Businesses argue against Scottish independence

Business leaders have come together to write a letter in which they urge people to vote no in next month's Scottish referendum, arguing that the economic case for independence has not been made with any authority.

Over 130 businesses from sectors as wide as banking, food, technology and engineering have put their support behind a united Great Britain.

The letter, which was published in the Scotsman, said that "much is at stake" when voters turn up to the ballot boxes on September 18th.

They explain that at present, economic ties in the UK are "very close" and help support up to one million Scottish jobs.

After much consideration, the group of businesses have concluded that to break away would have a negative impact.

"Uncertainty surrounds a number of vital issues including currency, regulation, tax, pensions, EU membership and support for our exports around the world; and uncertainty is bad for business," they outlined in their letter published in the newspaper.

"We should be proud that Scotland is a great place to build businesses and create jobs – success that has been achieved as an integral part of the UK, [which] gives business the strong platform we must have to invest in jobs and industry."

Responding to this, the lobby group Business for Scotland said that on the contrary, an independent Scotland would in fact be a huge benefit to the country.

At the start of the year, it outlined some of the key details supporting this, such as the fact it has a "rich and diverse economy", it is a net contributor to the UK, it generates "far more tax" than the UK average and has strong exports.

"The oil in the North Sea is worth over £1 trillion," Business for Scotland explained in January.

"There are at least 15-24 billion barrels of oil remaining which will continue long into the 21st century. Over 90 per cent of the tax revenue will go to an independent Scotland which can help to establish a national oil fund for future investment."