Struan Stevenson: Stop indy obsession and get behind a Brexit deal

Last month, a damning report backed by the UN told us that one million species are at risk from extinction. It is a frightening reality that the world’s biodiversity is vanishing fast.

Struan Stevenson, Chief Executive of Scottish Business UK.

When a leading think tank such as the Fraser of Allander Institute ­raises serious concerns about the Scottish Government’s lack of ­analysis and forward planning – is it really any wonder that many businesses in Scotland are increasingly worried about this government’s economic competence and its prospectus (or lack thereof) for an independent Scotland?

In response to the recent publication of the Scottish Government’s medium-term financial strategy, the institute noted that the government really ought to have provided more detail on future plans in addition to more appropriate assessment of future risks and opportunities.

The most telling comment from Fraser of Allander suggested that too much time in the report was dedicated to looking back over the past ten years as opposed to looking forward at Scotland’s economic outlook.

While inevitably any government will try to accentuate the positives in its economy, we cannot escape some of the key headlines in Scotland that growth is lagging behind, real ­earnings are lower than a ­decade ago and productivity is trailing behind key competitors. Yet the FOA’s criticism does not stand in ­isolation, indeed it follows hot on the heels of another recent report from the ­Scottish ­Fiscal Commission which highlighted a £1 billion shortfall in income tax over the next few years. That same report also highlighted that the prospect of a second ­independence referendum was one of the key risks to Scotland’s ­economy.

Businesses in Scotland can see through the Scottish Government’s attempts to lay the blame for these economic failures at the door of ­Westminster. Even Holyrood’s key Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee has proposed a bill which would limit pre-release access to key economic data for Scottish Ministers and their officials, presumably for the reason that this will give them less time to spin bad news into good and to allow a more realistic picture of the Scottish economy to emerge.

With such a litany of failure, along with the Yes movement’s inability to address fundamental economic questions in 2014, there can be little surprise that appetite from the business community for further constitutional upheaval is thin on the ground.

Businesses across the UK are already telling us anecdotally that investment in Scotland is subdued and that is borne out further by ­comments from the Scottish Fiscal Commission. What companies in Scotland want to see from the ­Scottish Government is a focus on the economy and getting the best Brexit deal for Scotland as opposed to another independence referendum.

We all know that business hates uncertainty and whilst many ­businesses are demonstrating enough resilience to deal with some short-term upheaval, I fear that many are ill-prepared to deal with the long-term constitutional uncertainty which continues to exist here in Scotland.

Such uncertainty will only end when the First Minister has the will to stand up to the more radical ­elements of the Yes movement whose pursuit of independence at all costs stands to damage the economy to the ­detriment of individuals and families up and down the land.

Struan Stevenson, chief ­executive of Scottish Business UK.