Across the UK unemployment is at a 7 year high and in Scotland 2,000 more people are unemployed than were this time last year.
Labour seriously need to pay attention to Scotland's economy and the growing frustration from businesses trying to operate and grow within Scotland. The Scottish Executive has failed to do anything significant to support business. At every step the public sector does all it can to frustrate the private sector, whether that be by making it difficult for developers to persue much needed and wanted residential plans or by making dealing with tenders and procurement officials so full of paperwork and bureaucracy.
At every level of government, especially local government, the private sector is treated with caution and officials simply fail to understand how their modus operandi frustrates people and organisations who just want to get on with the job. Still the culture in Scotland's public sector is ultra caution and job creation/protection rather than a little bit of bravery and a lot of cost cutting and efficient working to actually deliver something useful. Book on PC language for council officers doesn't count.
Of course we shouldn't forget that the Lib Dems have a lot to answer for. Since Nicol Stephen has been Enterprise Minister he has been so anonymous even the folks at Scottish Enterprise have to look at a wall chart to work out who he is. McConnell and Stephen are a joke in the business community and they both completely fail to understand what it is that keeps the country ticking.
