Scotland's business community reacts to Humza Yousaf win

The Health Secretary was confirmed as the winner of the contest and Nicola Sturgeon's replacement at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Monday after the ballot closed at 12.

Yousaf won by 52% to 48% over Kate Forbes after Ash Regan was eliminated and her second preference votes redistributed.

READ MORE: Kate Forbes speaks out after Humza Yousaf win

The economy is probably the area in which SNP leadership candidates were heading in the most divergent directions.

Humza Yousaf promised on the campaign trail to provide a grace period or exclude small businesses from the Deposit Return Scheme, but said he wouldn’t stop it unlike his rivals.

On economic growth, Yousaf often placed his emphasis on the concept of the wellbeing economy. He also talked of introducing a new wealth tax in order to raise money for more generous welfare benefits.

Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp, the chief executive of Business for Scotland and the founder of the grassroots independence campaign group Believe in Scotland (BiS), congratulated Humza Yousaf on becoming the new leader of the SNP. 

He said: "We look forward to working with Humza and his new Cabinet and Ministerial Team to help design and implement the Wellbeing Economic Approach that both he and Business for Scotland have championed.

"We see this as a chance for the SNP to reset its recently strained relationship with the Scottish business community and to form a better working relationship with Business for Scotland and the wider independence movement than has been possible in the past.

"Independence support will only rise if we campaign and focus the nation’s thinking on the benefits of independence versus the irreversible decline of Brexit Britain. We hope Humza will put the SNP on an independence campaign footing on day one of his leadership."

Sturgeon's government previously consulted on whether there should be a presumption against new exploration for oil and gas in a bid to reach their climate change target of net zero by 2045.

Humza Yousaf has suggested he would continue the progress on winding down the North Sea industry, pointing to “climate change not going away”.

Steve Brown, the CEO of Orcadian Energy, also congratulated Yousaf and encouraged the new SNP leader to join him for a discussion on "how to protect the future of the North Sea".

Brown added: "The North Sea is one of the UK's greatest natural assets, but it urgently needs greater support. Encouraging investment into the sector has the potential to create thousands of jobs, put billions of pounds into the Exchequer and can ensure energy security for the UK for years to come.   

"Scotland’s energy companies are world-leaders in environmental standards in the oil and gas sector, and bringing new fields on stream will reduce emissions intensity. Scottish oil and gas is much less climate-damaging than imported oil and gas. SNP support for the North Sea will signal to investors that ours is a sector worth investing into for the long term and will be a boon for the economy."

Responding to Humza Yousaf’s victory in the SNP leadership election, the Federation of Small Business’ (FSB) Scotland policy chair, Andrew McRae, said: “It’s my honour to welcome Humza Yousaf as Scotland’s next First Minister.

“Scotland is home to more than 350,000 small businesses, and we look forward to working with Humza Yousaf and his team to get small businesses doing what they do best: generating revenues, creating jobs, delivering services and trading us back to growth.”

Addressing the priorities for the incoming First Minister, McRae added: “Humza Yousaf’s in tray won’t be light on big issues that need urgent attention. But, his top priority must be getting the economy back on its feet and that means, on day one, action on energy bills and regulation.

“On energy, the new First Minister could send a powerful signal by joining our calls for energy providers – especially the major Scottish-based companies – to roll out ‘blend and extend’ schemes, which would allow those businesses who signed up to contracts during the worst of the wholesale cost spikes last year to renegotiate their deals and spread the cost of fuel over a longer term, taking some of the sting out of their bills. 

“On regulation, Humza Yousaf was not alone in his campaign in raising doubts about the viability of DRS, which itself is symptomatic of a broader culture of well-intentioned but poorly executed regulations.

“As incoming First Minister, he has a unique opportunity to stop and take stock of all of the new regulatory schemes coming down the road and their cumulative impact. 

“By taking this pause, the first minister can then lead an exercise in listening to the voices of those who will be charged with the day-to-day execution of these plans – small business owners. By meaningfully understanding some of the pitfalls around the planning and implementation of new schemes, they can be redesigned in a way that makes sure that they are far likelier to succeed.”

READ MORE: Nadia El-Nakla: Who is Humza Yousaf's wife?

The economy should be "priority of priorities" for the new first minister says David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium: 

“The new first minister takes office at a critical juncture for the economy after three years of fallout from the pandemic and the costs crunch affecting households and firms. We look forward to working positively and constructively with the new Ministerial team to ensure the economy is the priority of priorities.

"Central to this should be a plan to bolster the recovery and lift private sector growth, one which eases the regulatory burden whilst building on recent achievements including the government’s retail strategy and retention of the uniform business rate. 

"After all, an expanding economy is good for living standards and job prospects as well as government revenues.”

Dr Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said she was looking forward to working closely with Yousaf to restore business confidence and investment, and "enabling the Scottish economy to drive forward". 

She added: “As we outlined to all the leadership candidates in our open letter last week, there are serious challenges in every sector across the economy. The cost of doing business, labour shortages, lagging infrastructure, are all drags on growth and investment.

"We urge Humza Yousaf to take a pro-business approach with a new cabinet, to help build a build a globally competitive economy and to truly back Scottish business.”

READ MORE: Humza Yousaf pledges to reunite SNP as 'one team'

Food and Drink Federation Scotland’s chief executive officer David Thomson first highlighted Scotland's "fantastic food and drink industry," saying the industry's success is "central to driving sustainable economic growth for Scotland".

“However our food and drink producers continue to face significant pressure as they grapple with persistent cost rises.   

“It’s vital that the new First Minister supports our industry and keeps costs down for Scotland’s households.

“We look forward to an early meeting with the First Minister to discuss how we can work together to ensure the future success of Scotland’s food and drink industry.” 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Night Time Industries Association said: “We welcome Humza Yousaf as the new SNP​ leader and First Minister elect, and look forward to working closely with the new leadership team over the coming months.

“It is important that the First Minister quickly recognises the immediate economic and policy challenges that businesses face, and commits to working with the night time economy and the hospitality industry to develop an effective roadmap on both timing and structuring of impending policies such as DRS, Non Domestic Rates reform and on the wider economic recovery.”

The Scottish Whisky Association also congratulated the new SNP leader. Their chief executive, Mark Kent said: “We look forward to continuing our work with the Scottish government on the priorities and challenges of the industry in line with our sustainability ambitions and the government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation, to ensure that Scotch Whisky has a strong economy at home to support its growth and investment throughout Scotland, the UK and across the globe.”