Vince Cable: Scottish Independence ‘disruption’ would be greater than Brexit

A second Scottish independence referendum would mean even greater "uncertainty and disruption" than the current Brexit turmoil, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince cable has said.

And has dismissed criticism of the Lib Dems' support for a Peoples' Vote - while rejecting a second independence referendum.

SNP Deputy leader Keith Brown said independence would be the "opposite" of Brexit in a keynote speech in Aberdeen at the weekend and Nicola Sturgeon is set to outline her plans for a second vote on leaving the UK in the coming weeks.

Vince Cable issued independence warning

Cable was in Scotland at the weekend for the Lib Dems' Spring conference and rejected claims that the breakdown of Westminster politics over Brexit means Scots are now ready to listen to the case for independence.

"In a way, I would've thought the dynamic was in the opposite direction," Cable said.


"When you can see the chaos and upheaval that has been created by trying to leave the European Union with which we have very strong ties, but not overwhelming, the fact that business has just stopped investing.


"There has been very, very disruptive consequences. The consequences of breaking up the UK which is much more tightly integrated than we are with Europe would be even bigger and I suspect that not too many people in Scotland would be entranced with the idea of piling on more uncertainty and disruption than they're getting at the moment."

Mr Brown insisted Scots are ready to listen to the case for independence as a result of the "meltdown" in UK politics over Brexit.

“Brexit Britain offers narrow isolationism – while independence offers the opposite," he said at the weekend.

The Lib Dems have been faced accusations of hypocrisy over their support for a second Brexit referendum - a People's Vote - while ruling out calls for a similar re-run for the Scottish independence referendum. But Cable rejected comparisons between the two.

He added: "There is an established principle in countries that do have referendums that if there is a vote for major constitutional change, you then have a vote to confirm it which is what we're seeking in the case of Brexit. We now see the end product - is this what you voted for, is this what you want? Or do you want to stay with the status quo?


"Scotland has never voted for major constitutional change in the form of independence, so there's no need to have a confirmatory referendum."