Gray unveils Labour plans to help firms in Scotland

LABOUR today promised wi-fi and mobile phone coverage on trains and help for one-person businesses to take on their first employee as the party launched its business manifesto for the Holyrood elections.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray also pledged to scrap Alex Salmond's Council of Economic Advisers, branding it "an SNP dining club", and instead invite business and trade union leaders to join politicians around the Cabinet table.

He said today's manifesto included a total of 89 measures to help small businesses.

Labour will require the operator of the ScotRail franchise to provide wi-fi and 3G mobile phone coverage on key commercial routes when the contract comes up for renewal. The move was called for by the Federation of Small Businesses earlier this year and would bring services like Edinburgh-Glasgow into line with many train routes around London in allowing passengers to make calls and work on their computers as they travel.

Mr Gray was unveiling the business manifesto at Paper Tiger, a small business in Edinburgh's West End which specialises in greetings cards.

It also promises the introduction of a "Plus-One" scheme, which would assist one-person businesses in taking on a member of staff by relieving them of the administrative burden of becoming an employer.

The manifesto sets a new five-day target for the Scottish Government's payment of invoices, down from the current ten days. And it says the Council of Economic Advisers set up by the SNP would be replaced with a new Economic Cabinet, bringing business and trade union leaders to the heart of decision-making.

Mr Gray said: "Growing the Scottish economy and creating jobs are my top priorities. Labour's business manifesto contains a raft of over 80 measures to get Scotland's economy moving.

"Last month, 2000 Scots lost their jobs, and now the Tories are back Labour is putting jobs at the top of our agenda.

"This manifesto clearly shows businesses in Scotland that Labour is on their side."