The Cost of Scotland Not Being Independent

Unionists have often argued against Scottish independence on the grounds that businesses would pull out of Scotland, damaging it's economy and resulting in a loss of jobs. Yet this argument is deeply flawed as the reality is that, with independence, many companies would actually choose to have representation in Scotland as it would be a sovereign nation.

There are a number of legal, financial, marketing, distribution and logistical reasons for this, but ultimately, the main reason that multi-national companies choose to have direct representation in those sovereign nations that they sell in, is to better market the products and services they provide. 

A case in point would be Ireland. Look closely at the labelling on most household products and you will see not only the UK (in most cases English) contact information, but also the contact details for the Irish market. The people based at these addresses are real employees and Ireland’s gain in terms of being independent translates into real jobs. Scotland, as a constituent member of the UK, has effectively ceded these jobs to England. Here are just a few examples from the likes of Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, Johnson & Johnson, Kelloggs, Colgate and GlaxoSmithKline:

Even Northern Ireland, a constituent part of the UK, has some level of representation independent of the British market in a way that Scotland not. For example, Coca-Cola in Northern Ireland is bottled in Northern Ireland (Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland in Lisburn, Co. Down), whereas the Scots have to drink English-bottled Coke. And companies like Lidl also have representation in Northern Ireland:

Of course these are examples of multi-nationals, but what about the indigenous industries in Scotland? The sad fact is that Scotland’s place at the heart of the Union has seen its manufacturing industry decimated. When was the last time you saw any household product that said “Made in Scotland” on it. And for those few products that are actually made in Scotland (with the notable exception of Whisky), companies have a nasty habit of labelling them as “Made in Great Britain”, rather than Scotland. One example is Crabbies, who make a rather excellent alcoholic ginger beer. Sadly however, they show no pride in having being produced in Scotland:

Now, if you were to ask companies like this why they don’t market themselves as being Scottish-made, they will no doubt tell you that they are trying to appeal to a wider market. In essence, they believe that people will not buy their products if they say that they were made in Scotland. This is absolute nonsense. After all, the Chinese manage to sell their goods to the English extremely well without a “Made in Great Britain” stamp on them.

The irony is that “Scottish”, as a marketing brand, actually sells extremely well. It conjures up romantic images in a way that “British" does not. The Scottish Whisky industry knows this only too well. After all, “British Whisky” sounds pretty unappealing in much the same way as British Wine does. The simple fact is that “British”, as a marketing brand, in not in any way romantic. Yet “English” or “Scottish”, as marketing terms, are romantic. You don’t hear of British Lakeland poets, for example. Think of Scottish Cheddar and it conjures up an image of something that is pure and clean. Likewise, think of English Cheddar and you’re probably imagining the beautiful Cheddar Gorge, where the cheese originated. Yet, call it “British Cheddar” and before you know it you’re thinking of some mechanically-produced cheese from an industrial estate outside Milton Keynes.

“British”, as a marketing brand is for many people associated with failed industries from another time: car companies that no longer exist, ships that are now built by the Koreans, household products that are now manufactured by the Chinese and electronics that are made by the Japanese. “British” conjures up an image that is out-dated and unreliable. And if you’re looking for one company that embodies all of this, then think of British Leyland. And who are they, you might ask? Who indeed.