CONTINUING the best of the best from 21 years of The Herald Scottish Politician of the Year Awards while Covid puts 2020 on hold, the judges come to a category that seems more vital than ever, yet which has often been sorely short of contenders.
The Politics in Business award was created shortly after the last great economic crisis to recognise the MPs and MSPs with the best grasp of what business needed to prosper again.
The inaugural winners, an SNP and a Labour MP, had little in common politically, but Stewart Hosie and Jim McGovern fought side-by-side for the computer games industry in their Dundee constituencies.
The judges had little hesitation in naming SNP Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing as the past winner who has helped business most, with quietly invaluable contributions behind the scenes heading off problematic changes and regulations.
READ MORE: 21 years of the Herald Politician of the Year Award: The Free Spirit
He was also instrumental in saving the Tata Steelworks in 2016, helping to broker a deal that saw the Scottish Government buy the plants in Dalzell and Clydebridge then immediately resell them to new owners Liberty.
Richard Lochhead was also praised for his work at Rural Affairs and the Environment from 2007 to 2016.
In 2009, he launched the ground-breaking Recipe for Success, Scotland’s National Food and Drink Policy, to support producers large and small. Despite the backdrop of The Crash, the effort contributed to a surge in exports and domestic sales, as well as an explosion in local food initiatives, brewers and distillers.
A two-time winner of the award, Tory MSP Murdo Fraser was also judged to have an instinctive feel for business. He repeatedly pressed the Scottish Government over the botched revaluation of non-domestic rates which saw a revolt from businesses, climbdowns and financial support from ministers, and ultimately a review and overhaul of the system.
Murdo Fraser
While all the winners were well-deserved, in picking the best of the best, the judges felt compelled to note the depressingly narrow field.
Indeed, it has been a perennial complaint that so few MSPs seem to have a feel for business or a natural sympathy with employers.
As Scotland tries to recover from the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic, these qualities have never been more in need or, at a Holyrood level, in apparently shorter supply.
The judges stressed this has to be remedied as soon as possible, both for the sake of the Parliament’s reputation and the country’s fortunes.
In the Scottish Local Politician of the Year category, the judges chose John Alexander, the SNP leader of Dundee City Council since 2017, as their best of the best.
He has already had a big impact, launching a Drugs Commission to help the city tackle its high levels of drug-related deaths and a plan to make it the UK’s first Living Wage City, with employers paying £9 an hour.
Director Philip Long( left), Actor Brian Cox and Dundee City Council Leader John Alexander at the new V&A Dundee
His tenure has also seen the successful opening of Dundee’s V&A museum, progress on the £150 million Tay Cities Deal, the resurrection of the shuttered Michelin factory as the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc, and Social Security Scotland locating 900 jobs on the waterfront. The judges named Mr Alexander the overall winner not just for his early achievements, but for the sense that his best is yet to come.
Also commended were the three island council leaders who won jointly in 2013 for their Our Islands Our Future campaign. Angus Campbell of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Steve Heddle of Orkney and Gary Robinson of Shetland were recognised for their work pressing the Scottish and UK governments for greater devolution.
Their campaigning led to the Islands Act of 2018, which aims to “island-proof” all other legislation.
READ MORE: 21 years of the Herald Politician of the Yaer Award: Nest Scot at Westminster
Their influence can also be seen in recent calls by Orkney and Shetland for financial and political independence from Edinburgh.
The judges also praised Steven Purcell, the former Labour leader of Glasgow City Council, who oversaw a period of regeneration and innovation from 2005 to 2010 and helped secure the 2014 Commonwealth Games for the city.
He introduced a living wage of £7 an hour for council workers, an idea copied by local private employers. He also took unpopular decisions, closing under-used or rundown schools.
Tipped as a future Scottish Labour leader, his career was cut short by drink and drug misuse, but he remains a rare example of a local politician who earned a national profile.
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