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CBI chief sends strong message on Scottish independence

In a speech at the CBI Scotland Annual Dinner last night, director-general of the CBI John Cridland, said many businesses on both sides of the border are not convinced on independence.

Speaking at the event in Glasgow, with George Osborne in attendance, Mr Cridland said we should focus on the things Scotland and England want to do together.

He said: “For business, uncertainty is the biggest bogeyman of all. We do not want any more of it than is absolutely necessary.

“Here in Scotland the debate over independence - however necessary or merited that debate may be - is adding a thick layer of uncertainty.

“Reading the coverage, you could be mistaken for thinking that the only three issues are: when the referendum will be held; who’ll be able to vote; and what the phrasing of the question will be.”

Mr Cridland suggested it was wrong to focus on the differences in the relationship between England and Scotland,

He added: “We want effective transport, both within and across our borders. But would the same incentives be there in a separate future to share the costs in delivering high-speed rail to Glasgow and Edinburgh, or getting more ‘M’ all the way up the A1?

“And if people want to enjoy the benefits of our single market, we need to articulate better what these are, and so what’s on the line.

“There’s a raft of common laws and regulations which make operating across the different constituent parts of the union more efficient. So with corporation tax rates, company law, consumer protection, pensions and employment contracts we need to consider whether we want to act in concert, or apart.”

He finished by saying: “CBI Scotland Council is not convinced of the business and economic case for Scotland seceding from the union, and judges that businesses - Scottish, English, British - would lose out from the fragmentation of our UK single market.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .