Leading Scots academics warn of meltdown for universities if Brexit goes ahead

They write: “Scottish universities stand to lose access and well-established co-operation opportunities to universities across the EU and students, academic staff and researchers at Scottish universities will see their future opportunities diminished, if, as expected, post-Brexit, free movement disappears.”

• READ MORE: David Mundell: N Ireland will not remain in European single market as part of Brexit deal

The academics point out that research and development at Scotland’s “world-beating universities” would also suffer, noting how seven of the top 50 colleges in the UK, which receive funding from the EU’s £70 billion Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, are Scottish.

“A loss of this funding will hit our students, lecturers and research in Scotland hard and with the continuing negative and damaging attitude to immigration into the UK, there are also concerns that a post-Brexit Scotland will be a less attractive destination all-round to attract leading academic talent,” they warn.

The university figures, who include Lord Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader who is Chancellor of the University of St Andrews, Maggie Chapman, Rector of the University of Aberdeen, and Malcolm Macleod, Professor of Neurology and Translational Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh, are worried that if students at Scottish universities were to lose access to the EU’s Erasmus exchange programme, then this would “further dent opportunities for young people to broaden their horizons”; in 2014 to 2016, almost 4,500 students from Scottish universities went abroad on either study or work placements.

“These are just some of the reasons why more and more people in Scotland are now calling out for a People’s Vote. We support this demand and believe it would be a democratic way to allow the people to take a decision on what their futures should be at the end of the Brexit process. It is the people that started the process and they should be the ones to end it, too,” say the academics.

As the Brexit talks now enter a critical phase, Whitehall insiders gave an upbeat assessment about the prospects of a deal on Britain’s withdrawal from the EU being agreed next week in Brussels.

As Theresa May briefed senior ministers on the state of the Brexit negotiations, one senior No 10 source said confidently: “Things are coming together.”

• READ MORE: Lord Kerr: prejudiced Little Englanders are hemming Scotland in

David Mundell was equally upbeat. He said: “It’s a moving and evolving position but the signs are positive going into next week’s October Council…It’s likely, with all the usual caveats,[we will] be able to conclude the withdrawal agreement and implementation period part of the discussion and take forward into the final Council[in November] the opportunity to conclude the future relationship.”

After Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionists threatened to vote down the Autumn Budget, the Scottish Secretary appeared sanguine, suggesting Arlene Foster and her colleagues would eventually fall into line.

“They too will be persuaded that the alternatives of a no-deal or a Corbyn government would not to be the benefit of them or Northern Ireland,” declared Mr Mundell.

He also made clear the suggestion doing the rounds at Westminster - that the Prime Minister was considering allowing Northern Ireland to stay in the single market while the rest of the UK was out of it - was plain wrong.

“Most reports in recent days in relation to what is and isn’t being proposed in relation to Northern Ireland are inaccurate. There is no plan for Northern Ireland to be in the single market,” he insisted.

Mr Mundell, stressing how maintaining the integrity of the United Kingdom was a fundamental issue for him personally, signalled that if Mrs May ever did concede to carving out Northern Ireland separately into the single market, he would resign.

In another development, the Secretary of State also confirmed the UK Government would seek the Scottish Parliament’s consent on the final piece of Brexit legislation, the Implementation and Withdrawal Bill, because there would be “elements of the Bill that require legislative consent”. This throws up the possibility of yet another confrontation between Westminster and Holyrood.

• READ MORE: Gordon Brown says second Brexit vote is 'only way to sort out the problem'

In other developments:

*Esther McVey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, failed to say if she backed the Chequers Plan but made clear she supported Mrs May.

*Jon Thompson, the HMRC chief, received death threats after warning that a customs plan backed by Brexiteers would cost firms £20 billion a year. No 10 said the death threats were very concerning and "completely unacceptable". The issue has been referred to Scotland Yard.

*Sir John Major condemned Tory Brexiteers for bullying Mrs May and behaving intolerably.

*Tony Blair urged Labour MPs to "hold firm" against Brexit and suggested voting down whatever deal the PM brought back to Parliament in the hope of forcing a second referendum.

