40 per cent, the No Vote on 46 per cent, with the remainder undecided.

During the first US-style televised debate between Alistair Darling and Alex Salmond on Tuesday evening, the issue of what currency and independent Scotland would use became a heated topic, as Mr Salmond refused to state what he planned to do if Westminster refused to let Scotland keep the pound.