Scotland 'could become a third world country' claims Sir Tom Hunter

Scotland is at the crossroads between a new Enlightenment and becoming a third world country, according to entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter.

Politicians, business people and teachers should follow the example of independent Fraserburgh-based brewery BrewDog whose mantra is "break the rules, take risks, upset trends and unsettle institutions", he said.

MSPs need to "put party politics aside" and back devolved fiscal responsibility, and not take too long in outlining the their arguments for and against independence.

Business people must stop aspiring to maintain 1% economic growth or risk making Scotland "a third world nation". Academia should stop "turning their nose up at vocational education" and train people to fill skills gaps rather than just pass exams.

Addressing a Business in Parliament conference at Holyrood on Friday, he said: "We in Scotland need fiscal responsibility. Quite simply, we need to be responsible for what we raise in tax and what we spend in tax.

"I don't know if we need independence yet. I'm still waiting to hear both sides of the argument. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long. But I do know that we need to have that debate.

"I believe our politicians of every hue have the maturity and decency to put party politics aside and do what is right for Scotland by coming together for our great nation. Government needs to deliver hope. Hope for our people. Hope for better times ahead."

He challenged everyone "to raise our game and invent the new Enlightenment" by getting "our business birth rate up". He added: "Small businesses account for more than half the job creation in the most of the G20 nations, but Scotland's recent history is not good enough.

"In 1998 I invested in the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde Uni and subsequently put more capital into enterprise education to try and help change the culture. In 2003 Scotland had 36 new business registrations per 10,000 adults. It's still the same.

"The irony is it was the Hunter Centre who could tell me that I had failed. We are collectively complicit in doing what we have always done or, at minimum, doing new things that haven't moved the dial one iota or maybe just a wee bit. But marginal growth cannot and will not secure our position as a leading small nation in the world."

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