FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon has vowed that the SNP will continue to fight Tory plans for an “economically disastrous” hard Brexit, as Scotland’s political leaders set out their visions for the future of business after the General Election.
Ms Sturgeon, leader of the SNP, warns that exiting the European Union (EU) without continuing access to the single market and membership of the customs union puts 80,000 jobs in Scotland at risk over the next decade.
The SNP leader’s comments appear in the latest edition of the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) quarterly Direction magazine, out on Friday, in which all of Scotland’s party leaders outline their vision of the future of Scottish business.
“The election on June 8 is a chance to stand up for Scotland’s business and economic interests in the face of the Tories’ chaotic Brexit negotiations, which pose the biggest threat to our economy in at least a generation,” Ms Sturgeon said.
Ruth Davidson meanwhile railed against the SNP’s pursuit of a second poll on Scottish independence. The leader of the Scottish Conservatives describes the prospect a further referendum as the “darkest cloud on the horizon”.
“The party is already harming Scotland’s economy by making us the highest-taxed part of the UK, along with punishing organisations of all sizes with a range of anti-business measures,” Ms Davidson said.
“As we see healthy economic growth across the rest of the UK, Scotland is just one quarter from away recession.”
Ms Davidson said cutting corporation tax further is key to achieving the Tories’ quest for a “low-tax economy”.
Scottish Labour Party leader Kezia Dugdale said businesses in Scotland face “unprecedented levels of uncertainty”, warning that “ideological nationalism has been prioritised above economic growth” at Holyrood and Westminster.
Ms Dugdale hit out at the Prime Minister’s pursuit of a hard Brexit as a “major threat” to the economy, while criticising Ms Sturgeon for creating uncertainty by raising the prospect of an “unwanted and divisive second independence referendum”.
The Labour leader said: “The uncomfortable truth for Nicola Sturgeon is independence would not fix the economic woes created on her watch – it would only compound them.
“Breaking up the UK would cause turbo-charged austerity in Scotland which would be bad for businesses.”
Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said his party is “opposed to new barriers to doing business”, stating that cutting ties with the country’s biggest markets does not make sense.
He called for “transformative investment in education” following a “string of warnings about the fragility of the economy, business confidence and skills shortages”.
And he insisted that new powers devolved to Holyrood have presented the chance to “invest hundreds of millions of pounds to make Scottish education the best again, help people achieve their potential and enable businesses to find the skills they need”.
Mr Rennie added: “This includes repairing our colleges, where 152,000 places have been lost under the SNP.”
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