Scottish Labour has pledged to scrap Scotland’s “unfair” business rates system and replace it with a new local business levy as part of its 2026 Holyrood manifesto launch.
The party said the replacement model would be designed with business and local authorities, remain revenue neutral overall, and be rebalanced to support retail and hospitality firms in town centres while promoting local economic growth.
It also said online retailers and large distribution warehouses would be expected to “pay their fair share”.
The rates pledge sits at the centre of a wider pro-growth package unveiled in the manifesto, which Labour says is aimed at making Scotland a more attractive place to invest, grow firms and create jobs.
Among the other business-focused measures are plans for a single industrial strategy developed with industry, a new Scottish Board of Trade bringing together business and trade unions, and reforms to procurement rules to ensure more public money supports Scottish jobs and supply chains.
The party has also promised to overhaul the planning system by speeding up decisions, taking greater account of projects’ economic potential and expanding zonal planning to unlock stalled developments.
For smaller firms and scale-ups, Labour says it would simplify access to finance by consolidating public investment funds and refocusing Scottish Enterprise on helping ambitious Scottish businesses expand and compete internationally.
There were also specific pledges for the North-east and Aberdeen, where Labour said it would deliver £40m of funding over the parliament for Opportunity North East and the Energy Transition Zone in Aberdeen.”
Launching the manifesto, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “We are a country of talent, compassion, innovation and ambition. We have everything we need to succeed except a government prepared to match the potential of the Scottish people. That is the change Scotland needs.”
He added: “A Scottish Labour government will be relentless in the service of the hard-working majority. It will focus on delivery, not distraction. It will put country before party and the interests of the people of Scotland first.”