First Minister not enjoying popularity among small business owners

THAT First Minister Nicola Sturgeon received so poor a response at the Federation of Small Businesses Conference in Glasgow comes as little surprise.

The majority of us work in small businesses but, whatever the business size, companies need stability and confidence to achieve long-term growth.

And Ms Sturgeon’s restated neverendum obsession, as conference delegates made clear, creates the opposite: instability and uncertainty.

Scotland exports three to four times more to the rest of the UK than elsewhere in Europe. So how does Ms Sturgeon’s anti-UK, pro-Europe posturing assist small businesses and their employees?

But then, we all know Ms Sturgeon’s separatist narrative, above all other things, drives everything the SNP says and does.

It does not seem like making Scotland an attractive place for small – or indeed any – business owners is high up the Ms Sturgeon’s party’s list of priorities. Martin Redfern 4 Royal Circus Edinburgh. THE SNP enjoys a comfortable majority in our Scottish Parliament but this has led to some poor legislation being passed when the substance of bills are simply not being properly thought through – and are creating more problems in our Scottish society than they solve.

We can look forward to the air weapon legislation that, despite better advice from the experts, is to be introduced, giving Police Scotland a real headache in trying to register 250,000 owners in a matter of a few months and diverting police resources from where they are needed.

This, in addition to the very controversial “Named Person” scheme designed to cover all children in Scotland, is going to give parents and teaching staff in schools some very worrying times as conflict will be created.

Never mind the quality just feel the width seems an appropriate description of how legislation is coming out of Holyrood in recent years. Dennis Forbes Grattan, 3 Mugiemoss Road, Bucksburn, Aberdeen.