\n In an election manifesto issued ahead of May\u2019s Scottish election, the business organisation said the next government must have a \u201cclear strategy that avoids harmful divergence with the rest of the UK\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
\n It further called for business rates to be modernised, as well as saying there is a need for a \u201cmore pragmatic approach to nuclear energy\u201d \u2013 after SNP<\/a> ministers steadfastly refused to back the construction of new nuclear power stations in Scotland.\n<\/p>\n \n With the UK Government<\/a> seeking to invest in new nuclear technology as part of its push for low carbon energy, businesses say Scotland\u2019s position should be reassessed \u201cto ensure the country does not miss out on the jobs and investment\u201d.\n<\/p>\n \n CBI Scotland also wants the next Holyrood<\/a> government to deliver an improved skills system, as well as expanded funding for childcare so families can receive help for infants from the age of nine months.\n<\/p>\n \n By doing this and mirroring the expansion of childcare funding support provided in England, the business group said around 2,200 people a year could be helped to return to work \u2013 boosting Scotland\u2019s economy by \u00a380 million a year.\n<\/p>\n \n There is also a call for the next administration to deliver a Clyde Metro link between Glasgow \u2013 Scotland\u2019s largest city \u2013 and Glasgow Airport<\/a>, saying this would be a \u201ctransformational project for growth and connectivity\u201d.\n<\/p>\n \n Speaking as the manifesto was published, CBI Scotland director Michelle Ferguson said all political parties must \u201cstay laser-focused on pro-enterprise policies that will boost prosperity across every part of the country\u201d.\n<\/p>\n \n Read More:<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n \n Adding the May 7 election \u201cmust become a line in the sand\u201d, she insisted Scotland\u2019s existing set up for taxation, infrastructure, education and skills \u201csimply isn\u2019t good enough\u201d.\n<\/p>\n \n Ms Ferguson said: \u201cFor too long, Scotland\u2019s households and businesses have been shortchanged by an economy that has fallen short of our ambitions.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cWe need all parties competing at this election to recognise that growth really is the only game in town and that they need to stay laser-focused on pro-enterprise policies that will boost prosperity across every part of the country.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cTax and regulatory drift, creaking infrastructure and an education and skills system that isn\u2019t meeting the needs of business simply isn\u2019t good enough.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cNot only does it restrict investment and growth at a domestic level, but it makes us less attractive to the global talent and investment we need to thrive in the years ahead.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cThis election must become a line in the sand. A moment when we start to match our ambition for a high skilled, high growth, digital economy with the action needed to make that a reality.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cThe key to success lies in every party\u2019s manifesto \u2013 business is committed to that goal and simply wants our political leaders to pledge to joining us on that important journey.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n Deputy First Minister<\/a> Kate Forbes<\/a> insisted the \u201cSNP is the party of business\u201d, adding: \u201cUnder John Swinney<\/a>\u2019s leadership, our economy is one of the best performing areas of the UK with business investment in Scotland at a 20-year high.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cGlobal credit rating agencies recently praised Scotland\u2019s prudent fiscal management under the SNP, and we\u2019re outperforming Labour-run England in a series of key areas \u2013 but we know there\u2019s more to do.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cGrowing the economy and supporting businesses to prosper are top priorities for the First Minister \u2013 this will be reflected in next week\u2019s Budget and our party manifesto later this year.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cBusinesses are still reeling from the impact of Brexit and on top of that Labour has piled on pressure for small businesses with their thoughtless national insurance hikes.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cDecisions taken by governments in Westminster are holding Scottish businesses back \u2013 the SNP is the only party that wants to rejoin the European Union and regain access to the world\u2019s largest single market.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In an election manifesto issued ahead of May\u2019s Scottish election, the business organisation said the next government must…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,918,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-681340","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-glasgow","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115857347216476802","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681340","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681340"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681340\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681340"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681340"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681340"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}