Independent Scotland won’t be cut adrift of UK funding, says Salmond

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond has rebuffed concerns that an independent Scotland could be cut off from the UK research councils.

Salmond was speaking during the First Minister’s Question Time in the Scottish Parliament on 6 June. He was responding to Murdo Fraser, Conservative MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife, who warned that independence could threaten the success that Scotland has achieved in winning 15 per cent of UK public and charitable research funding while only representing 8.5 per cent of the UK population.

“Without guarantees from the first minister about the future funding of research in our universities, surely our academics would be better to conclude that we are better together,” said Fraser.