A UK Government minister has claimed people in the north-east are more concerned about the impact of the Common Fisheries Policy than they are about independence.
Secretary of State for Wales, Stephen Crabb, who has relatives on his mother Jackie’s side in Fraserburgh and Aberdeen, said people regarded the policy – a set of rules for managing fishing fleets and stocks – as a “disaster” and wanted it reformed.
The Conservative MP, who was born in Inverness and raised in Wales, said the issue had led to growing euroscepticism in Scotland and reinforced the need for an in-out referendum on European Union membership in 2017.
Mr Crabb said he rejected the Scottish Government’s argument that the contest represented the biggest threat to the country’s place in the EU.
“People feel strongly about the referendum but go and talk to people in the north-east about the Common Fisheries Policy and you get a very strong reaction,” he added.
“It highlights the difficulty Mr Salmond is going to have if, upon independence, he thinks he can just walk easily back into the EU.
“There will be powerful voices inside the EU who do not want an independent Scotland joining and people in Scotland who have pretty strong opinions about that.
“People regard the CFP as a disaster for fishing, you should not underestimate the strain of euroscepticism in Scotland.”
Mr Crabb claimed there was a growing desire in Scotland for a change in Britain’s relationship with Europe.
“What we want to present to voters in 2017 is to show them how we can win concessions from Europe so we have a relationship that is less intrusive, less burdensome, and makes businesses more competitive.
“We want to get an improved relationship to offer to the people of the UK and if we can achieve that, we will be campaigning to stay in hopefully.”
Mr Crabb, MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire, claimed there would be “enormous disappointment and dismay” if Scotland left the UK but warned that the Welsh would strongly object to a currency union.
Mr Crabb said: “We say this with a heavy heart, there is no sense of wanting to see Scotland punished.
“But we do not want to see the strength of our currency put at risk by an untested currency union with what would become a separate country.”