For the last 18 years, it has become increasingly more difficult to work out which principles – if any – underpin the SNP’s approach to Scotland’s economy.
One thing that has always been clear, however, is that the SNP Government’s strategy has not been based on sound, tried-and-tested economic principles.
Since coming to power in 2007, the SNP have turned Scotland into the highest taxed part of the UK, and they have done their level best to create an anti-innovation and anti-business environment.
Not only this, but they even chose to go into government alongside the unashamedly anti-growth Scottish Green Party.
More recently too, the SNP’s mismanagement of the economy has been aided and abetted by the UK Labour Government, who are currently doing their best to make a bad situation even worse.
Their decision to means test older people’s Winter Fuel Allowance is just one example of this.
It is welcome news that Labour have finally U-turned on this decision, after caving in to pressure from Kemi Badenoch and the UK Conservative Party, but this decision should never have been taken in the first place.
An even greater concern is around the policies which Labour have yet to scrap, such as the Employer National Insurance increase.
This disastrous tax on jobs has already put the brakes on the UK’s jobs market, and there are numerous companies confirming they will have to freeze recruitment as a result of this decision.
To top all this off, Labour have now shamefully handed over fishing access for EU vessels in Scottish waters for another 12 years, which is a betrayal of our vital Scottish fishing industry.
Of course, if the SNP were to have things their way, they would send us back into the EU and we would be forced to adopt the universally hated Common Fisheries Policy all over again.
The problems with this approach by both of Scotland’s governments were recently laid bare in a report issued by one of Scotland’s most successful entrepreneurs, Sir Tom Hunter.
The report drew on lessons from Singapore, which has transformed its economy over the last 60 years – while Scotland has slipped into a state of ‘managed decline’ which callously wastes our country’s enormous potential.
The report correctly highlights the need to incentivise innovation and wealth creation.
Without this, the public services we all care about, including Scotland’s NHS, simply won’t have the funding they will need to thrive in the long term.
Speaking about his recent report, Sir Tom Hunter said: "It’s not outrageous to think we could reclaim our place on the global stage once again."
On this, I agree entirely.
With bold and ambitious actions from both the Scottish and UK Governments, underpinned by sound economic principles, Scotland can be an example to the rest of the world.
Instead of learning from the example Scotland sets on the world stage, other countries would be looking to follow it.
This is an important part of the common-sense platform that I and my Scottish Conservative colleagues will be standing on in next year’s Scottish elections, and I shall continue to make the case for this every month until then.
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