It was interesting that Stephen Leckie, president of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, highlighted UK-wide problems as he warned last week that the economy north of the Border is “stuck in a low growth cycle”.

He is right to do so. There is often much navel-gazing in Scotland about what the Scottish Government can do on the growth front, but the big economic levers lie at Westminster and with the Bank of England.

Speaking as Scottish Chambers of Commerce released its latest quarterly survey, hotelier Mr Leckie said: “Persistently high inflation, higher borrowing costs, frozen investment and ongoing global uncertainty are placing businesses under significant pressure. “These issues must be addressed by all parties at the next general election with businesses expecting clear plans which will boost economic growth and investment. Parties of all colours will be tested on whether they are listening to business and taking real action to back business growth.”

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There is no doubting the huge pressure on businesses and households from the cost of living crisis in the UK - which has faced far greater inflation difficulties than other major developed countries - and from the surge in UK base rates from a record low of 0.1% in December 2021 to 5.25%.

Business investment in the UK has been lamentable in recent times.

And Mr Leckie is correct to observe that parties will be tested on whether they are listening to business at the forthcoming election.

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Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves seemed determined to burnish Labour’s credentials on this front last week in Davos.

She declared her party’s desire to “deepen and strengthen the relationships between Labour and business to show that it is Labour that are the pro-business and the pro wealth creation party in Britain today”.

There was some interesting stuff around boosting investment with a national wealth fund. Labour’s plan is that this would invest alongside business.

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Obviously, the proof of the pudding would be in the eating on this but some kind of plan to boost investment would clearly be a positive.

However, it was difficult to be sure there was not more spin than substance in what Ms Reeves had to say, as she continued with Labour’s pro-Brexit stance.

She declared: “Under Keir Starmer’s leadership the Labour Party has changed.”

Labour’s embracing of Brexit is one major way in which the party has changed. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hardly seemed enthusiastic about European Union membership but at least he supported it, however reluctantly.

This embracing of Brexit is presumably not what Ms Reeves was talking about though when she spoke about the party having changed.

After all, she did not seem that keen to talk about the European issue.

The shambolic performance by the Conservatives on the business and economic front over many years may well help Labour persuade many corporate leaders that it is now the party for them.

However, pressed in an interview with Bloomberg on what question Labour was asked most by investors and specifically on whether it was about closer ties with the EU or something else, Ms Reeves responded very swiftly: “Number one thing is stability and consistency – a clear mission for an incoming government that they can get behind and then sticking with that plan rather than the chopping and changing, the chaos and the confusion that frankly too many businesses have had to get used to under Conservative governments these last 14 years.”

It was not that convincing, really. The response seemed to focus on what Labour would not do, rather than on what it would.

She is right to point out that the Tory chaos has been very bad for business. And business likes stability.

However, Labour will need to be more convincing about what positive steps it would take.

It has already ruled out an easy but huge positive step, as my column in The Herald on Friday observed.

That simple step, to boost economic growth, would be to rejoin the European single market.

Sadly, Labour seems to have decided that this would not be easy from a political perspective.

Ms Reeves said in the interview on Wednesday: “We accept the result of the referendum, which is almost eight years ago now. Britain is outside the European Union, the single market, the customs union, and free movement, and those things won’t change under a Labour government. But we don’t think the deal the Conservatives secured was the best deal available and we would build on that deal, working with our neighbours and trading partners in Europe, to strengthen it in key areas including for professional services, which were frankly sold down the river in those Brexit negotiations. We are working with business to establish the priorities for those negotiations.”

This was all very far indeed from convincing. Pottering around the edges while Brexit continues to take a severe toll on the economy, businesses, and households seems to be what Labour is planning.

On a more positive note, my column in The Herald on Wednesday focused on the Scotch whisky sector’s great success in premiumisation.

The prices commanded by Scotch in Les Caves, at Terminal 2E at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport, really brought home just how successful the industry has been in this regard.

There was a 70-centilitre (cl) bottle of William Grant & Sons’ Glenfiddich Grande Couronne 26-year-old at 610 euros for travellers within the EU or 508 euros duty free. Les Caves was also selling a 70cl bottle of Edrington’s The Macallan Enigma, at 376 euros or 313 euros.

It is heartening to see one key sector of Scotland’s economy shining amid the UK economic gloom.