Cole-Hamilton: We will save small business from SNP rates wrecking ball

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has today used a visit to the Far From The Madding Crowd book shop in Linlithgow to set out how his party is standing in the way of the SNP’s business rates wrecking ball and to reveal a package of new measures to support high streets.

From today, new rateable values will be in place for all 260,000 rated non-domestic properties in Scotland.

Through budget negotiations, the Scottish Liberal Democrats secured £178m in additional rates relief for linchpins of the high street including pubs and restaurants - a move UKHospitality Scotland said “will help soften the blow”. But the party has warned that the system is broken and needs fixed.

In the Scottish Liberal Democrat manifesto the party will commit to:

• Reforming business rates and ensuring revaluations don’t produce unfair bills that condemn otherwise viable businesses.
• Improving public transport with more late night rail services to boost the nighttime economy and make a night out easier and more affordable.
• Immediately double the funding for the Retail Crime Taskforce meaning more areas will have more police officers, detectives and specialist analysts focused on offences such as shoplifting and its connections to organised crime - a move that could result in 4,000 more shoplifting charges and detections this year.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said:

“Business is the beating heart of Scotland. But the SNP Government doesn’t get business and their track record proves they don’t care about it. Too many are going bust and high streets are struggling to survive.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats stood in the way of the business rates wrecking ball and got £178m to help linchpins of the high street like pubs and restaurants. It’s a start, we absolutely need to go further, and it proves my party will roll up our sleeves and get things done.

“We will create a competitive and fair business tax regime that supports growth and employment. We won’t let sudden steep rate hikes threaten the survival of successful businesses.

“We want to make it easier and more affordable to have a night out by increasing late night rail services. And we’d double funding for the specialist Police Scotland unit going after shoplifters and the organised crime that can sit behind it.

“If you want to get customers back to high streets that we can be proud of then in many constituencies we are on the verge of winning against the SNP but wherever you are, every vote for the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the second peach ballot paper will deliver change with fairness at its heart.”