CBI Annual Lunch: First Minister's Speech - 22 May 2026

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak with you today. I will get my apologies in first. I have a long standing commitment in my Perthshire constituency which has been delayed until later today to enable me to be here so I will have to leave just after my speech to attend that event. I would not usually leave so swiftly but I hope you will understand the need for me to be with the people who have just re-elected me to the Scottish Parliament and I look forward to doing that.

I will, of course, miss the contribution from Sir Tom Hunter and I don’t want you to think I was deliberately avoiding listening to Sir Tom. How could I ever, ever have that aspiration? I did however have the opportunity to meet Sir Tom when I invited him to Bute House on Tuesday to discuss his constructive contribution to the debate about Scotland’s future.

Sir Tom and I agreed a number of steps to make sure the ideas of business are at the heart of my Government’s agenda and I will say more about that later on today.

This is my first formal speaking engagement since being re-elected as the First Minister of Scotland and since the formation of my ministerial team on Wednesday. I have just concluded the first meeting of the Scottish Cabinet after the election just across Charlotte Square in Bute House.

And I am glad that my first formal speech since re-election is on the economy and the crucial role that business contributes to the success of our country.

Today I am joined by the new Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Tourism and Transport, Stephen Flynn, and by a number of senior officials from the Scottish Government led by the Permanent Secretary – my principal Civil Service adviser - Joe Griffin.

At the very outset of my speech, let me set out my commitment on the economy and give you a guarantee about how that will be achieved.

My commitment is that delivering increased economic growth in Scotland will be at the very heart of the Scottish Government’s agenda throughout the five year term of this Parliament.

And the guarantee that I give, is that the voice of business will be engaged substantively by the Scottish Government throughout the five years of this parliamentary term.

The underpinning approach that I bring into Government is that I want to create a sense of national purpose to make Scotland a more successful country.

The Government has a fundamental role to perform in taking forward the policies, the legislation and the budget choices to make that happen.

But to be successful in creating a sense of national purpose means we have to embrace the ideas, the proposals and the creativity of countless sectors of Scottish society.

And on the economy, that means listening carefully, and on a sustained basis, to the aspirations of the business community about what will help – in the actions of Government – to create the conditions for success.

So at the outset of my comments, let me issue this invitation to the business community in Scotland. You are invited to engage with my Government, with me, my Ministers and my officials.

Air with us the barriers to success.

Point out what is taking too long.

Set out what measures would help to grow the Scottish economy.

And I give you the assurance that your voice will be heard.

Sir Tom set out his aspirations and some of his ideas to me when we met on Tuesday. Some of them are in my power to deliver. Some are not.

But I gave Sir Tom a commitment in Bute House – which I reiterate today – that I will do all that I can to take those ideas forward.

It is necessary for me, of course, to be able to command Parliamentary support for many of the measures you might want me to take forward.

As you will know from the election outcome, although my Party won a fifth term in office, with a lead over our next rival that is greater than in any other session of the Scottish Parliament, we do not command an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament.

I do not see the absence of a single party majority as an impediment to making progress to make Scotland a more successful country.

I have been greatly heartened by the reaction of some of my political rivals in the aftermath of the Scottish Parliament elections. In contributions made this week in Parliament by leading voices in the Labour Party, the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, there has been a willingness expressed to work together to achieve progress, to make things happen, to deliver for people.

And I have signalled the enthusiasm of the Scottish Government I lead to work constructively with other political parties - to be prepared to collaborate, to compromise, even to co-produce measures - that will help build a more successful future for our country.

So I stand here today very optimistic, that despite all that has been said and done during a highly contested election, there is now a space for us all, political parties, business, communities, trades unions, public authorities and the people, to work together to create a sense of national purpose to make Scotland a more successful country.

And as First Minister, I intend to lead a Government that creates the conditions to achieve that aim.

In taking forward that aspiration, we all have to be mindful that we are living in turbulent times. Storm clouds are gathering as a result of war in the Gulf; the headwinds they create could be strong, and push us back, or worse, knock us off course. There is only so much a government, a business, a household can do in the face of events.

But that does not mean that we are powerless.

I have a role, and my government has a role, to respond flexibly and creatively to the emerging global economic environment, using the powers we have to their fullest effect.

We have a responsibility to set a clear course and to put in place the ingredients – the range of economic policies – that will enable us to make the most of the very many economic opportunities that we enjoy here in Scotland.

So much else that we want to achieve, from further reducing child poverty to investing in modern, responsive, flexible and citizen-centred public services, depends on increasing our tax base, on increasing our collective national wealth and that illustrates why the actions we take on the economy are so critical to create the foundations of the society that I want to lead.

The cabinet and the ministerial team that I appointed on Wednesday sends a very clear signal of my intention in this area.

First, I have brought energy and Europe within my own ministerial team – reporting directly to me, as First Minister.

If Scotland is to flourish, we must find a way of translating our vast energy wealth into more direct economic benefit for the people of Scotland and the businesses of Scotland. I have asked Stephen Gethins, an experienced parliamentarian, to take forward these responsibilities.

In the same way as low corporation tax was transformational for the Irish economy, I believe low energy costs can and should be as transformational to the Scottish economy.

