Start-up Boom Under SNP Despite UK Decline
New data has shown that, under the SNP, Scotland is experiencing a start up boom – with over 40,000 new businesses set up in 2023.
This figure is up 12% on 2022, making Scotland the fastest growing region in the UK behind only London and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland, unlike Scotland, is significantly benefitting from continued access to the European single market.
Despite the disadvantage, last year 2,148 new online retail businesses and 1,839 new takeaway shops and street food stands were launched in Scotland. The uplift in growth was driven in the property letting space, with 2,440 new businesses starting in the sector.
The success story in Scotland comes in spite of the damage Brexit continues to inflict, with new analysis revealing that Brexit red tape is costing almost £100 billion in annual UK exports.
The Centre for European Reform study highlights that, since leaving the EU Single Market and Customs Union, the UK’s export growth has been “sluggish” which has led to missed growth in exports of around £23bn quarterly. It also shows that there was 30% less trade between 2020 and 2023 than if the UK had stayed in the trading bloc.
Moreover, last month Cambridge Econometrics estimated that Brexit would leave the UK £311bn worse off by 2035, and analysis by the London School of Economics found that British households have paid almost £7bn to cover the cost of Brexit red tape.
These are very welcome figures which highlight the reality of the SNP approach in Scotland.
GRAEME
It is possible to prioritise public services, ensuring people in need are protected, and at the same time also prioritise maintaining a positive business environment – these aims need not be in conflict.
The UK Government, on the other hand, is doing neither – with its economic incompetence driving poverty and its hard Brexit hurting business.
Businesses, particularly small local businesses, are critical to our country’s prosperity, and the Scottish Government is determined that they thrive despite the challenges and barriers Westminster has created.
