AFTER the EU referendum, Nicola Sturgeon and Sadiq Khan met to discuss the future of their respective country and city. For the First Minister, the result was one more reason why Scotland could no longer be part of the UK. For the London Mayor, it was a threat to London’s economic, cultural and social success. Despite a temptation for both country and city to turn their back on England, there’s a case for London and Scotland going together and continuing to fight for a seat at the table.
This nascent alliance is in some respects surprising. Relations have not always been easy. Alex Salmond, when First Minister, lambasted London as the “dark star of the economy”. Ms Sturgeon has been keen to emphasise London as an opportunity for Scotland rather than a threat. This position, echoing a shared internationalist outlook and history, has been strengthened by Brexit. Like Scotland, London voted confidently to remain in the EU so there’s a degree of solidarity in terms of shared disappointment at the result, and a determination not to let the worst of Brexit bring either down.
There are a many ways in which we should work together. We should, join forces in calling for greater powers for our regions. In London, many of us greeted the possibility of a second referendum on Scottish independence with mixed emotions, among them jealousy. Some have argued for London to seek independence too.
While Ms Sturgeon has been cautious about calling for a second referendum, independence remains a possibility for Scotland in a way that it does not for London. But more devolved powers might be in play, not only to preserve the Union but also to preserve the economic dynamism that London brings to the UK: a version of Brexit that shatters neither the United Kingdom nor its entire economy.
We should also continue to campaign together for regional visas, which would allow those parts of the UK that value openness and access to talent to continue to welcome migrants. There are 20,000 EU workers employed in Scotland’s financial sector and 44,000 in London’s. Like Scotland’s, London’s EU residents are more likely to be employed in higher skilled occupations than elsewhere in the country.
Rather than losing the world’s leading financial hub of London in the hope that businesses will chose Edinburgh over Frankfurt or Paris, imagine the economic clout of twin financial hubs of Edinburgh and London, joined by regional visas and a passporting system. To date the Government has rejected the idea, but on pretty weak grounds, arguing that a regional system would “complicate the immigration system, harming its integrity, and cause difficulties for employers with a presence in more than one part of the UK”.
This collaboration need not only be for the benefit of the financial services sector. It’s not uncommon for businesses located in London to set up office in other UK cities and a targeted campaign could see London and Scotland build on their increasing strengths, for example, in the technology sector.
Another area for joint concern and collaboration is higher education. Both London and Scotland have world-class reputations for outstanding education institutions. Of the 12 UK universities ranked in the top 100, six are in London and Scotland. But these successes are also under threat. Not only do we risk an exodus of academics, and indeed have already seen indications of declining applications from Europe, we also risk losing access to a global market of student and European research funding.
London and Scotland’s universities must work together to send a clear message to central government that it is essential that they can continue to collaborate with colleagues across the EU, and also make the case for student visas.
As with all things post-Brexit, the exact nature of a London-Scotland alliance is yet to be determined. Yet their economic clout, combined with political attitudes at present towards Europe and migrants, mean that London and Scotland could gain by working closely together rather than let Brexit drag them further apart.
Kat Hanna is research manager at Centre for London. The think tank is running The London Conference today to discuss London’s place in the world and its relationship with the rest of the UK after the EU referendum.
Join in the conversation online: #LonConf16.
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 here