Meeting of the Parliament 17 December 2025
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. Before I begin, I thank my colleague and friend Rachael Hamilton for bringing this important debate to the chamber.
Business has been in my DNA from a young age. When I was growing up in Glasgow, my parents started with a small grocery business in Argyle Street. I remember my mum not only running a small business but bringing up me and my siblings in the shop. It was a community hub where people could come together to share their problems.
My parents laid the foundations for me not only to run the family business but to understand the issues that businesses face and help them with my more than 30 years of experience. That has included trying to cut red tape in my years as a trading standards officer and, later on, working on inward investment, helping businesses through the 2008 financial crisis and onwards.
Today, as an MSP, I stand in the chamber to be the voice for businesses. Small businesses are the backbone of the Scottish economy. According to the Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland, micro and small businesses represent 98 per cent of all enterprises in Scotland, employing more than 900,000 people, with a turnover of £93 billion annually.
Small business Saturday celebrates our small businesses and encourages people to show their support by spending and shopping locally. Even though small business Saturday takes place on the first Saturday of December, it is a year-round movement that recognises businesses that make a difference in our communities, so it is important for us to support such businesses throughout the year.
My West Scotland region has many amazing small businesses that serve as the backbone of not only our local economies but our communities, including by employing local people. That is why, for the past three years, I have been hosting my own small business awards to recognise the work that they do. As I do not have a lot of time in the debate, I will mention only some of the great businesses in my area. Cafe Crème in Bearsden, Gavin’s Mill in Milngavie, No. 40 by Bruin in Bearsden, Mahony’s steak house in Bishopbriggs and Billington’s of Lenzie all offer unique services in the area. As they did during Covid, many of them, even today, still go out of their way to check on their local customers who are elderly and housebound.
We also have many young entrepreneurs stepping into the world of business, including Leah Mitchell of Rise & Reform Pilates in Lenzie, Eilidh Sirel of Florella Studio in Milngavie and many more who are creating businesses from scratch.
However, for such businesses to thrive, we need local councils and the UK and Scottish Governments to support enterprises. Businesses today are under immense pressure from many factors, including increased employer national insurance contributions from the United Kingdom Labour Government, a failure of the SNP Government to pass on rates relief, higher material costs due to inflation, parking charges, and an increase in break-ins, shoplifting and other forms of retail crime.
Let us be clear: business growth does not come from Governments. However, Governments need to provide the right environment for businesses to thrive. Unfortunately, as we can see, more regulations and taxes will only hinder growth and make operations more expensive. All of us in the Parliament have a duty to support business growth and keep taxes low.
17:55