SRC: Pro-Growth Measures Needed in Next Parliament
The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) has published the second of three mini-manifestos ahead of next year’s Scottish Parliamentary Election.
This second paper, ‘Delivering Real Growth' focuses on the policy solutions the retail industry believes are necessary to move back to sustained above inflation economic growth. The last five years have seen the industry hit with domestic and international shocks which have driven up prices, whilst many stalwart brands are no longer trading.
Official Figures published last week showed how Scottish retail is stuck in a low-growth cycle. Between 2022 and 2023 Retail Turnover in Scotland fell by £500 million. The SRC’s own retail sales monitor showed a rise of 0.5 percent between September 2024 to 2025.
The industry – Scotland’s largest private sector employer - recognises there are no silver bullets which will transform the economy. Instead a drive on reducing the cost of business, supporting consumer spending, increasing productivity and bringing necessary efficiency to the more bureaucratic branches of government are required to deliver growth. In combination this will lead to higher living standards and greater tax revenue to fund vital public services. Specifically the industry are calling for a four-point economic action plan:
- Deliver a competitive business tax regime which includes a meaningfully more competitive business rate for all retailers than is planned for England, a public commitment to no new levies on the retail industry, and ensuring Scottish Ministers rather than councils set the business rate.
- Keep down costs for consumers by avoiding further income tax divergence with the rest of the UK and setting out a plan to narrow the divergence, uplifting Income Tax thresholds in line with CPI every year, and introducing local referendums if Local Authorities wish to raise Council Tax by more than five percent.
- Drive productivity gains by investing in transport infrastructure and skills; specifically by giving businesses much greater control over their Apprenticeship Levy contributions.
- Keep down the cost of government by commissioning independent reviews of both local government and public sector bodies to assess whether they are fit for purpose and if there are opportunities for efficiencies. No further tax-raising powers should be devolved to local authorities until after these reviews are implemented.
The manifesto release coincides with new polling undertaken by the Scottish Retail Consortium and Opinium which has found more Scots are opposed to giving local authorities additional powers to introduce new local taxes on residents or businesses than support the idea. It follows the Scottish Government’s recent Tax Strategy which said Ministers would explore what further tax powers could be handed to councils, in addition to recent moves on workplace parking levies and the visitor levy.
Commenting on the launch of the second mini-manifesto, David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said:
“The only realistic path to higher living standards and well-resourced vital public services is by growing Scotland’s economy. That means removing barriers to growth whilst maintaining the structures which mean government, business, and citizens can all share the proceeds of improved economic performance.
“The last year has seen household spending stall due to the cost of living, whilst shop price inflation has risen as businesses now pass on increased tax costs to their consumers. The fiscal truth is both customer and business taxation is at saturation point. Yet whilst both households and boardrooms have seen difficult decisions made on which spending to prioritise, the size of the Scottish civil service is at or near record levels, there are now more quangos than MSPs, and it is over a quarter of a century since we reformed the number of local authorities. It’s time central government cut its cloth the way households and businesses already have
“By taking these necessary decisions in a strategic manner the Scottish Government can maintain current support for key services, avoid undesirable tax increases, and invest in productivity-increasing measures on skills and infrastructure. The last five years have seen Scotland buffeted by external economic headwinds. It’s time for Scottish politicians to take greater control of our economy’s destiny by making the necessary decisions to deliver future prosperity.”
Notes to Editors
1.) The Second Mini-Manifesto can be found here: https://brc.org.uk/media/kmclwhjv/vote-retail-2026-growth-manifesto.pdf
2.) The 2023 Scottish Annual Business Survey (published 22nd October 2025) can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-annual-business-statistics-2023/pages/industry-profiles/
3.) SRC-Opinium polling of 205 Scots was carried out in October 2025 as part of their Consumer Sentiment Monitor:
Would you support or oppose giving Scottish local authorities additional powers to introduce new local levies or taxes on residents and/or businesses?
§ 40% oppose
§ 29% support
§ 20% neither
§ 11% not sure
