The UK’s main political parties will today be urged to prove their growth credentials and get the economy “firing on all cylinders”, as campaigning for next month’s General Election continues.

The message will come from business grandee Rupert Soames, former chief executive of Aggreko and Serco, ahead of a hustings that will feature leading figures from the SNP, Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats in Edinburgh today.

In his first speech as chairman of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in Scotland, Mr Soames will say: “I am convinced that this election, and how both Holyrood and Westminster work with business – and with each other – in the five years after the election, will determine whether or not our country and economy thrive for the next 20.

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“And let’s all agree that less than one per cent growth is not thriving. Underperforming business investment – is not thriving. Seven out of 10 businesses struggling with labour shortages – is not thriving.

“The exam question for all parties this election must be – how to get that mojo back. How to create a new narrative for the UK and for Scotland, which can once again get our economy firing on all cylinders, and deliver the long-term, sustainable growth we urgently need.

“Instead of the sugar rush of short-term politics, businesses want to hear all parties speak to how they can work with business – and each other – to deliver in the long-term and in the national interest.”

The hustings will hear from Kate Forbes, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economic and Gaelic, Murdo Fraser of the Scottish Conservatives, Daniel Johnson of Scottish Labour, and Christine Jardine of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

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Mr Soames will add: “In the last eight years, business has suffered some of the toughest times since the three-day week in the 1970s.

“Brexit; Covid; the energy crisis and the inflation that followed. Three shocks to our economy, one after another, which have left us with anaemic growth, stubbornly persistent labour and skills shortages, and a bruised international reputation.

“One thing is crystal clear: Scotland will have a pivotal role in how we reclaim that reputation and set the economy back on the path to growth.

“We have heard time and again how Scotland will be decisive for this election, but business knows that its role will, if anything, be even greater afterwards.

“Scotland is an energy powerhouse, with natural resources that are the envy of the world, the best-educated workforce in the UK, the home of two green freeports to supercharge our exports.

“But we cannot unlock Scotland’s potential for growth without facing the fact that Scottish productivity underperforms the already dire performance of the rest of the UK.”