ONE of Scotland's most successful businessmen says he fears voters will back independence and break up the Union if they are denied a choice on more powers for Holyrood in a referendum.
Jim McColl, the millionaire chairman of Clyde Blowers, said there was a clear appetite for more powers, and if it wasn't addressed then people might well pick independence over nothing.
He also hinted he may help lead or fund any public campaign for having more powers as a third option on the referendum ballot paper.
He told the Sunday Herald: "My fear would be that there are enough people out there that realise that the status quo isn't good enough.
"If the only option to get more powers is independence, then some people may be forced to go there that don't want to go there. That would be a strong argument for a third question [in the referendum]."
McColl, a supporter of the SNP and Alex Salmond but not of independence, said Westminster's attitude could also drive a break-up of the UK.
"All the polls are showing there isn't really the appetite yet.
"Maybe it would swing that way if the message coming from London was, 'Get back in your box, you're not getting anything else.' It would raise people's hackles."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article