Scottish businesses side-lined and ignored in SNP 'wellbeing economy'
Less than 1 in 10 business think that the SNP Scottish Government understands them. This is why the Scottish economy is flatlining, not big bad London.
The Scottish economy stagnates as Brexit and Tory chaos blamed. That is the headline in an article in The National today as Scotland’s onshore economy flatlines for two months in a row. It’s an analysis echoing leading figures in the Scottish government.
Only yesterday Neil Gray MSP - Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work & Energy - was tweeting about how only independence can remedy the damage inflicted by Brexit on the Scottish economy
But it strikes me there needs to be some pushback on the argument that the headwinds the Scottish economy is facing are largely due to “the UK Government’s handling of the economy”.
Has Brexit hurt Scottish exporters by erecting fresh barriers to trade? Yes, and the merry-go-round of Tory Prime Ministers in recent years has created policy chaos. None of these factors can be disputed, and the Scottish Government has a point in raising them, however the reality is far more nuanced than nationalists would like you to believe.
The truth is, Scotland’s onshore economic flatlining is being driven by far more than the ever-changing cast of characters occupying No.10 in recent years. If we look closer to home we can readily discover a myriad of domestic reasons for poor economic performance. These entirely home-grown and unrelated factors go unmentioned by nationalist politicians for the simple reason they don’t fit into the ‘big bad London’ grievance narrative of contemporary SNP politics.
Mr Gray told The National today that
“We are doing everything possible with the powers currently available to us to support businesses and transform Scotland’s economy”
The Minister for Humza Yousaf’s “wellbeing economy” is wanting you to believe that the SNP government in Edinburgh is doing everything possible to support businesses. You can practically hear his ‘awh shucks’ shoulder shrug as he bemoans the lack of powers without independence.
But unfortunately for the Minister for the “wellbeing economy”, I can read statistics and analysis and know what he is saying is a nonsense.
For one thing, it is untrue to claim the Scottish Government is doing everything in its powers, minus independence, to support Scottish businesses. According to the latest University of Strathclyde Fraser of Allander, Scottish businesses are reporting a broken relationship between the SNP-‘Green’ party government and corporate Scotland.
Fraser of Allander found a paltry 9% of Scottish businesses surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the Scottish Government “understands the business environment in Scotland”.
Worse still, a mere 8% of businesses agreed or strongly agreed that the Scottish Government engages effectively with their sector.
And only 19% of surveyed firms agreed or strongly agreed that if they wish, they know an effective route to influence Scottish Government policy if new announcements are likely to affect their business
If a staggering 64% of businesses are telling us that this Scottish Government doesn’t understand the business environment, do you really still believe Neil Gray’s claim that the SNP are doing “everything possible with the powers currently available to us to support businesses and transform Scotland’s economy”?
The choice for you to make is who to believe. Do you buy what SNP Minister Neil Gray is selling or the impartial findings of an economic research institute focused on the Scottish economy?
Two months of on-shore economic flatlining needs fixing, but before we go reaching for the nuclear option labelled ‘independence’, shouldn’t we first ascertain if we’re currently doing everything possible minus a radical break with the rest of the UK?
Personally, I’m not attracted to the prospect of running headlong off the cliff-edge screaming ‘Team Scotland’. And before we opt to go it alone and withdraw from our in-built fiscal and monetary base; can’t we first figure out if the devolved administration is actually doing everything it can do?
First, the Scottish Government needs to figure out how to understand the business environment Scottish firms face. This step doesn’t require separation, but it does mean saying more than ‘those damn Tories’ when faced with poor economic growth.
Second, when 67% of firms say this SNP administration does not engage effectively with their sector, you can’t go blaming Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson or Brexit. This woeful reality is entirely for the SNP to shoulder responsibility for.
Thirdly, if 39% of Scottish firms are telling you they have no clue how to find an effective route to engage and influence Holyrood government policy thinking - that’s not caused by Brexit disruption.
Hospitality is a perfect example of why Scotland’s economy is flatlining and how it’s nothing to do with London, Tories or Brexit. A truly breath-taking 80% of hospitality and 92% of service sector firms say they feel the SNP-‘Green’ government doesn’t understand the business community.
To help you contextualise just why that is so bad, hospitality delivers £6 billion each year to the Scottish economy. Prior to the pandemic it was the third largest employer in Scotland with close to 300,000 workers. So when 80% of hospitality firms when asked say this SNP led government has no semblance of a clue about the business environment they face, it’s really bad folks.
The services sector is by far the largest sector for our GDP, comprising around 75% of Scotland’s economy in 2019. So when 92% of those services sector firms asked say this SNP administration doesn’t comprehend the business community it’s incredibly problematic.
It is time for Scots to call time on the blame game antics of this tired SNP led Holyrood administration. Nationalist desperation to pass the buck for economic weaknesses onto London, Tories, Brexit or Farage is all politics. The reality knocking on the door is an Edinburgh government that doesn’t understand Scottish businesses, fails to make itself accessible to them and isn’t responsive to their needs. None of that is the fault of England or any other group nationalists wish to paint as that phantasmal ‘other’ onto whom all blame can be discarded.
We don’t need independence to fix what ills our economy, we simply need a change of administration in Edinburgh.
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Thanks for putting it into numbers in this example.
This thought seems to apply across many Scottish government areas.
Fishing - an opportunity to support remote communities. Little done.
Drug deaths - Number improving but still amongst worst in Europe and the improvement may involve a disgusting slight of statistical hand.
NHS - Incomparable but not in any good wholesome way.
Ferries - Say no more.
Smelters - Like the ferries, writing a million pound cheque to each employee would have been faster better cheaper.
Bottle return - Doh
HPMA - Doh.
As a track record for more power it looks like a compelling argument for No. Don't even need to consider if a well run outfit could achieve anything (probably not).
And would you let these folk write your constitution? Cause they just had a go at that too.
It rather feels like Jack Nicholson in the Shining "Honey I'm governing".
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51h3Hz+-B9L._AC_SY445_.jpg
Damning, no wonder the economy is flat lining 🤬