CBI loses members as opposes Scottish independence

By Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - Three of Scotland's oldest universities have joined an exit from Britain's leading business lobby group after it registered to campaign against Scottish independence, saying they wanted to stay neutral in the increasingly fractious debate. Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen universities withdrew from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) on Monday after it recorded its aim with the Electoral Commission of campaigning for Scotland to stay in the United Kingdom ahead of a September 18 referendum. Organisations or individuals have to register if they want to spend more than 10,000 pounds on campaigning during the official referendum period that starts on May 30. But the CBI's move was condemned by some members, who said the group had not sought their signoff over a decision that jeopardises their neutrality in the debate, prompting businesses, government organisations and universities to quit. Glasgow University said it had resigned its CBI membership in order to maintain impartiality, while Aberdeen and Edinburgh said it would be inappropriate to continue as CBI members as they had strictly neutral positions on independence "The University of Aberdeen does not take an institutional position on the constitutional future of Scotland. We believe that the role of a university is to inform the public debate through the contribution of its academic and research expertise," a spokesman said. The departures follow a list of businesses leaving the CBI, the leading group in Britain to represent large employers, for officially backing the pro-union campaign fighting independence as opinion polls show the race tightening. NO VOTE The latest ICM poll showed a decline in the "No" vote to 42 percent from 46 percent over the past month, while the "Yes" vote was steady at 39 percent. The remaining 19 percent were undecided. Some businesses operating in Scotland have tried to distance themselves from the debate over whether Scotland should end its 307-year tie to England, saying they have no vote in the process so should not take sides. The list to quit the CBI over the matter includes government organisations like development agency Scottish Enterprise and tourism group Visit Scotland, and companies such as broadcaster STV and wave energy firm Aquamarine Power. CBI Director General John Cridland said he was sad to lose Scottish university members but stood by the CBI's decision. The CBI has consistently ­argued that independence would cause uncertainty over issues such as currency, taxation, financial regulation and European Union membership and could harm Scottish businesses. "We are all in uncharted waters and recognise and respect that difficult decisions may need to be taken," Cridland said in a statement. "We have a clearly stated position that Scotland and the rest of the UK are stronger together on economic grounds as part of the union and this reflects the views of the vast majority of our members." Elsewhere former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is stepping up his efforts to stop Scotland leaving the UK and will on Tuesday make his first speech in support of the cross-party Better Together campaign. (Editing by David Holmes)