The new leader of Scotland’s nationalists demanded that Britain should only be allowed to leave the European Union if all four nations making up the UK vote for an exit.

The British government is scrambling to respond to a lurch in the opinion polls toward a vote for Scottish independence this month by promising a range of new powers for Scotland if it chooses to stay within the United Kingdom.

Former British chancellor of the exchequer Nigel Lawson has called for the UK to leave the European Union, saying it is no longer in the country’s economic interest to remain in the bloc.

BRITISH voters angry over Iraq punished Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday, relegating his Labour Party to an unprecedented third place in local elections.