Stephen Gethins will lead also on Europe. The damage caused by Brexit is real.

That is why we must explore every avenue and take every opportunity to get closer economically to the European Union, to the largest single market for trade in the world.

This golden combination – control over our own energy resources and a restored membership of the EU – is of course what is on offer for my politics with independence for our nation.

It is a golden combination that I believe will provide both prosperity and security for Scotland in this evermore uncertain world.

Second, I have created a new position within the Cabinet, a new Cabinet Secretary for Public Sector Reform, Ivan McKee, who I have tasked with working closely with my new Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary, Jenny Gilruth to change the way government works in Scotland.

Quite simply, government in Scotland needs to work better.

Our systems and structures need to be simpler and focused first and always on the needs of the citizen, on the needs of the user – including the business community.

A government that works better for Scotland is not only good in itself, it is also essential if we are to deliver the investment our country needs – whether that is giving families more help with costs, further modernising our roads and railways, or ensuring best-value return for every tax payer pound that is spent.

And third, I have asked Stephen Flynn to drive forward our approach on enterprise and investment as my new Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Tourism and Transport. 

I have given Stephen the very clear instruction to prioritise engagement with the business community. We want to work with you, we want to hear about your businesses in the round, understand more fully the environment in which they are operating in.

Not only the pressures that we can help to ease, or the representations we can make on your behalf, but the opportunities that we can help to turbocharge.

I have asked Stephen Flynn also to work with our Innovation and Technology Minister Ben MacPherson to be creative and flexible in this time of fast-changing technology, where the most successful nations will be those best able to catch and ride the next wave that comes in our direction.

The opportunity is great. Scotland’s fundamentals are among the very best in the world. We are blessed with resources, with world-class universities, with a skilled population. We have our fair share of innovators, entrepreneurs and engineers. The sum of the parts, however, is often less than it could well be.

But the ingredients are there, and we can take choices that will allow us to make the most of Scotland’s opportunity.

To turn round to more specific areas, I want to touch on four particular areas of focus that I discussed with Sir Tom on Tuesday.

Let me start with skills.

If we are serious about growth, we must also be serious also about skills.

The business community is on the front line, and I need to hear loud and clear from you what is and what is not working.

We are committed to delivering 150,000 modern and graduate apprenticeships over these next five years and it is vital they are aligned to the strategic needs of our economy. And we will build on that – by introducing a new Apprenticeship Accelerator Grant, backed by the Levy, to support employers who wish to go further but we need to hear your experience to ensure that what we are designing in our skills infrastructure meets the needs of the business community.

Secondly, let me talk about scale-ups.

In recent years, Scotland has become a strong centre of innovation and entrepreneurship – with a growing number of people starting businesses, and continued success in attracting investment across key sectors.

But that success brings a next challenge.

Not just starting businesses – but helping them to scale.

Helping them find the skills, secure the capital, and win the markets they need to grow here in Scotland.

This too is an area where partnership is essential.

We want to strengthen support for high-growth firms, bringing a sharper focus on those with the greatest potential to scale.

We want to ensure they are better connected to investment, to expertise, and to international opportunities.

Again, your collective wisdom and experience is crucial to helping us make the right choices.

Third, planning.

I recognise the concerns you have raised consistently.

I’m not going to rehearse the improvements made in recent years because it is clear that more needs to be done.

Planning must be a proactive enabler of development – supporting investment and growth.

That is why, as part of our 100 days programme, I want further engagement with partners, crucially the business community, so we can map out together the further improvements that are necessary if the planning system is to better support growth and investment.

And fourthly, let me turn to non-domestic rates.

This is an area where I hear strong and deeply concerned views from business.

We have taken steps in this year’s Budget, reducing all three property rates, and putting in place reliefs worth over £870 million.

There is also transitional support, helping around 60,000 properties facing the sharpest increases.

But I recognise this is not just about individual measures.

It is about how the system works overall – and whether it provides the clarity, the confidence, the incentive and the transparency businesses need to enable them to invest and to grow.

So I want us to engage urgently – within the first 100 days of this Government – to identify the early steps we can take to address these concerns.

I want to finish my contribution today with one final reflection. Becoming First Minister of Scotland two years ago was for me, a uniquely special moment. But I had not quite anticipated the impact of being elected into this Office, in my own right, by the people of Scotland.

Having my own mandate makes an enormous difference.

It has given me an even greater sense of responsibility, it has made me even more determined to lead our nation on an upward path and gives me more authority to make it happen.

We have had too many years where hope has been in short supply.

So I want my leadership over these next five years to be a time of ambition and possibility.

A time when we see challenges, we face them down.

When we see opportunities, we rise to them.

That approach is important as we wrestle with the challenges in our public finances and our public services.

But it is all the more important when it comes to the money people have in their pockets, to the profits that our job creators and innovators are able to make.

Five years from now, I want to look back on a Scotland that is more at peace with itself, a nation with a spring in its step, because we are beginning to reach our full potential.

And five years from now, I want us to look at each other, knowing that each and every one of us was able to play our part, warmly and welcomed, in creating a more successful Scotland.

Thank you very much.