Meeting of the Parliament 11 September 2025
Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer—I always enjoy a bit of latitude.
Given the rekindled enthusiasm for independence that we have seen from the Government in recent weeks, it is a bit brave to bring an export debate to the Parliament, given that, in my broad view, frontiers put barriers in the way of trade. However, I might be doing the Government a disservice. Given that 70 per cent of our trade is with the rest of the United Kingdom, the Government might think that, with a stroke of the cartographer’s pen, it can treble Scottish exports. The problem with that is that it is clearly bonkers.
As reasonable as the Deputy First Minister tries to be, a fundamental stumbling block is that, as long as the Government pursues its constitutional obsession, it will seek to put barriers between Scotland and its biggest market—and to create uncertainty for business, which is undoubtedly damaging for the economy. Unfortunately, what we are seeing from the Government all too often—to be fair, I do not accuse the Deputy First Minister of this—is selective use of data and grandstanding, whereas what we need for trade is pragmatic action, which is what we have seen from the UK Government to date.
The India trade deal, which has been referenced in all the speeches so far, is very important. I acknowledge that it was initiated by the previous UK Administration, but it has been taken forward as a priority by the incoming Labour Government, because it is worth £4.8 billion to the UK economy and 2,200 jobs. Of that £4.8 billion, £1 billion is the value to the whisky industry. Under the deal, tariffs have been reduced by half immediately—to the world’s biggest whisky market—and will be reduced by half again in 10 years’ time.
There is not just the India trade deal. The UK Labour Government has prioritised bilateral deals and discussions with France and Germany, and we have secured the frigate exports worth £10 billion that have already been mentioned. There has been a renewed approach from the Scotland Office, which is seeking to support trade and investment and promote brand Scotland. I see that Kenny Gibson has enthusiastically got to his feet to agree with me.