Meeting of the Parliament 14 June 2017
Complacency and denial are the twin problems facing the SNP in relation to the economy: complacency on the state of the economy and denial over a second independence referendum, which, aside from Brexit, is the biggest threat to our economy.
I see the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work laughing, but perhaps he would do well to listen. In debate after debate, Opposition parties come to the chamber only to hear from the Scottish Government that there is nothing wrong with the economy and that what we are doing is simply talking Scotland down. The cabinet secretary has recently taken to hiding behind businesses, using them as some sort of human shield so that he does not have to answer for challenges in the economy.
So let us be clear: the Scottish Labour Party supports businesses. We recognise their central role in growing the economy. The challenge, of course, is for the Government to provide them with the right support at the right time. That is not rocket science. Business leaders—whether the Scottish Chamber of Commerce, CBI Scotland or the Federation of Small Businesses—are not shy about coming forward and telling us what they want. They tell us that they want involvement with the Government in setting the strategy for economic growth, investing in infrastructure, maximising the opportunities for SMEs in procurement and investing in skills. None of these should come as a surprise to us.
They also tell us that they want certainty, yet both Governments have given them exactly the opposite. First we have Brexit—on the back of a referendum pushed by the Tories to settle their internal divisions on the EU—and now, after the general election, the Tories are in complete disarray about the way forward.
Then we have the issue of independence that was rejected by the people of Scotland in 2014—the cabinet secretary may laugh, but I suggest that he listens—and rejected again one week ago, in the general election. While the First Minister might be in denial and, judging from the noise emanating from the back benches, the rest of the SNP is too, none of her cabinet has enough backbone to stand up to her—
Keith Brown rose—