“We would have a recession because incomes would be hit”, Mr Osborne said.
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Attention will be turned north of the Border ahead of an appearance tonight by Nicola Sturgeon in a UK-wide live televised debate pitting her against Boris Johnson.
Likening a vote to leave as landing on the “big snake” in a game of economic snakes and ladders, he said it was a gamble the United Kingdom simply could not afford to take.
Mr Osborne will argue: “Every credible independent voice agrees that if the United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union there would be a profound economic shock that would hurt people’s jobs, livelihoods and living standards in Scotland”.
Responding to the Chancellor, Tom Harris of the Scottish Vote Leave campaign said: “The people of Scotland won’t take kindly to the Tory austerity chancellor coming to Scotland in a desperate attempt to scare voters into backing remain”.
There “was lot to be scared of” if the United Kingdom voted to leave, he said, including losing control of the economy. “Trade exports to the European Union have created jobs in Scotland and withdrawing from the single market would have a huge impact on the economy here”.
The Chancellor issued his stark warning on Wednesday night, arguing that the economic turmoil predicted by most major forecasters was “not a price worth paying” for Brexit.
Echoing David Cameron, Mr Osborne admitted Britain would “survive” without the European Union, but would’t continue to thrive if it opted out of the 28-country bloc.
Actually I think the answer to Mr Neil’s questions was fairly obvious, not that Mr Osborne could admit it.
“Thousands of Scottish jobs re reliant on the export we sell within the EU”.
Mr Osborne backed the projection, despite the Treasury Select Committee arguing the impact for each household would be considerably smaller if Britain were to leave the EU.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, David Cameron warned: “If you love your country, you don’t want to act in a way that could lead to its breakup”.
Mr Neil showed another clip of Mr Cameron.
He has been accused of trying to scare Scots voters by using tactics reminiscent of the “Project Fear” deployed by Better Together in the run up to the Scottish independence referendum.
Referring to a Remain campaign poster quoting the figure, Mr Osborne said: “Leave that picture up, because people need to know”. It worked during the Scottish referendum campaign, and it worked during last year’s election campaign.
“For him to claim he’s anxious, when the facts show he can’t possibly be telling the truth, says all you need to know about his confidence in the Remain case”.
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Ms Sturgeon, who is backing Remain, said ahead of the debate that she believed the futures of both Scotland and the United Kingdom would be “fairer, more secure and more prosperous as part of Europe”.
