Letters | 14 May 2011

Parting could be sweet

Sir: Your leader (‘Disunited Kingdom’, 7 May) omitted to mention that if Scotland becomes independent, tens of thousands of British government jobs will be moved to England, and as many again from the private sector will invigorate our northern cities, as the financial organisations now based in Edinburgh will have to move their operations to be based in the country in which most of their business is transacted. Obviously, the Shetland Islands will have to be given the option of independence from both England and Scotland, which they will undoubtedly accept, and the North Sea oil fields will then be divided between the three countries according to international law. The Shetland Islands will get by far the greatest share, but given our greater economic clout, I would expect that England would be able to offer a better deal for the oil than Scotland, so that is a further benefit.