Delivering for businesses: Starmer should look to Scotland for lessons on success

After fourteen years of austerity, Brexit chaos and Tory economic ruin, businesses and families are crying out for stability and competence. But that alone isn’t enough.

The change that Scotland needs to see from Westminster is fundamental in nature. Dialing down the rhetoric is required, of course, but if Labour wants to turn the page on a decade and half of Tory failure, it needs to put its money where its mouth is.

A lacklustre plan for the future

Starmer’s plan for government is threadbare at best.

There were some sensible planning reforms, but little of that will affect people here in Scotland. And a lengthy plan to deliver his fabled GB Energy will get watered down – undoubtedly.

As voters in Scotlaand listened to Labour’s King’s Speech being delivered from a gilded throne to a packed room of Lords draped in ermine, it was hard not to feel that Labour is only brave enough to tinker around the edges.

There was no commitment to the much needed investment the UK needs to grow the economy after fourteen years of cuts. No promises to reverse the most kamikaze of Tory decisions like the scrapping of HS2.

Sir Keir Starmer should have looked to us in Scotland. In contrast, we’re dualling the A9, commissioning seven new electric ferries, investing in Ferguson Marine and planning the Clyde Metro to turbo charge the economic growth that comes from a more fluently connected country.

Labour didn’t reverse the two child cap – to their eternal shame. Such a move wouldn’t just lift our most vulnerable children out of abject poverty, it would give more money to struggling families and help to grow our local economies. The communities and families plagued by poverty are often the ones that need to see economic growth the most.

Whereas in Scotland, we’re giving worse-off families a helping hand with policies like the Best Start Grant and the Scottish Child Payment. Both of which were intricately designed to put children first and spearhead the fight against poverty.

But aside from the big money policies – even Labour’s policies to deliver electoral reform and bring radical reform to the House of Lords have gone out of the window. Instead, we’ve been told Labour will pack even more peers into the upper chamber to push through their disappointing agenda. Should Scottish taxpayers really be footing the bill for a heaving House of Lords?

Scotland’s economic successes are an example for Starmer to follow

The stagnating and unimaginative nature of Westminster can be suffocating. And yet Scotland is defying those constraints and powering forward to a fairer future to which Labour is merely willing to pay lip service. 

We’ve seen a record number of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects secured in 2023 here in Scotland, an increase of 12.7% on 2022 and double the rate of growth experienced across the UK.

Attracting that kind of investment to Scotland is key to achieving the growth we need to see, especially in key sectors and industries.

The government John Swinney leads is delivering in unleashing Scotland’s economic potential – soaring business confidence proves just that.

The Scottish Government was particularly proud to announce more than £2.5 million of investment in initiatives to make it easier for women and people from all backgrounds to start a business.

The new projects include a pilot programme which will provide a range of tailored advice and guidance to help individuals – particularly women and under-represented groups – kickstart new Scottish businesses.

With small businesses being the backbone of Scotland’s economy, it’s an exciting venture that underlines our commitment to powering up the amazing ambition and entrepreneurship we have here in Scotland.

But the SNP’s focus goes so much wider than those vital small businesses. From our investment in Ferguson Marine and the aim for it to compete for contracts on the open market, to an investment in cutting edge carbon capture and storage here in Scotland, your Scottish Government is at the front of supporting our homegrown industries and pioneering emerging technologies.

Westminster just isn’t up to the job

This kind of imagination is lacking in Westminster. It shows that no matter which party is riding the Downing Street merry-go-round, Westminster government just doesn’t deliver for Scotland.

The system is utterly, irreparably broken.

This SNP Scottish Government is more driven than ever to deliver on your priorities.

And unlike Labour, which seems to have given up already, the SNP’s ambition for Scotland’s potential is boundless. Let’s work together to unleash it.