One of the
things many have been waiting on during the Independence debate has been the
business friends of Scottish Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to
come up with a sound and reasoned argument as to why they would not invest in
Scotland between now and the referendum. That they think that they have found a
champion in Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSE) whilst showing an ever
developing desperate ability to grasp at straws.
No matter how
this story is reported by the BBC or the
increasingly embarrassing Scotsman, SSE at no point said that the timing of the
referendum would lead to job losses or have an effect on any future jobs and
investment. The company merely pointed out that future investment would have to
take into consideration any regulatory and legislative changes to the industry
that may take place after independence.
The company is
not interested in whether Scotland
leaves the union or not, only what it means to its profits.
There is of
course no prospect of any changes in the way the industry operates across
borders.
The SSE story is
not an example of what Michael Moore
has been promising. What it is though is a one of the big power companies
throwing its weight about and trying to influence democratic government. They
have done this successfully at Westminster
and probably see no reason why they shouldn’t try it on with Edinburgh .
What should
concern SSE though, is that a Government of an independent Scotland
might not be as compliant as Westminster
when it comes to allowing them to put thousands more people into fuel poverty
every year in name of profit. Especially when renewables, such as
hydro-electricity, in Scotland
might be seen as way of subsidising prices in the south of England .