It has seemed that for a long time the crux of the unionist argument in the referendum debate concerning business in Scotland is that the debate itself is damaging Scotland's ability to attract inward investment; with many business leaders pulling their hair out in anguish at the uncertainty caused by the referendum. For unionists, they see the union as the only way Scotland attracts inward investment, with the UK still being a glittering beacon of international influence (never mind the downgraded credit rating). This reverence of the UK's ability to attract inward investment seems to hark back to reminiscence of the British Empire, as if the unionists still think that Britain is a global super-power, that is the only thing which allows Scotland to do business in far-reaching lands.
A recent report however by UK Trade and Investment, destroys this yet another unionist myth completely. The conclusions drawn from the report reveal that Scotland has seen a 16% rise in direct foreign investments over the 2012-2013 period, compared to the UK, which saw an 11% rise. This means that a total of 111 projects have been attracted to Scotland over this period, compared to 96 over the previous period. Further evidence to this rise in inward investment can be seen in a survey carried out by Ernest and Young last month. Which described Scotland's ability to attract inward investment as "Sparkling", with he highest number of international projects going in Scotland over the past 15 years.
This shows once and for all that the debate surrounding Scotland's constitutional future is not damaging its prospects concerning international investment; it could in fact be said that the prospects that independence is offering to Scotland is actually making our country a more attractive place for companies to do business here. This claim can be backed up, as the SNP have already made the promise to international businesses that under independence they would lower Scotland's corporation tax to a more competitive level in order to attract greater inward investment.
There is also evidence from actual business leaders that a No vote will in fact damage Scotland's prospects at attracting business. Jim McColl, one of Scotland's leading business figures, revealed in an interview that a No vote in the referendum would sap Scotland's ability to attract inward investment. As we would lack the economic levers that independence will give us to be more competitive, and that all the investments which could have been made in Scotland will instead go to London; as that is the only region of the UK which the UK government seems to be interested in.
This latest revelation has caused embarrassment amongst the members of Project Fear (a term for the "Better Together" campaign, as it has been revealed that people inside the campaign openly discuss it together as "Project Fear"). With George Osborne being called on to apologise to the people of Scotland for lying about the supposed damaging affect the referendum was having on Scotland's ability to attract inward investment.
This yet again reveals that 'Better Together' have no other goal in the referendum other than creating fear and uncertainty. Their one and only goal is to make sure that the people of Scotland are too scared to vote for their country's natural constitutional state, as an independent nation. This recent report only strengthens the point that Better Together is made up of nothing but lies and fear. The people of Scotland must realise now that our country has what it takes to be a successful independent nation that treats our citizens equitably, one that can be a beacon of progressiveness; and one that does not need to be tied to an unrepresentative, archaic, and imperial-structured state to do so.
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