John Grady

Scottish Labour and the Labour party are in favour of bringing talented people into Scotland, and the Scottish Government are welcome to work with us as we seek to ensure that that takes place. As I understand it, the Home Secretary is determined to ensure that it does, and I also understand that the Migration Advisory Committee is looking at the issue carefully. There is no doubt that we want to ensure that talented people can come and work in Scotland; the question is how to do it, and we are seeking to work with the Scottish Government productively on that. One of the biggest challenges in the Scottish economy is productivity. One key way to get economic growth is to ensure that everyone can make more in the same time. The CBI-Fraser of Allander Scottish productivity index shows that Scotland is lagging behind the rest of the UK on 10 out of 13 productivity indicators, including business investment and business research and development spend. It is worth saying that business investment is simply not enough in the UK as it is, which is why our Government are so focused on increasing business investment and business research and development spend. I regret to say that the problem comes down in significant part to the Scottish Government. In February 2024, Audit Scotland concluded: “The Scottish Government’s 10-year economic strategy currently lacks collective political leadership and clear targets.” That mismanagement has a terrible effect on Scotland’s public services. If Scotland’s economy had grown at the same sclerotic pace as the rest of the UK’s economy, it would be £8.5 billion larger. That would mean that there was more to invest in public services. As the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s work shows, Scotland would have £624 million more in tax revenues each year if we matched the UK’s abysmal performance under the Conservatives. Scotland desperately needs a Government who are pro-worker, pro-growth and pro-business, and that is what we will offer the Scottish people in 2026. This crisis is due to the mess that the Tories and the SNP have made of our economy. Scotland’s independent Auditor General has warned that the SNP’s approach to public finances is unsustainable. Our public services face cuts because of the SNP’s buy now, pay later policies, and we have lost out on good industrial jobs, as they have gone overseas.