We are teetering on edge of a recession

Let me begin by congratulating my friend and colleague Stephen Kerr on being elected to serve the Stirling constituency in the UK Parliament. I know that he will serve all of his constituents well and I look forward to working with him and all elected representatives in the years ahead.

Last week, I also had the pleasure of being re-appointed as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work in Ruth Davidson’s Shadow Cabinet. This is a role that I hope to have continued success holding the Scottish Government to account in, whilst formulating policies that listen to the voice of the Scottish business community at this most crucial of times for our economy.

In terms of the state of the Scottish economy, the omens are not good. In a report assessing the state of the economy, the respected Fraser of Allander Institute last week produced analysis which shows Scotland’s economy continues to perform poorly and is currently teetering on the edge of a recession.

The report follows news that in the last quarter of 2016 the economy in Scotland actually contracted by 0.2 per cent with the latest figures due to be published next week. Any further decline would confirm that Scotland has officially entered recession. All this whilst the UK economy as a whole continues to power ahead. This is all on the SNP’s shoulders and now have to explain how it is going to kick-start an economy that it is in charge of.

From a policy perspective, there is now an urgent need for immediate action to stimulate growth. Debates over the constitution can no longer be used as an excuse not to make use of the full levers that the SNP do now control.

Over the course of the next few months there will be countless attempts by SNP politicians to blame its woes on Brexit, or the price of oil. However, as the report confirms, this underperformance has nothing to do with either of these factors. The Scottish economy has consistently underperformed compared to the rest of the UK due to a decade long list of neglect and bad policy. In other areas we have seen the neglect of this SNP Government.

Despite warm words, our schools continue to find themselves in crisis, the NHS faces chronic nurse shortages, we have a skills gap which is widening by the month and our farmers face yet another fiasco in receiving their CAP payments on time.

The First Minister and her colleagues have the power to focus all of their attention on these crises yet have failed to do so due to their single minded obsession with another independence referendum. Just last week Nicola Sturgeon had the opportunity to take the prospect of another referendum off the table, and has instead reflected on the election results by continuing to threaten yet more division in our country.

Make no mistake, Scotland has great potential. This potential however has been neglected by an SNP Government who have made it clear that their priorities rest elsewhere. Instead, in a move driven by internal party politics, she simply hit the reset button for another summer long campaign. The people have spoken, but the SNP are not listening.

I continue to hold surgeries throughout the region and will be releasing new dates over the summer. In the meantime if you wish to contact me about any issue please contact my office by email.