“DUMP this nonsense now.”

It’s a blunt statement, but Matt Boyle is unequivocal.

The president and chief executive of Gateshead-based electric vehicle car parts maker Sevcon is unswerving in his assessment of an independent Scotland.

As Alex Salmond and Alistair Darling continue their verbal jousts and wrangling over the pound ahead of the September 18 referendum, for Mr Boyle, the debate is simple.

He said: “Let’s dump this nonsense once and for all and help ourselves by working together as one.

“People may think this is a foregone conclusion no vote.

“Let’s avoid that complacency and make sure the no vote gets out and we quash this appallingly bad idea once and for all, or at least in my lifetime.

“As a Scot, I was brought up to know there was definitely a North South divide, but then that started at Watford Gap.

“Over the years, playing on a rightfully proud nation’s feelings of injustice at being ruled over by a group of privileged, detached, sound-bite loving Westminster politicians, a political minority in Scotland has moved this line North.

“But, exposed during the live debate between Salmond and Darling, was the lack of robust policies for the crucial questions of what to do about the pound, EU membership, defence and pensions.

“To my mind, the yes campaigners seem almost blasé to the challenges facing a Scotland that would have to stand on its own two feet, and compete in a very competitive and unforgiving world.

“As a person who runs a business, the last thing you need in a very challenging business environment is political instability.

“Certainty helps investment, innovation and growth.

Let’s put the energy, intellect and investment into growing together.”

Such a view jars sharply against Alex Salmond’s position.

The leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister of Scotland, is equally unmoved in his stance.

He says an independent Scotland will put it among the 20 wealthiest countries in the world, ahead of the UK, France and Japan.

Figures back up his assertion, with Scotland’s oil and gas reserves valued at £1,500bn and its chemicals sector worth an estimated £9.3bn.

Scottish yes voters also say it will enable greater control over taxes to attract more companies to the country, who will deliver jobs and greater prosperity.

But Mr Boyle disagrees, saying lessons should be learned from Scotland’s previous attempts to go it alone.

He added: “Separation may make some North of the border feel good about themselves, but the reality is that such separation will have many adverse unforeseen consequences.

“A previously independent Scotland had to be rescued by the Bank of England back in 1707, and if this latest independent incarnation succeeds there is every likelihood history will repeat itself.”

The feelings are strong, but how does the debate affect North-East businesses and what implications could emanate from an independent Scotland?

The region certainly has a strong relationship with business north of the border, particularly with Aberdeen, which is hailed by many as Europe’s energy capital and is a major source of employment for North-East workers.

For example, engineer Henry Williams Limited, which provides control and signalling equipment for the UK rail network, moved from Glasgow to Darlington to 113 years ago.

Darlington’s Cleveland Bridge is working on a contract to build the new Forth Road Bridge, supplying massive steel girders to will support viaducts at either end of the 1.7-mile long structure.

The bridge will be west of the existing Forth Road Bridge, also built by Cleveland Bridge, in 1964.

The Aberdeen-headquartered Wood Group previously took over Gateshead-based industrial coatings firm Pyeroy, with Stockton’s Francis Brown working with Aberdeen subsea specialist Schoolhill Hydraulic Engineering, to focus on oil and gas projects.

Durham Tees Valley Airport is a key pivot in the movement of scores of offshore workers.

Gone has the excited bustle of holidaymakers, with workers, benefiting from its flights to Aberdeen, taking their place.

The airport, adorned with North-East offshore energy firms’ advertisements on its outside, is estimated to welcome more than 30,000 passengers every year who use it to travel to Aberdeen’s oil and gas industry.

Strong links indeed.

But an Institute for Public Policy Research North report highlights a number of potential issues for this region if Scots choose to go their separate way at the ballot box.

The document, called Borderland, points to the North-East’s two airports, employment levels and the economy.

It said: “It is not simply the devolution of major tax levers like corporation tax that concerns people, but also smaller, seemingly less significant mechanisms.

“For example, Newcastle Airport has been quick to argue devolving air passenger duty, and thereby allowing Scotland to lower or even abolish it, could damage prospects for international connections from Newcastle.

“Due to the proximity of Edinburgh airport, it is relatively easy for passengers to take their business north of the border if it is worth the time and cost of additional connecting travel to do so.

“The fear is that airlines will then follow, undermining the viability of airports like Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley.”

Last week, a report from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said creating an informal currency union between an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK would mean Scottish banks couldn’t be sure they would be bailed out in the event of another financial crisis.

State-owned Royal Bank of Scotland has also warned independence could have an adverse effect on the taxpayer-owned bank, adding uncertainty could hit its credit ratings and change the wider business environment.

However, Mr Salmond says the vote would be the catalyst for a new Scotland.

He said: “In ten years time, we will look back and say that thanks to independence we will have a thriving economy, a welfare state worthy of the name and the best childcare system anywhere in these islands.

“The referendum for an independent Scotland is a precious opportunity and one that will give Scotland a renewed purpose to.

“The UK now has the highest levels of regional inequality in the European Union.

“Scottish independence will provide a powerful example for those elsewhere in the UK, who are looking at how to change the current system; who want to see a model of growth which is fairer, more sustainable and more resilient than the one being pursued at Westminster.

“In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Newcastle had real political and economic power.

“Since 2007, London's economy has grown approximately twice as fast as the rest of the UK.”

Perhaps somewhat predictably, Iain McKenzie, Scottish Labour MP for Inverclyde, disagrees.

Mr McKenzie previously spoke in a debate organised by Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson, and said Scottish separation would cause businesses on both sides an unnecessary barrier.

He said: “We are all aware the open border between Scotland and the North-East brings significant economic, trade and employment opportunities.

“Scotland has an important economic relationship with the North-East.

“The facts speak for themselves; Scottish business buys and sells more products and services from the UK than every other country in the world combined.

“This enables the Scottish people to be part of a larger and more successful economy and to easily trade and share with our neighbours in the North-East.

“Scotland’s relationship with the North-East should be a constructive collaboration, not destructive compensation, as would undoubtedly transpire after any separation from the UK by Scotland.”

But such destruction, or semblance of it, doesn’t appear to have filtered too far south yet.

A British Chambers of Commerce snap poll, supported by the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), found 93 per cent of members in the region said their decisions had not been affected by the independence debate.

It added 80 per cent of firms asked also said they wouldn’t change their business strategy if Scotland went independent.

Ross Smith, NECC’s policy director, said: “The most important question is how any future change across the border will impact on North-East business.

“There’s no doubt an economically vibrant Scotland is good for the North-East.

“But there is a lack of clarity and reassurance from both sides of the debate that whatever the outcome of the referendum the transition will be managed in a way that makes continuity of trade as easy as possible.

“Just how that future impacts on our companies remains to be seen.”