{"id":892232,"date":"2026-04-13T23:53:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T23:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/892232\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T23:53:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T23:53:24","slug":"edinburgh-business-leaders-call-for-autonomy-after-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/892232\/","title":{"rendered":"Edinburgh business leaders call for\u00a0autonomy after election"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDINBURGH\u2019S business leaders<\/a> have penned an open letter<\/a> calling on\u00a0politicians<\/a> to grant further economic powers and autonomy to Edinburgh ahead of the upcoming Holyrood Election.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 850-plus members of the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce<\/a> say they have seen businesses struggle and fail because of rising costs\u00a0and an economy \u201cthat is not delivering to its full potential\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of their major asks is that the\u00a0incoming\u00a0Scottish Government<\/a> grant Edinburgh and\u00a0Southeast\u00a0Scotland greater economic autonomy, so\u00a0businesses and local policymakers can react to \u201cthe unique economic strengths, challenges and opportunities of Edinburgh\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce claimed in their letter \u201cWhen Edinburgh succeeds, Scotland succeeds\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>The capital\u2019s business leaders say that Edinburgh could benefit from enhanced autonomy and targeted investment (C) (C) Edinburgh Cityscapes \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n

They believe that, when granted further autonomy, Edinburgh could serve Scotland\u2019s\u00a0economic engine, blazing a trail for the rest of the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This would be achieved by localised, \u201ctargeted investment in infrastructure, housing, skills, innovation and priority industry sectors that drive productivity and inclusive growth\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Chamber also\u00a0called for local\u00a0authorities\u00a0local authorities to\u00a0retain\u00a0100% of Non-Domestic Rates (NDR)\u00a0growth, so that councils have a real incentive to back economic development.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Currently all business rates revenue collected by the council is sent to the government, pooled, and redistrbuted by Holyrood, in contrast to the 50% rates retention councils in England allow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The chamber\u00a0was also inspired by\u00a0centralisation and devolution enjoyed\u00a0by\u00a0the Mayoral Combined Authority areas in Greater Manchester and Liverpool\u00a0and the London assembly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In\u00a0their\u00a0statement, they said: \u201cGreater Manchester has piloted 100% business rates retention, allowing locally \u2013 generated revenue growth to be reinvested in housing,\u00a0transport\u00a0and regeneration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd in London, business rate growth has helped support major infrastructure such as the Elizabeth Line.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another primary concern of the Chamber of Commerce\u00a0is securing Edinburgh\u2019s labour supply and education.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Citing, labour shortages across technology, construction, hospitality, and health and social care, they call for\u00a0\u201ca more flexible regional approach to migration would help retain global talent trained in Scotland and address\u00a0sector specific\u00a0workforce gaps\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The statement goes on to advocate for:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Devolved, tailored migration routes \u2013 drawing on Canada\u2019s Provincial Nominee Program as a model \u2013\u00a0so that Edinburgh can\u00a0retain\u00a0internationally trained\u00a0graduates who currently leave due to salary thresholds or visa limits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Employer-led regional skills planning, modelled on England\u2019s Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) framework, placing businesses at the centre of\u00a0identifying\u00a0gaps and shaping training provision.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reform of tertiary education funding following the recent Tertiary Education and Training (Scotland) Bill, including longer-term sustainable funding for regional programmes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Greater parity of esteem\u00a0for vocational and technical qualifications alongside academic routes\u00a0<\/p>\n

On infrastructure investment,\u00a0The Chamber of\u00a0Cimmerce\u00a0calls for commitment to eight specific priority projects for the Edinburgh city region, including: Edinburgh\u2019s Bio-Quarter, The Forth Green Freeport, Edinburgh Tram Extension, Waverley Station Masterplan,\u00a0Granton\u00a0Waterfront Development, West Edinburgh Development and the WETIP transport plan, A Next Generation City Region Deal, Affordable housing provision across the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They also took aim at the planning statement, calling for fast-track strategic planning for nationally significant developments like housing, data centres, and renewables.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Planning delays,\u00a0they\u00a0argue,\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0just slow development,\u00a0they redirect capital to faster-moving international markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, on Edinburgh\u2019s digital and innovation economy, they called for\u00a0A funded cyber security awareness programme and targeted AI adoption support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a joint statement introducing their policy paper,\u00a0Liz\u00a0Mcareavey\u00a0and Joanne Davidson, of\u00a0The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce,\u00a0said: \u201cWe have one clear ask of the next Scottish Government above all others: match the economic ambition of Scotland\u2019s business community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBe brave enough to recognise business as a force for good, a partner that understands its responsibilities and is ready to play its part in delivering opportunity,\u00a0innovation\u00a0and good growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cResponsible profit is not the enemy of progress \u2014 it sustains jobs, helps alleviate poverty, funds innovation and underpins the public services on which we all rely.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGood economic growth is essential; it is the foundation upon which world-class healthcare, education and social care provision is built.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urge the incoming administration to choose a future defined by renewed ambition,\u00a0one that recognises economic growth as an engine of opportunity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy backing Edinburgh\u2019s continued success as a globally competitive capital, investing in the infrastructure and skills that power innovation, and working in genuine partnership with business, government can unlock benefits that extend far beyond the city\u2019s boundaries.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce\u00a0represents\u00a0more 850 partners across 30-plus sectors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The businesses that make up the chamber employ a combined 950,000 people nationwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ross Chalmers is a journalist focusing on local Edinburgh news, transport, the environment, the arts, and housing.<\/p>\n

He graduated from Edinburgh Napier University with a degree in journalism in Summer 2025 and began working at Deadline News as a reporter in August.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EDINBURGH\u2019S business leaders have penned an open letter calling on\u00a0politicians to grant further economic powers and autonomy to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,117126,1700,1102,251903,29891,4884,210591,712,249815,11312,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-892232","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-chamber-of-commerce","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-edinburgh","12":"tag-edinburgh-businesses","13":"tag-edinburgh-chamber-of-commerce","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-holyrood-election","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-scottish-election","18":"tag-scottish-government","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116400095694588699","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892232","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=892232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}