Scottish Labour’s efforts to be seen as the best party for business still have some way to go as a new survey shows they remain neck and neck with the SNP.
And the latest Understanding Business report also shows that more than two in five Scottish businesses say reducing tax would help the growth of their business while a third cite reducing business rates.
With a General Election approaching, the quarterly independent survey asked a number of questions on which party was best for Scottish business.
The SNP takes the lead (32%) when asked who best represents the interests of Scottish business with 29% choosing Labour and the Conservatives lagging behind at 19%. When asked who has the best business polices, Labour is ahead on 31% just ahead of the SNP on 30%.
Understanding Business is an independent quarterly survey of over 500 businesses across Scotland produced by research specialists Diffley Partnership and strategic communications and public affairs agency 56° North. The survey includes businesses of all sizes and from every region of Scotland.
While UK polls show Labour surging ahead, Scottish polls have them much closer to the SNP and these figures suggest the same is true when it comes to business support.
The Scottish Government (29%) also remains ahead of the UK Government (22%) in terms of being seen to take action to address business concerns in Scotland.
First Minister, Humza Yousaf will take comfort that his more positive approach to Scottish business appears to be shoring up support for the SNP despite Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s relentless effort to win over the business vote.
John Penman, Managing Partner at 56° North, said: “Our research shows that there is still much to play for when it comes to winning business support ahead of the next couple of elections at UK and Scottish levels.
“While Labour’s efforts are bearing fruit, the Scottish Government will be pleased that they remain neck and neck and it will be interesting to see whether that stays the same as the General Election nears.”
The results show that businesses remain worried that increasing taxation and business rates are stifling economic growth with 43% saying reducing taxation would be one of the most important factors in boosting the growth of their business and reducing business rates the next most cited at 32%.
The call for reduced taxation comes as 42% say rising operational costs are a barrier to growth with economic uncertainty just behind on 38%. High taxation (28%) and lack of skilled workforce (20%) are the next most cited.
Almost a third (31%) said recent changes to taxation in Scotland, which created a total of six different tax bands, would make things ‘very or extremely challenging’ when competing with businesses in England as Wales.
Figures also show that recruiting staff remains challenging for businesses across Scotland and that wage demands (45%) remain one of the biggest hurdles as well lack of skilled applicants (61%) for those recently recruiting. The increasing price of utilities and workforce costs are cited as the biggest factors on why business may have to increase prices.
Scott Edgar, Senior Research Manager at Diffley Partnership, said: “The latest in the Understanding Business series continues to shed light on the challenging environment that businesses in Scotland are navigating.
“Businesses cite reducing taxation and business rates as key measures to drive their growth while rising operational costs and economic uncertainty are viewed as presenting barriers for their growth.
“In line with previous waves of the study, skills continue to be a major issue for businesses with a lack of skilled applicants remaining the biggest when it comes to recruitment.”
