Most Scottish business leaders do not believe politicians are fighting their corner

Most Scottish businesses believe their members of parliament in both Holyrood and Westminster are ineffective at representing their interests.

A new survey of more than 2,000 businesses by MindMetre Research found that 56.6 per cent of firms north of the Border did not believe MPs and MSPs were effectively fighting their corner in the corridors of power. The UK-wide is even higher, at 60.9 per cent.

This contrasts with high levels of confidence in trade associations, where 67.3 per cent of Scottish businesses rated them effective at representing their interest to national and EU government.

Paul Lindsell, managing director at MindMetre Research, said: “We were really taken aback by the considerable lack of business confidence in MPs shown in this study, especially when cross-party support is needed for sensible and effective strategies for boosting the fortunes of business in Scotland and across the British Isles. The key focus at the moment should be getting ‘Scotland plc’ fighting fit, not political in-fighting, and this report starkly emphasizes how parliamentarians may simply not be paying enough attention to the issue.”

The report notes that – across the UK as a whole - only a quarter of MPs come from a business background.