THE UK Government will fear other parts of the country breaking away should Scotland become an independent nation, an academic has said.
Speaking at a fringe event on the border arrangements of an independent Scotland during the SNP conference, Professor Anand Menon – director of the think tank UK in a Changing Europe – told party members there would be a fear that should an independent Scotland be successful in the EU, it could act as a “role model” for Northern Ireland in a future border poll.
In the same meeting, Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson said Scotland’s success as a member of the EU would be a boost for the rest of the UK, allowing the country to be a “bridge” to explain “the needs, interests, concerns and expectations of the rest of the United Kingdom”.
