Business output rises but Scotland lags behind UK

Labour's leader in the Scottish Parliament, Iain Gray criticised “the Salmond Slump” for holding back economic recovery in Scotland as the latest figures show a rise in business output last month but Scotland is still lagging behind the rest of the UK.

Iain Gray MSP, said: “The lift in output and orders is good news but Scotland was still below the level of improvement for the UK.

“The ‘Salmond Slump’ is holding us back at a crucial time. Labour has taken decisive action ever since the global banking crisis crunch in 2008 to stimulate the economic recovery.

“But the SNP have failed Scotland. Alex Salmond has the levers available  but is more interested in his vanity projects such as the referendum.

“Meanwhile his Futures Trust has been a total failure and has not built one new school or hospital. Over £2bn of investment has been lost from the Scottish economy in infrastructure projects and almost 30,000 construction jobs because of the Salmond Slump. The negative impact this has on the overall economy is unforgivable."

8 March 2010