Charm offensive to Scots won’t be stretching to us

BUSINESS Secretary Vince Cable has been visiting Glasgow to sweeten the Scots and neuter the argument that the pre-eminence of London is stunting the growth of other parts of the UK.

The argument is one which is used by pro-independence campaigners, who maintain that without the almighty force of London attracting jobs and investment, Scotland would do much better.

Just seven months ago, Mr Cable described London as a “giant suction machine holding back improvements in other parts of the British Isles”. He made his controversial arguments on BBC Radio 4 while arguing that regional airports should be developed instead of Heathrow.

But yesterday he told an audience at engineering firm Weir Group that the Coalition has tried to rebalance the UK’s economy away from London, by looking to other sectors like fracking, bioscience and nuclear energy.

He said: “What is happening through our industrial strategy is that we're helping to rebalance the economy in a way that is much more helpful and has actually been quite beneficial to Scotland.”

Looking to London’s success may empower Scotland and make it more determined to succeed alone, if that is the outcome of September’s referendum. But Northern Ireland has a long way to go before it can look to London as a role model for economic development.

In the meantime, Scots will receive many more Cabinet visits as the Westminster charm offensive continues.