THE Scottish business community has fallen victim to a government that isn’t interested in business.
“I don’t understand any government that doesn’t understand the economy.” A stark warning by Derek Provan, chief executive of AGS Airports which owns Glasgow and Aberdeen airports as he echoed his sector's concerns to a packed audience at this year’s Scottish Chambers of Commerce dinner in Glasgow.
A phrase that is often overused is “it’s the economy, stupid” which was coined by James Carville, former advisor to US President Bill Clinton. This phrase goes to the heart of the importance of a well-functioning economy, something that the Scottish Government has spoken about on numerous occasions, usually in the context of a wellbeing economy, but as I’ve said many times having a well-functioning and prospering economy is the basis which underpins a good wellbeing economy.
Let's be honest, this isn’t rocket science and James Carville is spot on. The economy is about jobs, investment, connectivity, housing, people’s health and prosperity and every segment of life is linked back to the economy.
Unfortunately, the business community has fallen victim to a government that would rather talk about a hypothetical scenario rather than proactively engage with business.
These concerns aren’t unique to Scotland’s aviation industry which is a key sector employing thousands of people. The reality is that these concerns can be applied to the hospitality sector which felt abandoned by the Scottish Government during the lockdown periods, the private housebuilding sector. To be frank, any business sector in Scotland.
Attending the dinner was Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, and Labour and Tory MSPs Stephen Kerr, Pauline McNeil and Brian Whittle. In politics, having a presence matters and being in the room is half the battle and you could sense a feeling of disappointment at the lack of senior Scottish Government ministers. This only reinforces the perception that the Scottish Government is not open for business.
I suspect the reason for the lack of interest in business and commerce comes down to the optics of politics and the perception it would create. After all, the Scottish Government have often accused other parties of cosying up to business. For me, listening to the concerns of a key industry whether it be housebuilding, aviation, hospitality, or any sector isn’t cosying up but is doing the right thing. The government should work with each sector to agree a policy focus that works for all parties concerned.
Since Anas Sarwar took over as the leader of the Scottish Labour party there has been a renewed focus on being pro-business with the party meeting with key sectors to understand their concerns and ensure that they have a voice in Holyrood. In my opinion, this is long overdue and is exactly the direction Labour needs to go in. Business creates jobs, creates wealth that results in wider societal benefits.
Echoing the concerns raised by Mr Provan, Pauline McNeil this week has called on the Scottish Government to create a special recovery plan for Glasgow and West Central Scotland which has endured the longest and hardest lockdown restrictions with far-reaching implications. She is calling for a specially resourced recovery plan that seeks investment on behalf of Glasgow and West Central Scotland. Underpinning this recovery plan would be an emphasis of collaboration and working with business leaders.
Adopting a collaborative approach is the way forward where the government of the day works with business leaders to agree on strategy and ultimately policy. For too long policy has been void of industry input. Unless this changes Scotland’s business community's concerns will continue to fall on deaf ears and the gap between the business community and the Scottish Government will only widen.
I wholeheartedly agree with Mr Provan. I don't understand a government that doesn’t understand the economy either and it’s clear that more needs to be done on this issue.
After 14 years of being in power you would have thought that the Scottish Government would have grasped the importance of the economy. Instead, they tend to concentrate on matters related to the constitution. While the SNP will be working night and day for second referendum, their entire argument for Independence lives or dies on their economic plan. Quite simply, “it’s the economy, stupid”.
Barrie Cunning is managing director of Pentland Communications and a former Scottish Labour Parliamentary candidate
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