Will other companies follow suit and move their headquarters south? (Press Association)

One of Britain’s biggest insurers has decided to quietly transfer its business out of Scotland to England. Should we be concerned?

As Scottish Widows rightly says, the move will streamline its business, transferring its eight life insurance businesses into one single entity.

As well as simplifying the corporate structure of the insurance arm of Scottish Widows parent company, Lloyds Banking Group, the move will also reduce overheads and improve capital efficiency and liquidity.

But many will ask why that entity could not be registered in Edinburgh, rather than London. The move will have a detrimental impact on Scotland’s gross national product (GNP) though not perhaps a huge one.

But it clearly amounts to a vote of no confidence in the prospects for an independent Scotland