Sturgeon unveils ambitious vision for Scottish economy
● Speech signals move from staples of oil and gas towards more innovation
Nicola Sturgeon set out “bold” plans to make Scotland a technological global powerhouse yesterday as she seeks to refresh her SNP government after a decade in power.
The first minister signal led a shift in emphasis away from the traditional reliance on oil and gas towards hightech industries which will “shape the future” of the global economy, during a keynote speech in her native Ayrshire yesterday.
The speech placed the economy in the political centre ground as the SNP leader prepares to unveil her programme for government next week when MSPS return to Holyrood from their summer recess.
Scottish firms must be ready to design and make the “products of the future”, while workers should prepare for a new era of automation and robots taking on more tasks, Ms Sturgeon told staff at Spirit Aerospace in Prestwick.
“I am determined that Scotland leads on the key technological and social changes,” she said. “I want Scotland to be the inventor and producer of the innovations that shape the future, not just a consumer of them.”
Life sciences, aerospace, renewables and financial technology are
among the industries being targeted to boost growth alongside traditionally strong sectors such as tourism and food and drink.
Ms Sturgeon told MSPS in June that her government would use the summer to“take stock and refresh” after ten years in power, before setting out a new vision for the country. A series of measures were unveiled yesterday to boost growth, including an increase in public support for research and development work from £22 million to £37m per year for the next three years.
Next week’s Programme for Government will also deliver additional support for the financial technology industry and there will be help for new work on carbon capture and storage technology after the UK government pulled the plug on a pioneering £1 billion scheme which Peterhead was in the running to host.
Ms Sturgeon will also lay out plans to make Scotland an “early adopter” of electric vehicle technology, with the Uk government already pledging to outlaw new fully-petrol engines by 2040.
The First Minister pledged to set “clear and bold ambitions not just in the interest of our environment, important though that is, but also of our economy”.
The Scottish Government is proposing further support for graduate entrepreneurs and help for companies to access finance. Other measures will be set out in the coming weeks.
Scotland’s economy has rallied in recent months. GDP enjoyed growth of 0.8 per cent in the first three months of 2017, which allowed the country to escape formally falling into recession after the economy shrank in the final quarter of last year. Unemployment is now below UK levels.
However, the oil and gas industry shows little sign of getting back to the lucrative revenue levels seen before the 2014 financial crash, and Brexit also presents a challenge to businesses.
Last week’s GERS figures showed Scotland has a fiscal deficit of £13bn, more than twice the UK level.
Ms Sturgeon said yesterday: “The relatively slow economic growth we’ve seen in the last couple of years, largely caused by the downturn in the oil and gas sector, demonstrates the need to do even more to promote sustainable growth to ensure that growth is spread more evenly across economic sectors and across all parts of our country.”
More will also be done to encourage businesses in Scotland to sell their products overseas, as currently half of all exports currently come from just 70 companies.
Ms Sturgeon’s speech saw her confirm that the Ayrshire based firm Spirit, where she was speaking, has won a contract to manufacture the spoilers for the wings of the new Airbus A320 aircraft – a deal that will create 100 jobs.
But the economic proposals the First Minister set out were dismissed by political opponents.
Scottish Conservative economy spokesman dean lock hart said: “The SNP need to fundamentally change their economic approach, but that’s not what we’re seeing here.
“Under ten years of the SNP we’ve seen low growth, low productivity, and not enough innovation. That’s not good enough for an economy with a world-class workforce, and some of the world’s leading universities.”
Scottish Labour’s economy spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “The SNP has a woeful record of managing our economy. Despite Nicola Sturgeon’s spin and bluster, earlier this year the SNP led us to the brink of recession and growth still remains lower than the rest of the UK. This is simply not good enough.”
Next week the SNP will unveil its Programme for Government, its plan of action and priorities for the next year at Holyrood.
Governments do this annually, but this is a key moment for Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP, coming ten years after the party first swept to power.
The general election proved that not everything the SNP says will find favour with the electorate. The party took the most seats, but also saw its share of the vote diminish and had to endure the loss of highprofile names such as Angus Robertson and Alex Salmond.
After the election, the First Minister talked of a need to examine the day-to-day workings of the party and hinted at the need for a refresh after a decade in power.
The announcement at Spirit Aerosystems in Prestwick of a fresh focus on the economy appeared to be stage one of this.
Previously, Sturgeon has pushed inequality and education as key priorities, and in the last 12 months has talked endlessly about independence.
The pro-business agenda seemed to be missing.
Many senior business leaders in Scotland feel that Sturgeon does not “get business” in the way that her predecessor Alex Salmond – a former economist at Royal Bank of Scotland – did.
In addition, the SNP’S forecasts on oil and gas revenue have proved to be wildly wrong.
GDP figures have also created worrying headlines. While the most recent data showed growth of 0.8 per cent – higher than the rest of the UK – this came on the back of several quarters where Scotland trailed the UK average with some fears the country could enter a recession. Add in a concerns about red tape and higher business taxes, and the SNP is on shaky ground.
Against this backdrop, it is heartening to hear the First Minister put a business agenda front and centre.
The emphasis is on making Scotland a technological powerhouse and moving towards new industries which will “shape the future” of the global economy.
Life sciences, aerospace, renewables and financial technology – fintech – were among the industries cited, alongside traditional sectors like tourism and food and drink. More will also be done to encourage businesses in Scotland to sell their goods and products overseas, as currently half of all exports currently come from just 70 companies.
Aside from some details of research and development support, most of the First Minister’s speech could be regarded as “big picture”, with further details coming next week in the chamber to MSPS. This is to be expected at this stage. The battle for confidence and support on the economy will not be won with a single speech, but with sustained initiatives and support.
There are many headwinds of course – including the spectre of Brexit – but Scotland can and should strive to be an innovator. Once, Scotland did lead the world in invention and radical thinking. With the support of our top business minds and universities, a culture where risk and failure is accepted and understood, and a regulatory environment which supports, there is no reason Scotland should not aim high. As Alexander Graham Bell said: “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”