Scottish independence would condemn people south of the Border to permanent Conservative rule, according to comedian Alexei Sayle.

After announcing he is to return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the first time since 1980, Sayle said independence was "up to Scotland".

The Liverpudlian, well-known for his left-wing views, told The Herald: "Independence would be interesting in a way, to see how it works out.

"But I'm certainly not a fan of nationalism. Yes, it would be divisive. And I suppose from my point of view it would condemn the rest of us in England to an eternity of Tory rule."

He added, with a wry smile: "So if it happens, thanks for that."

Sayle's return to play the world's biggest arts festival will take the shape of a 13-show run as part of The Stand comedy club's festival programme.

Sayle said he could not resist the lure of the Fringe: "I've just started doing stand-up again [after a 17-year gap] and I've really enjoyed it.

"And to come to Edinburgh where the crowds are so knowing is fantastic. But I'm certainly not out to get my own TV show or get on 8 out of 10 Cats or anything like that. It's just to be in the environment."

He added, grinning; "And to be loved, of course. All comics are fragile. We need to be laughed at by strangers. It's a dire psychological need."

Sayle, 60, is certainly not out to seduce TV panel show producers. He despises the "blandification" of comedy, in which satirical panel shows "rehabilitate war criminals".

"If you want to be prime-time, to be mainstream, you have to subscribe to an undemanding Live At The Apollo bland view of Britain," he argued.

"I've nothing against these comedians, but perhaps the only person who's so successful but doesn't go bland is Frankie Boyle. He's a fantastic comedian. Some of his stuff is amazing, although some I don't like, but he is ploughing a really interesting furrow."

Does Sayle feel audiences are open again to political satire? "I don't want to sound messianic, but the sold-out shows I've done in London suggest audiences are more interested.

"I guess they're not getting the sort of material I do anywhere else, and I think the recession is starting to make people interested."

Sayle's new shows are described as more thoughtful.

"Yes, I've evolved," he admitted. "But I'm also coming back to the Fringe because I want to learn from young people.

"As you get older, you develop a kind of arrogance whereby you think because you've had the TV series and played the big rooms you know it all. But you never do. To do your work properly, you have to listen to people like Stewart Lee, Robin Ince and Richard Herring."

Sayle, who once had a fatwa taken out against him by a Muslim cleric after a mild joke on his BBC comedy show Stuff, said the Fringe experience has given him a lot to be grateful for.

"It was during my time in Edinburgh I added the final building block to my act," he said.

"I really bombed on the opening night, because everything I did was so neatly placed in chunks.

"So I spent the following day trying to work out what had gone wrong. And when I came back I sort of exploded the whole act - it really worked.

"The Fringe made me into the type of performer I've become."

Sayle's visit to Edinburgh this summer will undoubtedly be more comfortable than his last. "In 1980 we stayed in a caravan in the Pentland Hills," he recalled.