Brexit x 10!

That’s cost of independence says Sturgeon’s OWN expert

ONE of Nicola Sturgeon’s own economic advisers has admitted Scottish independence would be ‘Brexit times ten’ and would ‘hurt a lot’.

The damning assessment from Professor Mark Blyth, a Scots-born American academic, is a devastating blow to her separation ambitions.

He was announced as a member of Ms Sturgeon’s council of economic advisers in July, with the Scottish Government boasting that it would ‘bring forward bold ideas that will transform the economy’.

However, despite being pro-independence himself, Professor Blyth paints a less rosy picture than the SNP of what separation would mean for ordinary Scots.

In an interview days before his appointment, he said the possibility of another referendum had arisen out of Brexit.

But he added: ‘If your argument is that we need to do this because of Brexit, then Scotland separated from England is the biggest Brexit in history. The last time Scotland was fully economically independent, the word capitalism hadn’t been uttered.

‘It [the Union] has been together for over 300 years. So, if pulling apart 30 years of economic integration with Europe is going to hurt, 300 is going to hurt a lot.

‘That means one of two things. Either you have brass-plate independence – you declare independence, you get a vote, but nothing really changes, you put up some brass plates in Edinburgh, and nothing really changes, you keep the pound and all that stuff.

‘Or you go for regulatory divergence – different currency, different economic policy, etc, which will entail significant short to medium term costs. There’s no way around that. We know that because it’s Brexit times ten.’

In the interview with the Foreign Press Association, Professor Blyth said: ‘Scotland’s imports to GDP is about 60 per cent, which means it’s a small, open economy. Sixty per cent of exports go to England, the thing you’re about to separate from. You’re about to put barriers in between that for 60 per cent of your exports. That’s going to hurt.’

And in a warning that will horrify Nationalists, he suggested an independent Scotland might need to keep nuclear weapons on Trident submarines to get into the EU.

He said: ‘If the first thing you do is basically say to Nato that, “We’re not going to host your nukes any more, and your submarine access is cut off, and you can’t dock in our ports”, they’re going to make life very difficult. And if you do that from the European side, don’t expect them to be too forthcoming on EU membership.’

Last night, the SNP’s opponents called on Ms Sturgeon to drop her independence obsession and focus on rebuilding the economy.

John Ferry, Scots Lib Dem finance spokesman, said: ‘Mark Blyth is correct in his assessment that separating Scotland from a 300-year-old fully integrated state will be a far more damaging version of Brexit.

‘That one of Nicola Sturgeon’s own economic advisers admits secession would cost Scotland dearly should be a wake-up call to

‘Different currency, economic policy, etc, will entail costs’

‘Sixty per cent of exports go to England’

the SNP-Green Government, whose separation agenda looks more extreme than ever.

‘Scexit is clearly not in Scotland’s national interest, and it is about time the First Minister and her colleagues stop indulging in the fantasy that separation can be achieved without inflicting immense damage on Scotland’s economy.’

Donald Cameron, Scottish Conservative constitution spokesman, added: ‘The SNP need to drop their obsession with breaking up our country and focus on what really matters – rebuilding our economy and our recovery from Covid.’

A spokesman for Ms Sturgeon said: ‘Scotland has been torn out of the EU against our democratic will, causing massive harm to our economy and society. Brexit is inflicting huge labour shortages, leading to empty shelves in shops.

‘Independence will give us the chance to rejoin a market around seven times bigger than the UK.’