If Scotland’s next MSPs want to understand the barriers holding back growth, they should travel the country by road and rail.
One of the clearest messages from businesses across Scotland is this: our infrastructure is no longer keeping pace with our economic ambitions.
Across the country, poor connectivity is acting as a brake on growth. Businesses are facing rising costs and tighter margins, but just as importantly, they are being held back by delays, bottlenecks, and uncertainty in the transport networks they rely on every day.
For Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, reconnecting the rail line north of the Granite City to Ellon, Peterhead and Fraserburgh has long been considered an economic essential.
At Inverness Chamber of Commerce, there is a clear view that the next Scottish Government must finally dual the A96, alongside delivering bypasses for towns such as Nairn.
For the West Highland Chamber, upgrades to the A82 road are paramount, bringing it up to modern trunk road standards.
And in Dundee and Angus, improved connectivity and investment in ports are seen as critical to supporting trade and future growth.
Indeed, the Scottish Government once believed that all Scotland’s cities should be connected by dual carriageway. Yet progress has stalled – and Scotland now risks accepting weaker connectivity between its cities as the norm.
Even the most high-profile infrastructure projects already under way, such as the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness, or the delivery of new CalMac ferries – have been beset by delays and escalating costs. Elsewhere, smaller but no less important projects remain stuck in the queue, waiting for funding decisions.
These projects are not about shaving a few minutes off journey times.
They are about safety on key artery routes that are no longer fit for purpose, and about unlocking growth in parts of the country that too often feel overlooked.
But infrastructure, of course, is only part of the picture.
In the north and north-east, businesses are also navigating the realities of the energy transition, with uncertainty around investment, infrastructure, and long-term policy direction. This is one of Scotland’s greatest economic opportunities, but without clarity, it risks becoming a missed one.
At the same time, small businesses, the backbone of local economies, are under sustained pressure from rising costs, from national insurance to business rates, with many fighting to stay afloat. For many, the challenge is no longer how to grow, but what they can afford to sustain.
That pressure is being felt in our town and city centres. In Aberdeen, Inverness, and Elgin, regeneration efforts are under way, with plans to revitalise high streets and attract investment. But without the right conditions in place – connectivity, investment, and cost competitiveness – progress will be slower, more fragile, and less likely to deliver the long-term impact communities need.
It does not have to be this way.
In SCC’s recently published Plan for Growth, we highlight the approach taken in Denmark, where long-term investment in transport, energy and connectivity is delivered through a clear, cross-party national plan.
The next Scottish Government should set out a National Infrastructure Acceleration Plan in its first year, with clear priorities, realistic timelines and a commitment to delivery in partnership with business.
Critical transport corridors including the A9, A96, A82, A75 and A7 must be prioritised, alongside the infrastructure needed to support the energy transition and unlock investment across the country.
If our new MSPs are not convinced, perhaps one of their first tasks after the election should be to travel across the country and see the challenges for themselves.
Call it a ‘Race Across Scotland’.
For those among them who were less familiar with the realities of the A9, the A96, and the A82, or the CalMac network, it would be a revealing exercise.
And they would quickly see why businesses across Scotland are calling for urgent action.
Ends
