Meeting of the Parliament 07 May 2025
I express my huge sympathy for those who face losing their job. As Kevin Stewart said, we are faced with the loss of several hundred onshore jobs, and we are willing to work with employers and the wider sector to look at how we can support the wider industry. We recognise Kevin Stewart’s point about the impact of the energy profit levy. We will always stand on the side of Scottish industry and Scottish jobs, and I am happy to explore with my UK Government counterparts what we can do to support jobs and the wider sector, because we understand that a just transition must involve a transition—we cannot abandon people as previous Prime Ministers have done.
Although some of the economic instability is out of our control, how far Scotland is buffeted will depend on how we confront the global challenges. As we look to the end of this parliamentary session and beyond, our mission is clear: we must build a stronger, fairer and greener economy that works for every business and every community, from the edge of the Borders to the tip of the Highlands and Islands.
Lifting incomes is the bridge between tackling poverty and growing the economy so that people, communities and the nation as a whole can thrive. We raise incomes by growing the economy from the ground up, investing in people and jobs, supporting enterprise and trade, attracting investment and sharing success across the whole of Scotland.