Scots warned of business exodus
TWO BUSINESS heavyweights have issued the starkest warning yet about the damage Scottish independence could do, claiming that it could push companies to leave the nation and start again in England to avoid financial uncertainty.
The news will come as a devastating blow to Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond, who is using the value generated by Scottish businesses as part of his argument for independence.
One of the largest businesses in Scotland, Standard Life, yesterday became the first to formally declare it is considering plans to move its operations south of the border to protect the investments of its customers.
Group chairman Gerry Grimstone said he hoped the company could continue to operate in Scotland, where it has been based for 189 years, but added: “If anything were to threaten this, we will take whatever action we consider necessary – including transferring parts of our operations from Scotland – in order to ensure continuity and to protect the interests of our stakeholders.”
Grimstone called for more clarity from politicians over currency union plans and how businesses would be regulated if Scotland split from the rest of the UK later this year. So far Westminster politicians have been resolute in their assertion that Scotland would not be able to keep the pound, or use the Bank of England as lender of last resort.
Speaking to City A.M, WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell warned that Standard Life will be the first of many companies to consider leaving Scotland.
“Alex Salmond is a very strong communicator, as is Nigel Farage. Both are populists and both are popular in times of economic uncertainty,” he said. “All these things encourage uncertainty and a lot of people are concerned.”
Scottish finance secretary John Swinney accused David Cameron of “bluff, bluster and bullying” over the Scottish vote and urged Standard Life to stay, adding: “Standard Life’s strengths lie in its workforce here in Scotland.”
Meanwhile ratings agency Standard & Poors warned that an independent Scotland “would begin life with comparatively high levels of public debt, sensitivity to oil prices, and, depending on the nature of arrangements with the EU or UK, potentially limited monetary flexibility.”