View from the Street: Understanding business means both sides listening to each other
Published
David Gaffney
It was 18 months ago that a newly appointed John Swinney told an audience at Barclays’ impressive campus on the Clyde: “I will go all out to encourage investment in Scotland. I will ensure people know my government is a firmly pro-business administration. A partnership with business will be at the core of my approach.”
Today, that rallying cry feels in danger of being drowned out by ministerial churn and a lingering sense of mistrust between Holyrood and industry.
Swinney’s predecessor as first minister, Humza Yousaf – and his then economy secretary Neil Gray – had also promised to reset what was seen as a strained relationship with business during Nicola Sturgeon’s time in the hotseat.
But since then, three different ministers have cycled through the economy brief – Gray lasting less than a year, Mairi McAllan only three months before maternity leave, and Kate Forbes now departing Holyrood altogether. That instability has left business without a clear or consistent champion in government.
I don’t doubt the first minister’s pro-business instincts. But given the flux in that key supporting role, it is hardly surprising that our latest survey of decision-makers in Scottish businesses revealed an enduring sense of detachment between industry and policymakers.
The findings from the tenth edition of the quarterly Understanding Business survey – a joint endeavour between Charlotte Street Partners and our friends at research and insight consultancy, Diffley Partnership – were released this week.
Senior respondents at more than 630 Scottish firms were asked about the prospects for their own organisation, their outlook for the wider economy, and a range of other issues affecting their work.
The results are stark. Awareness of who speaks for business in politics is worryingly low. Fewer than two in five bosses could name the SNP (38%) or Labour (37%) economy leads. Only one in four (27%) could identify Murdo Fraser, the Conservatives’ self-styled champion of business.
And when it comes to the machine of government itself, nearly three-in-five firms (58%) admit they are unfamiliar with the senior civil servants responsible for their sector. Almost half (47%) of those with a view say officials understand their business little or not at all.
Whose responsibility this is depends on your outlook.
Many will see this as further evidence that the majority of our political establishment exist in a bubble of their own making. Those people think parliamentarians should spend less time talking to each other and more time listening to the private businesses that will create the economic growth and tax revenues they rely on to fund their plans.
But others believe some company executives need to reflect on their own lack of awareness and dial-up their engagement with the big societal issues of the day to play a more active role in political and media debate.
To paraphrase what one journalist told me this week: “Business leaders need to stop posting holiday videos on TikTok and read the media.”
Regardless of which side you think the onus should be on, both must act. Politicians need to leave the Holyrood echo chamber and listen more carefully; business leaders must look up from their balance sheets and join the wider debate.
Yes, there’s not long now before another round of changes in personnel at Holyrood. But Scotland can’t afford to wait until next summer’s election for a stronger relationship between business and government.
If business wants to shape the manifestos that will matter after May, it must speak up now. And if government wants to rebuild credibility with the private sector, it needs to start showing consistency and seriousness today.
Otherwise, another year will be wasted – and Scotland’s faltering economy does not have years to waste.