Business for Scotland, the campaigning business network for pro-independence businesspeople, has written to all of the candidates in the SNP leadership race seeking clarity on how they intend to reset the SNP’s relationship with business and to explain their business and economic vision for an independent Scotland.
Ten questions for the SNP leadership candidates.
- Do you accept the need to reset the SNP’s relationship with business? If so, how will you do that?
- Will you give a cast iron guarantee that, under your leadership an independent Scotland will seek to rejoin the EU?
- Do you agree that the Sustainable Growth Commission’s conclusions are now out-of-date and are made redundant by the damage of Brexit, the pandemic and the current economic and cost of living crisis?
- Will you commit to continuing the development of the economic case for independence based upon a Wellbeing Economic Approach?
- How will you refocus the SNP and Scotland’s political agenda on the opportunities of independence?
- If the UK Government continues to refuse to honour the democratic mandate for an independence referendum, will you commit to using a Westminster general election as a defacto Scottish referendum, so that Scotland can gain its independence from this broken, undemocratic, Brexit-damaged Union? (This path to independence gained 70% support from the recent Scottish Independence Congress)
- What is your path to independence? In what timescale will it be delivered?
- Will you commit the SNP to putting their membership on a campaign footing and join Believe in Scotland and its 136 affiliated Yes groups to campaign to raise Yes support – so that we win any plebiscite?
- GERS cannot be used as a tool to predict the finances of an independent Scotland. Will you commit to producing an additional set of figures forecasting Government Expenditure and Revenues for an Independent Scotland? This has been promised to Business for Scotland by two Finance Ministers but has not yet been delivered.
- Will you restart the process of publishing (Scottish Government) independence policy papers – engaging with a wider cross-section of the Yes movement and civic society?
Business for Scotland remains ready and willing to engage with any of the candidates to discuss our ideas and the necessity to reset the Scottish Government’s relationships with both the business community and the grassroots independence movement.
Gaining clarity on these questions is crucial if any new SNP leader / First Minister is to be seen as credible with the pro-independence business community and indeed with the business community at large.
Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp
Chief Executive
Business for Scotland
