Mackie warns of SNP’s ‘specious’ tactics
By Ian Fraser
March 11th, 2007
[Web only – this article unpublished elsewhere]
MAITLAND Mackie, the North-East ice-cream entrepreneur, has warned Scots against being seduced into voting for independence by what he calls the “specious” arguments of the Scottish National Party. Mackie warned that ending the union would create a worse environment for business and introduce barriers and costs that do not currently exist.
“Independence is a total irrelevance,” said Mackie. “It’s a of nonsense. Beware the charismatic politics of Scottish independence. Alex Salmond would have us believe that Scotland’s economy would rise phoenix-like from the ashes in the event of us becoming independent. But the reality would be very far from that. For a start there are not any ashes. Scotland’s thriving at the moment.”
Speaking at a debate on regenerating Scotland’s rural economy organised by the chartered surveyors Chalmers & Co last week, Mackie said: “In the economic area, I don’t believe a word the Nationalists say. In an era in which the world desperately needs co-operation, unity and joint agreement, the last thing we need is more division, conflict and confusion.”
Mackie, who founded Inverurie-based ice cream company Mackie’s of Scotland in 1987, is a member of the court of Aberdeen University, and is a former non-executive director of Lloyds TSB Scotland, and former chairman of Grampian Enterprise.
He warned that having SNP leader Alex Salmond as first minister would create a damaging climate of disharmony between Holyrood and Westminster that would almost certainly have commercial repercussions.
Mackie – whose company supplies to supermarket chains Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda and Wm Morrision, Waitrose – suspects that if Scotland became independent, his brand might struggle to gain shelf space. “There’s a serious danger we could be treated as a foreign business in our own major market. There’s plenty of goodwill at the moment, but it could quickly evaporate.”
He said having different regulatory regimes covering health and safety and food standards would “just put obstacles in our path.”
Mackie said that countries cited by nationalists as examples of economies that have benefited from independence in fact took years to find their feet. “Ireland became independent 85 years ago, and Norway became independent 102 years ago. There are few parallels between their current economic situations and what would happen in Scotland became independent.”
“Ireland did extremely well out of the EC from the 1970s onwards. But that was because it was very poor, very small and very agricultural. That sort of EU support would not be available to Scotland if it became independent. Scotland already has a thriving economy, and any EU money that’s available is going to the new accession countries.”
Mackie referred to a recent report from Oxford Economics that estimated Scotland is subsidized to the tune of £2000 per head by Westminster. The SNP dismissed the figure as “absurd”, saying it failed to allocate North Sea oil revenues to Scotland. However Mackie said he believes the report is accurate and that oil revenues would be insufficient to fill the gap. “I’m afraid the government of an independent Scotland would either have to spend less or tax more.”
He added: “This issue [independence] transcends party politics. Let’s ensure this irrelevant concept is well and truly dumped for ever, so that our Scottish parliament can concentrate on the crucial issues that directly affect us.”
Echoing the views of Havelock-Europa boss Hew Balfour and property tycoon David Murray, Mackie said: “The major business of our parliament is to deliver effective education and health services, better transport, a competitive economy and the protection of the environment. It’s not to there to organise or fund armies, navies and air forces, Customs & Excise, treasury and currency control, foreign policy, embassies, UN or NATO involvement. These last are best dealt with and financed at a UK level.”
Mackie’s of Scotland had sales of £7m last year and employs 70 people. Maitland Mackie has close connections to the Scottish Liberal Democrats. He stood as Lib Dem candidate for Banff & Buchan in the 1999 Holyrood elections and last year made a personal donation to the leadership campaign of Sir Menzies Campbell.
This article was commissioned by The Sunday Times Scotland but was never used in full.
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