Scotland independence would be disaster for whole UK - John Major

LONDON, Sept 10 (KUNA) -- Nearly a week ahead of a referendum on Scotland independence from the United Kingdom, former UK prime minister John Major warned Wednesday a 'yes' vote would be a disaster for all the UK.
"If Scotland voted to leave it would be disastrous for the whole of the UK," Major told the BBC Radio 4.
He stated that the UK would lose the strategic nuclear Trident base in Scotland.
"Firstly because Trident is in Scotland our defence would be imminently weakened. There are a lot of Scots in the British army. We would lose Trident, which has been our protection for a long time. If we lost Trident not to an enemy but to the actions of a neighbour - that would be just extraordinary.
He cautioned that the UK is facing prospect of losing its leading role in NATO.
"Our role in NATO would be reduced. Our relations consequently with the US would be damaged.
Major also argued that the Scotland independency would weaken the UK's international standing.
"The United Kingdom would be weaker in every international body it attends. It would certainly be weaker in the EU in the forthcoming negotiations. We would lose our seat at the top table in the UN." Major said the referendum, itself regardless of the result, would change the governance of the rest of the UK, which would move to a "quasi-federalist system".
"Both of those are going to feed a demand for more devolution to the English and Welsh regions - the north east, north west, Birmingham and Wales. That is going to have quite a lot of constitutional implications that we are going to have to deal with.
"We are moving inexorably towards a quasi-federalist system as a result of the extent of devolution." Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff from 2009 to 2013, argued that the plans to remove Trident nuclear bases from an independent Scotland would "add a dangerous period of destabilisation" to the UK's nuclear defence posture.
He added that a Yes vote would be "deeply worrying" for the country's allies in Scandinavia and the Baltic.
"Your plans for the removal of all nuclear submarines from Faslane in the event of Scottish independence would add a dangerous period of destabilisation in our nuclear defence posture at a time when the international picture is clearly deteriorating," he wrote in a letter to Alex Salmond, First Minister; Leader, Scottish National Party.
"On top of this, Scottish independence and its exit from Nato would be deeply worrying and unpopular with many of Scotland's natural allies, particularly our friends in Scandinavia and the Baltic who depend on the United Kingdom for mutual defence of air space and territorial waters. Scotland has contributed so much to our collective security over the years that it would be tragic if it now came to be regarded as the weakest link in our defence shield". (end) kd.ibi