SFE responds to UK general election results

Commenting on Labour’s general election victory, Sandy Begbie CBE, Chief Executive, Scottish Financial Enterprise, said:

 “We congratulate Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party on their election victory and look forward to working with the new UK government on our shared ambition of driving economic growth.

 “It’s clear that the new Prime Minister will have a daunting in-tray with the country facing a litany of serious economic challenges, but with the right interventions there are also huge opportunities to be unleashed.

 “As we highlighted in our election manifesto, sustainable growth must be the government’s guiding ambition. To achieve this, Starmer must demonstrate good government, foster a thriving business environment, champion green and sustainable finance, and invest in our people and their skills.

 “Policy alignment within and between governments is key, and we would like to see the UK and Scottish governments working together to remove barriers, empowering industry and helping to deliver economic growth.

“Scotland has a fundamental role to play in delivering the economic growth that the UK so desperately requires, and our world class financial services industry is ready to play its part. Our sector is already worth £14.3billion GVA to the UK economy each year, employing almost 150,000 people in high-wage, high-skill jobs.

“We look forward to working closely with the UK and Scottish Governments to unlock further growth in our sector, adding an additional £4bn -£7bn to the UK economy by 2028.”