Scotland: Yes Vote Gaining Ground On Islands

Higher Prices And Job Threats If Scots Quit UK

Updated: 12:32pm UK, Thursday 11 September 2014

Alex Salmond has demanded the Government investigates a "Treasury leak" of RBS plans to move its HQ to London in the event of independence.

The Scottish First Minister said that divulging market sensitive information to the press ahead of an official announcement was "as serious a matter as you can possibly get".

Mr Salmond claimed a "Treasury source" had told journalists on Wednesday night that the bank, which employs a 11,500 people in Scotland, would be re-registering its base in London if there is a Yes vote next week.

He said the rules were quite clear and the details should not have been leaked ahead of the official announcement after the markets opened at 7am on Thursday morning.

The move by the bank was widely regarded as a significant blow to Mr Salmond's Yes campaign.

In a statement, RBS, which has been based in Scotland since 1727, said it had made the decision because there were a "number of material uncertainties arising from the Scottish referendum vote which could have a bearing on the bank's credit ratings".

The state-backed bank will now press the Government to introduce legislation that would speed up the process for them to relocate their legal headquarters in the English capital.

The department store giant John Lewis also warned that shoppers in Scotland could expect higher prices if it votes for independence because retailers would no longer be willing to absorb the higher cost of trading there across the UK.

Clydesdale Bank has also confirmed it would be re-registering in England if voters opted for independence and Standard Life, which employs 5,000 in Scotland, said it would move some operations south of the border.

It moves the referendum battleground to matters of the "head" and the country's crucial financial services sector, which generates around £7-9bn each year and employs 100,000.

The announcement follows David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg's last-minute campaign visit on Wednesday during which they took it in turns to appeal to matters of the "heart" in an attempt to bolster support for the No campaign.

Mr Salmond claimed the moves were part of a political campaign by the UK Government and said they would have no impact on jobs or the corporation tax Scotland might receive.

He said a letter to Scottish staff from the chief executive of RBS made clear the registering of an HQ in London was a "technical procedure" and would not mean job losses.

His comments were backed by former RBS chairman Sir George Mathewson,who said: "This is a nonsense, this has already happened. RBS already has major head office operations in London. Talk of a move from Scotland is a figment."

RBS has not said there will be no job losses and, according to Sky's Political Editor Faisal Islam, typically such moves see several hundred redundancies.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown said Mr Salmond could not continue to ignore the warnings of retailers, oil companies and the financial services sector.

He said: "John Lewis has warned about prices and many other supermarkets are going to say the same. The oil companies have warned about cuts in investment, which will affect jobs in Scotland."

Mr Brown also said he would stand as a member of Scottish parliament if Mr Salmond did not "stop peddling lies" about the NHS.

On Thursday morning Sir Charlie Mayfield, the chairman of John Lewis, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "From a business perspective there will be economic consequences to a Yes vote, not just in uncertainty but some of the turmoil we are hearing about.

"And it is also the case that it does cost more money to trade in parts of Scotland and therefore those hard costs, in the event of a Yes vote, are more likely to be passed on."

While hundreds of businesses have also made public their support for independence the Lloyds RBS move will come as a significant boost to the No campaign.

A Survation survey poll found 53% of Scottish people were expected to vote no to independence, while 47% would vote yes - this was unchanged from August 28.

Speaking in Edinburgh on Wednesday, Mr Cameron said he would be "heartbroken" if the Union were to split and said he cared more for his country than his party.

And he warned voters they should not use the referendum just to give the "effing Tories" a kick because once they made their decision there would be no way back.

He and Mr Clegg have returned to London but Mr Miliband remains in Scotland. UKIP leader Nigel Farage is expected to visit on Friday.

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