After the Vote: Realising Scotland’s Economic Opportunities

There can be no doubt that the 2024 UK General Election was a vote for change. That change will need to include revitalising the economy, in order to raise living standards and to provide the tax revenues needed to fund public services.

Now that the election campaign is finished, it is also the time to move from debating each of the political parties’ plans for the country to collaborating to realise Scotland’s significant economic opportunities.

We all will have a role to play in this – the new UK Government, the Scottish Government, the public sector organisations and regulators, SMEs, larger businesses, social enterprises, trade unions, and voluntary and public sector organisations. We will all need to re-think what our organisations do and how we engage with other organisations.

What are the economic opportunities and what needs to be done?

There are several areas where Scotland has natural assets and comparative advantage. Opportunities for Scotland to contribute to a revitalised UK economy include:

• Data driven innovation and AI
• Space – from space ports to satellites
• Carbon Capture and Storage
• Renewable energy, in particular offshore wind

All of these are significant opportunities. For example, offshore wind projects already in the planning and development phase represent a 15-fold increase on existing capacity. Whilst millions are being invested now in taking these projects through the development and consenting stages, it will take a decade or more to build this new capacity.

The economic impact of building this new capacity could be substantial. How much of it can be economic impact in Scotland will depend on what can be done to develop a Scottish supply chain and expertise. This should be possible, since we already have expertise in oil and gas, in construction, in the electricity sector and in professional services.

However, this does not fully capture the extent of the economic opportunities arising from renewable energy. These come from transforming the economy. Examples include exporting electricity, exporting the expertise on developing and constructing offshore wind and new economic opportunities that arise from being amongst the first mover countries in the energy transition – and so an abundant supply of sustainable, relatively low cost energy.

Each of the opportunities entails adapting or building new economic systems. We will need a mindset shift to realise the opportunities.

This is not just about having the right strategy in place – we need to shift from strategists to implementers.

It also requires collaborative working. We can look at the foundation of Prosper almost a century ago for inspiration. The founders were worried about the state of the economy in the Depression era – and saw the solution in all parts of society coming together to design and implement the change. What worked then is what we need again now.