ONLY one in ten Scottish business leaders believes the UK Government is doing a good job with the Brexit negotiations. And the overwhelming majority (92 per cent) believe the vote to leave the European Union is creating or will cause difficulties in recruiting staff from countries within the bloc.
The decisive findings emerged in a poll of 100 business leaders at the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) annual Scottish conference, which took place at Gleneagles on Thursday and Friday.
Responding to questions posed by The Herald, 90 per cent said “no” when asked if the government was doing a good job with the Brexit talks. Only eight per cent said “no” on the question of whether the Brexit vote is hampering or will hamper their ability to recruit necessary staff from other EU countries.
David Watt, executive director of the Iod in Scotland, said: “Perhaps unsurprisingly, IoD members are disappointed in the UK Government’s progress in negotiating Brexit and have genuine concerns about the effects on the future labour force in Scotland.
“Business has never been terribly happy
about Brexit, and many business people will have voted against it, but are having to face the challenges that it brings. The feeling is that we would like to see far speedier progress, so leaders – of organisations of all types - can better plan for the future.”
Meanwhile, opinion was more balanced on the issue of taxation. Asked whether they would be in favour of higher taxes to pay for public services in Scotland, 59 per cent said yes and 41 per cent answered no.
Mr Watt questioned whether raising tax would be effective. He added: “While a slim majority of those in attendance today are willing to pay more in tax for better services, there is no denying that higher taxes will have an impact on our ability to do business. The problem is, raising taxes doesn’t always deliver service improvements, and it serves instead to put off talented people from living and working in Scotland. Raising taxes is rarely something that is done only once.”
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