Member Article

Business leaders urge a 'No' vote while Salmond pushes for the pound

With only one day left until the Scottish independence vote, regional business leaders are coming together to urge Scotland to vote ‘No’ to independence, while SNP leader Alex Salmond refuses to budge on the pound issue.

The leaders of the CBI’s regions and nations council network, together with the CBI’s President, Sir Mike Rake, are urging the people of Scotland to remain within the United Kingdom, arguing that the Union is the best way to grow the economy and boost jobs.

The heads of the CBI’s UK-wide network of 190,000 businesses have come together to make a direct appeal to the people of Scotland to stay together.

Meanwhile, SNP leader and figurehead of the ‘Yes’ campaign is already planning for devolution.He told Sky’s Adam Boulton: “All this stuff about being able to be vetoed from using the pound actually isn’t true.

“No one can stop us from using (it).”

Mr Salmond reiterated his desire to hold on to sterling, saying: “It’s sensible - England is our biggest trading partner, and Scotland is England’s second-biggest trading partner after the US.

“There will be a common sense agreement for a common currency.”

A joint statement from leaders of the CBI’s regions and nations council network: “As businesses operating in all parts of Britain, we believe that Scotland is stronger, and England, Wales and Northern Ireland are stronger, as a result of our partnership.

“We want Scotland to stay in the United Kingdom and hope you vote to do so. We believe that the prosperity of all people in the UK would be best served by Scotland remaining part of it.

“We know the last five years have been difficult for many people – both those in work and those trying to get jobs. Businesses need to and will do more to help improve living standards. But the economic recovery is now underway and keeping the United Kingdom together is the best way to grow the economy and boost jobs. That’s because we share an internal market of 64 million people, and almost 70% of Scotland’s exports are with the rest of the UK.

“The decision is rightly one for the people of Scotland to make – we hope you will vote to stay together.”

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, added: “While the referendum is a matter for Scottish voters, the message from our members, which employ half a million people in Scotland alone, is that we want Scotland to continue to play a strong role as part of this successful union.

“We believe that Scotland staying within the UK is the best guarantee for creating jobs, driving growth and for raising living standards. We hope the people of Scotland vote to stay with us.”

John Howie, Chairman of CBI Scotland, said:“We welcome this statement of support from businesses around the country, which recognises the essential contribution of Scotland to the Union, and the value of our social, cultural and economic partnership.

“We all want Scotland to thrive, and we believe that the best way of achieving this is for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom.”

Photo courtesy of the Scottish Government via Wikimedia, free to use under this Creative Commons licence.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .