Sir Tom Hunter has called for Scotland’s next government to draft in “the best of the private sector” to help fix the economy, arguing that stronger leadership, faster reform and a relentless focus on growth are needed to turn the nation’s fortunes around.
Writing in The Times today, the entrepreneur and philanthropist said Scotland should be thriving but instead risks decline unless politicians embrace practical, pro-growth policies rooted in real-world experience.
He wrote: “Running a country must be the most important and most difficult job there is, therefore we need the absolute best. As you look at your ballot paper ask yourself the question: do we have the best?”
Hunter said elected leaders should seek outside expertise once in office, adding: “Why don’t elected officials call on the best of the private sector to help? For nearly every serious business person I speak to it is ‘country first, politics second’.”
The businessman also set out a series of measures he believes could accelerate economic growth.
On housing, he urged ministers to “fast-track planning for 100 units or more” and create common planning rules across Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
He also criticised the current Section 75 planning process, saying one council’s demand for a school to be built years early led to 1,100 homes being withdrawn from planning.
Hunter raised concerns over the size and efficiency of the public sector, noting that employment has risen by 11% in the past five years while productivity has fallen.
For hospitality and retail, he called for an immediate freeze on business rates until a replacement system is designed, arguing the current regime discourages investment.
He said: “A system that has an operator investing £1 million to upgrade a village pub and seeing her rates bill jump from £50,000 to £350,000 is crazy. Why invest at all?”
He also called for action on energy policy, urging government to bring forward the Energy Profits Levy to replace the windfall tax and to reopen licensing in the North Sea.
Business support should also be simplified, he said, describing the current landscape of more than 100 public sector organisations as overly complex and bureaucratic. Instead, he argued for a single “one-stop-shop” focused on backing firms with genuine scale-up potential.
Despite his concerns, Hunter struck an optimistic tone about Scotland’s long-term prospects.
He wrote: “It is my belief that we can again reinvent the modern world by showing how a small nation can go from being effectively bust to booming.”
And he concluded with a plea for stronger leadership ahead of next year’s Holyrood election: “Companies with the best talent win. Countries with the best talent win. I sincerely want Scotland to win, we now need a winning team.”