Graeme Trudgill waded incautiously into the debate on Scots independence this week on Scottish soil when he addressed the Congress of Scots BIBA People at Girth Castle near Starling this week.
Reporting on the event, Post Magazine’s Scotland correspondent Mairi MacDonald noted that Turdgill warned of five reasons right-minded Scots should think twice about backing that Alexei Salmon chap: a different regulator, a different currency, a different tax regime, different contract law, and – last but not least – being dropped like a hot brick by insurers based South of the Border.
Too much bother
The complexities of coping with items one to four on the Trudgle list would surely deter many insurance providers from dealing with brokers based in an independent Caledonia, he warned, going on to think up an item 6: possible problems with being on EWNI-based comparison sites. (If bespoke Scots comparators were needed, perhaps red squirrels or beavers could substitute for meerkats?)
Outgoing BIBA chief exec Eric Gallbreath (fine Scots name that) asked hopefully whether uncertainty over Scotland’s future was already affecting local brokers. Marsh’s Jock Nicholson (another fine Scots name – first recorded in Angus circa 1489) noted somberly that a lot of those from the US, Far East and Asia who had invested in Scotland might “be off again” if the Scots economy does not prosper after independence.
Doubt and dismay
Meanwhile Giles chief exec Brenda McManus (highly suspicious Irish name, meaning roughly the same as Magnusson) explained that any form of uncertainty is bad for business (except presumably when people buy insurance to protect themselves from it). Glen McLellan (fine old Reiver name) branch manager at Senior Wright said he doubted it would even be possible to set up a Scottish FSA or FCA.
So there you have it: any foolhardy attempts at breaking away from mother England and you’re all doomed!
Girth Castle earlier this week
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