Pro-Union academics ‘scared to speak out’
SCOTLAND’S university chiefs are afraid to speak out against independence for fear of ‘retribution’ over funding, an eminent scientist claimed yesterday.
Nobel laureate Sir Paul Nurse said academics were staying silent to avoid any risk of cuts. He called on the Scottish and UK Governments to guarantee this will not happen.
His comments were echoed by Sir David Carter, former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, who said university principals who oppose independence feel ‘constrained and unable to speak out’.
At a Better Together event in Edinburgh yesterday, Sir Paul – who heads the Francis Crick Institute in London, Europe’s biggest centre for biomedical research – said: ‘I’m hearing that some in our universities feel inhibited about speaking out because of the fear of retribution in relation to future funding.
‘I do not know if this is correct but I am sure politicians in both Scotland and the rest of the UK will want
‘Something is not quite right’
an open and free debate, as it is so central to the democratic process and coming to the right decision.
‘We should remember it was open and free debate which drove the Scottish Enlightenment.
‘To promote this important debate, both the Scottish and UK Governments should endorse a free and open expression of views from academics and make it clear that there would be no subsequent retribution concerning funding regardless of the views expressed and the final outcome of the referendum.
‘This is essential for the democratic process and if the right decisions about this extremely important constitutional issue are to be made.’
Although Sir Paul admitted he was unsure if specific threats had come from SNP Ministers, he suggested the levels of fear in the academic community meant ‘something is not quite right’.
He added: ‘Academics never like getting in the boxing ring much. With all this talk of bullying and the abuse that can go with it, the debate seems to be driven too much by short-term political advantage. It is not the way to have this debate.’
Sir David said: ‘We have a concern the general public might take silence on the part of the Scottish universities as tacit support of the Scottish Government line on independence.
‘I wrote to the principals of the five Scottish universities with medical schools and said, “Am I right to assume that as principals of these universities you feel constrained and unable to speak out about independence?”. The answer came back, “Yes, we do feel constrained and unable to speak and we would apply that not just to ourselves as principals but to our senior management as well”.
‘I haven’t the slightest doubt in my mind that these people will all be voting No.’
Referring to a poll published last week that suggested the No campaign has a 17 percentage point lead, he said: ‘It looks to me as if Scotland is awake after all. It looks to me like our belief in the canniness of the Scot is going to be justified. People are not that stupid. It will not be all right on the night, as the Nationalists keep telling us.’
A spokesman for Education Secretary Michael Russell said: ‘Academics at universities in Scotland and elsewhere are playing a very active and welcome part in the referendum debate and the fact that there are academic campaigns on either side of the referendum shows how open and vigorous that debate is. For example, 60 academics have signed a public statement in support of a Yes vote.
‘As the professors themselves say, there is no evidence for their concerns and, as all academics know, funding is determined by the Funding Council, which is made up of academics and universities themselves, not by government or politicians.’