AN INDEPENDENT Scotland would leave the influence of the North of England greatly "diminished", the chair of the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has warned.
Former chairman of Northern Foods and Express Dairies Lord Haskins has expressed concerns about a possible yes vote in September, when Scots take to the polls to decide whether or not to leave the UK.
The one-time Labour peer – now a crossbencher – suggested that the North, including the Hull and Humber area, would be left even more isolated in the Tory-dominated and London-centric South.
He said: "In the mainly Conservative South, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North generally, benefited from its relationship with Scotland. Combined, the two regions had some clout.
"But if the Scots decide to leave the UK, that clout will be largely diminished; the Scots may well find their economy prospers at the expense of the North's."
Lord Haskins said that in the event of a yes vote, regions such as Yorkshire and the Humber would lose an important ally in the fight to secure northern interests.
Setting out the imbalance of regional influence, he said: "The concentration of corporate power in London has been far more damaging to Britain than many people realise, certainly far worse than the concentration of politics.
"It's really about the decision- making process and the impact that such decisions have on areas outside of London – and it's not a good one."
He described it as "a very sad reflection on this country that we allowed all this power to concentrate in one city".
He said: "There's no doubt in my mind that the regions have been neglected as a result."
The peer insisted that the benefits of the city of London to the British economy "are grossly overstated".
Lord Haskins, who was appointed as head of the Humber LEP in October 2011, said he could not be confident that Scottish voters would choose to remain part of the Union.
"I don't think there's any reason to be confident of a no vote. To be otherwise is to be naïve," he said.
"And for perverse reasons, Scotland is likely to vote yes. The negative no campaign will do it no favours."
Asked if Scotland would suffer financially from going it alone, he said: "I should think they'll be fine – it's not Scotland I'm worried about."
The businessman's comments come amid reports that the Labour former chancellor Alistair Darling has effectively been sidelined from the Better Together anti-independence campaign.
Douglas Alexander, the Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury, is to take charge of the no side, after disquiet from David Cameron over Mr Darling's performance.
Scotland will decide its fate on September 18.
