GE15: Response To Outcome

Bodies, trade unions and banks have been responding to the 2015 general election result.

Liz Cameron OBE, Director and Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said: “Voters across the UK have spoken and the Prime Minister has been returned to Downing Street, this time with an overall majority.  It is now vital that the business of Government resumes quickly. We would remind all politicians that it is hard working business people across the country who have created the jobs and provided the growth that the UK has enjoyed.   Supporting business growth, creating stable conditions and providing global confidence must be their top priorities.
 
“Our economy remains vulnerable to external shocks, such as the continuing Greek bailout saga and a slowdown in a number of our international target markets.  What we don’t need is extended uncertainty over our future membership of the European Union.  This market is worth £12.9 billion to Scotland’s exporters and the European question needs to be settled quickly and decisively.
 
“Here in Scotland, the election has produced a very different result to the rest of the UK, but business and our economy should remain the central driver.  That is our message to all Scottish MPs. Let’s grasp the opportunity and ensure that our politicians work more closely together as they embark on the implementation of additional devolved powers to the Scottish Parliament.  They must ensure that Scottish businesses are not placed at a disadvantage in terms of our ability to compete, particularly in our aspirations to support more small and medium sized businesses to access new markets and do business internationally.
 
“Business is on the path of recovery but now we must work to broaden opportunities and expand horizons.  The Parliament ahead must deliver for business both at home and abroad.”

Meanwhile, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) General Secretary Grahame Smith said: “We have witnessed a truly historic outcome in Scotland to the General Election, the ramifications of which are likely to fundamentally transform not just Scottish politics but our country. 
 
“It is clear that there is in Scotland a monumental movement for change, a movement that has, at this time, invested its hopes and trust in the SNP.
 
“Their demand was not for Independence.  It was for a progressive policy agenda. It was for an end to austerity, an end to exploitative work practices, an end to poverty, and a positive future for our young people. This is the agenda that the people of Scotland expect to be fought for at Westminster on their behalf.
 
“The democratic deficit that now exists in the governance of the UK demands early and considered attention to the extension of Scottish devolution.
 
“The Smith Commission proposals were in truth a half-baked and in incoherent political compromise, the consequence of an absence of proper engagement with the people of Scotland.
 
“Clearly they will have to be revisited and the same mistake avoided. It is crucial that, in their understandable enthusiasm to make progress, SNP MP do not ignore their obligation to engage Scottish civil society in determining the nature of a new devolution settlement.
 
“We must avoid at all costs a settlement that seeks to serve Tory party self-interest, a self-interest that we witnessed during the campaign in the party’s callous collusion with the right wing media to provoke anti-Scottish sentiment in its ruthless pursuit of power. 

“The SNP must be willing to carefully consider and respond to the genuine and deeply worrying concerns that we and many others have over its demand for full fiscal autonomy. If its objective in securing more powers for the Scottish Parliament is to improve economic  competitiveness and reduce inequality it would be far better focusing on the devolution of workplace protection.
 
“I will be making this point to the First Minster when we meet next week.
 
“The election of a Tory Government at Westminster is a disaster for working people across the UK. With Labour in Government we would have had some hope of a more progressive agenda on workplace protection. We now face the prospect of further Tory attacks on union organisation and activity which will destabilise UK industrial relations.
 
“We will seek to build a political and civic coalition both in Scotland and across the UK to resist these attacks with union membership and activity at its heart.  
 
“The result was obviously a total disaster for the Scottish Labour Party.  The loss of a number of Labour MPs with whom we worked closely over many years is disappointing. It is clear that the Party has lost the confidence of many working people and not just because of its approach to the Referendum.  It needs to fundamentally reconsider not just its message but the authenticity of how that message is delivered.
 
“I congratulate Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP on a stunning election success. They now have the responsibility to fight for the real and progressive change for Scotland that the people have backed them to deliver. “

Adam Chester, Head of Economic Research and Market Strategy at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking said; “The lifting of the political fog has prompted a sharp reaction in the FX markets. Sterling has spiked higher against both the US dollar and the euro. Sterling rose sharply when the exit poll was published at 10pm last night, with GBP/USD rising to around 1.5450 and extending gains to above 1.55 as the results pointed to a clear Conservative victory. Government bond prices and the FTSE 100 have also opened higher. Within minutes of these markets opening, the FTSE 100 rose around 80 points to above 6,900, whilst 10 year government bond yields dropped over 10 basis points to 1.8% .
 
“Prior to the election result, pollsters were universally predicting a hung parliament. The results overnight have removed this risk. Nevertheless, over the medium term the markets could focus on the uncertainty surrounding an EU Referendum. The markets may also conclude that the strong performance of the SNP may raise the possibility of another Scottish independence referendum. Both these uncertainties could raise the volatility of the pound over the medium term.”