*Sir Ivan Rogers, the former UK ambassador to the EU, branded the Chequers Plan a "pipe dream" and claimed there had been "culpable naivety" in the negotiations.

*The Government’s independent economic watchdog, the OBR, said the economy and public finances were likely to be weaker because of the Brexit vote than would have been the case if the country had decided to stay in the EU.

*Work has begun to enable the M26 motorway in Kent to be turned into a car park to deal with a no-deal Brexit.

• READ MORE: DUP threatens to vote down Budget if its 'blood red line' on Brexit breached

The open letter in full:

“We the undersigned are highly concerned about the potential which the impact of Brexit will have on the continued success of Scotland’s universities. With less than six months to go before we are due to leave the European Union, it is becoming clearer by the day that all of the possible Brexit outcomes will be damaging for Scotland the rest of the UK. Scotland overwhelming voted to stay in the European Union in the referendum in June 2016 and opinion polls have shown that if given the opportunity at the end of the process, Scottish voters would once again make that same decision.

"Scottish universities stand to lose access and well-established co-operation opportunities to universities across the EU and students, academic staff and researchers at Scottish universities will see their future opportunities diminished, if, as expected, post-Brexit, free movement disappears. If students at Scottish universities were to lose access to the EU’s ERASMUS exchange programme, this would further dent opportunities for young people to broaden their horizons, where between 2014 and 2016 almost 4500 students from Scottish universities went abroad on either study or work placements. Research and development at our world-beating universities will also face a hit, where according to the UK Government’s own statistics, there are 7 Scottish Universities in the top 50 in the UK when it comes to receiving EU Horizon 2020 funding. A loss of this funding will hit our students, lecturers and research in Scotland hard  and with the continuing negative and damaging attitude to immigration into the UK, there are also concerns that a post-Brexit Scotland will be a less attractive destination all-round to attract leading academic talent.

"These are just some of the reasons why more and more people in Scotland are now calling out for a People’s Vote. We support this demand and believe it would be a democratic way to allow the people to take a decision on what their futures should be at the end of the Brexit process. It is the people that started the process and they should be the ones to end it, too.

"Now is the time for Scottish politicians and Scottish political leaders to demonstrate that they are prepared to lead on this and commit to providing the people with their democratic say on the Brexit deal. Brexit is a big deal, but it is not a done deal.”  

Signatories (current – still ongoing):

Lord Menzies Campbell, Chancellor, University of St Andrews

Professor Frank Gunn-Moore, School of Biology, University of St Andrews

Maggie Chapman, Rector of the University of Aberdeen

Professor Gernot Riedel, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen

Professor Bettina Platt, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen

Professor Malcolm Macleod, Professor of Neurology and Translational Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh

Professor Peter Sandercock, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh

Professor Rustam Al-Shahi Salman, Professor of Clinical Neurology, University of Edinburgh

Professor Joanna Wardlow, Chair of Applied Neuroimaging, University of Edinburgh

Professor Richard Knight, Chair of Clinical Neurology, University of Edinburgh

Professor Catherine Sudlow, Head of Centre for Medical Informatics, University of Edinburgh 

Professor Crispin Bates, Professor of Modern and Contemporary South Asian History, University of Edinburgh

Professor Douglas Cairns, Professor of Classics, University of Edinburgh

Dr Richard Rawles, Lecturer in Greek, University of Edinburgh

Dr Guillaume Robin, Lecturer, school of History, Classics & Archeology, University of Edinburgh

Professor Donald Bloxham, Professor of European History, University of Edinburgh  

Professor Andrew Erskine, Professor of Ancient History, University of Edinburgh

Dr Cordelia Beattie, Senior lecturer in History, University of Edinburgh

Dr Mike Carr, Mediaeval Mediterranean History, University of Edinburgh

Dr Fabian Hilfrich, Senior lecturer in American history, University of Edinburgh

Professor John Peterson, Professor of International Politics, University of Edinburgh

Dr Tom Webster, Senior lecturer in History, University of Edinburgh

Professor Robert Anderson, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh