Brown says ‘the UK will collapse – just like the empire’

Ex-PM’s warning over divisions in Scotland

Gordon Brown has warned that the UK will collapse “in this century just as the British Empire collapsed in the last” without urgent reform.

The former prime minister, pictured, said Scotland risks becoming “one of the west’s most divided countries” as debates on independence and Brexit continue to rage.

Mr Brown’s comments come as a major new poll laid bare Scotland’s deep divisions on some of the key constitutional issues.

The YouGov survey of 2,500 Scots, conducted last week, shows that, in the wake of the Brexit and independence referendums, 57% believe Scotland is now divided. By contrast, only 16% think that Scotland is a united country.

Of those who agree Scotland is a divided nation, nearly half fear that the divisions left by independence and Brexit will last for a generation and may never be healed.

Mr Brown, speaking ahead of a conference in Newcastle today, said: “The poll shows Scotland is at risk of becoming one of the west’s most divided countries – and stuck in a rut. I want us to break out of the trench warfare from which everyone loses out.”

The polling was commissioned by Our Scottish Future to assess the scale of division in Scotland left by a decade of constitutional upheaval.

Almost half of those polled said that division attributed to Brexit and independence had eroded trust in Scotland’s political system, and more than a third agreed that the division made it less likely they would discuss politics with casual acquaintances.

Only 2% agreed with the statement that the divisions would be overcome within the next year.

Mr Brown added:

“Scotland looks more like two nations not the united country I’d like it to be.

“Divisions over independence and over a referendum are now spilling over into other areas – the future of the pound, the future of Scotland’s relations with Europe, the priorities we give to health, education and high-quality jobs and the environment.”

The ex-Labour leader also hit out at Boris Johnson, saying the prime minister “is not offering any new ideas... other than cosmetic gestures”.

He added: “Many people fear the UK will collapse in this century just as surely as the British Empire collapsed in the last.

“We need not only to listen and learn, but then have the courage to change and reform.

“All of us who love Scotland and want the best for its future know Scotland deserves better than this. It’s time to do something radically different – work together, not pull apart.”

Andrew Bowie, vice-chairman of the Conservative Party for the Union, said Mr Brown was correct in “some ways” but dismissed suggestions that the prime minister did not take Scotland seriously.

The West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP said: “Many friendships and families were wounded by the independence debate in the run-up to 2014.

“Even though Scotland voted to stay part of the United Kingdom, the SNP won’t let the country heal.

“But the notion that a record increase in Scottish funding is ‘cosmetic’ is laughable. Any tribalism in Scottish politics has been more than matched by Labour’s attitude under Jeremy Corbyn.

“We need to put ‘us and them’ aside and do better for Scotland and the UK.”

SNP deputy leader Keith Brown rejected Mr Brown’s analysis and pointed to a YouGov survey of 1,000 Scots last month which showed more than half did not trust the ex-chancellor.

He said: “Polling shows the people of Scotland don’t trust a word Gordon Brown says on Scotland’s future – and it’s no wonder, when he would opt for the Tories’ Brexit shambles instead of independence.”

“We need to have the courage to change and reform”