In his monthly column Hugh Bayley, Labour MP for Central York, calls on voters to say No to Scottish independence.

TODAY I am in Scotland handing out leaflets, talking to shoppers and knocking on doors to encourage Scottish voters to vote ‘No’ in the referendum on whether Scotland should split away from the United Kingdom.

Scotland would be smaller and poorer on its own, and would have less influence on the world stage, but the referendum decision will be made by people living north of the border. My view won’t be counted so why do I care?

It’s because the decision matters profoundly to York. Separation would create uncertainly north and south of the border; it would double up bureaucracy, undermine economic growth and cost jobs.

The East Coast railway is run from York, but half of its track – from Berwick to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness – is in Scotland. Would an independent Scotland be happy for an English company to run its intercity rail services? I doubt it – which means uncertainty for East Coast staff.

Aviva is a big company in York, with a head office in London. But its insurance headquarters is in Scotland.

And what would Scottish independence mean for our defence? We, the rest of the UK, would remain in NATO.

The security challenges we face, from extremists in the middle east or from Russia, will not change. We would need to spend what we do now on defence – but the cost would be split between five million fewer people – leaving English, Welsh and Northern Irish taxpayers contributing eight per cent more than before.

And Scots would pay more for defence too.

One of the oddest arguments I have heard from ‘Yes’ voters in Scotland is that they are voting to “protect” the NHS. Currently our National Health Service is national – covering England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It works because it pools costs and risks for 64 million people.

If five million Scots were to opt out, their health costs would rise because they would have a risk pool of only five million people – and our costs would rise a bit too.

I understand Scottish pride. It’s a beautiful land, with a proud history and a rich culture.

But they already manage their own affairs – a separate school system; different exams; their own banknotes; a Scottish Parliament which passes its own laws.

The UK political parties are ready to devolve more power to Scotland – including the power to set their own income tax. Already they have the power to raise or lower income tax by two pence in the pound.

It is a power that Alex Salmond’s Scottish Nationalist Government hasn’t used to date, but if Scots want that power – or more – they can have it without breaking up the United Kingdom.

Whichever way the referendum goes, more power is bound to be devolved from Westminster to the English regions – or perhaps to an all-England Parliament. People in England, rightly, want as much power over their affairs as people in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Like the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies, an English Parliament, or English Regional Assemblies, should be elected on a proportional basis so the number of seats reflects the number of votes gained by each party.

And if you added members of the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies to the English Parliament – or English Regional Assemblies – it could meet from time to time as an elected alternative to the House of Lords to revise legislation from the House of Commons.

Today’s vote is crucial for us and Scotland.

It will be a very close, knife edge, decision.

If, like me, you want Scotland to stay with us, and you have family, friends or college mates north of the border, call them today, remind them we like them – they are part of our country, our history, our family. We are better together.