Your Business editor Ian McConnell has repeated the good news about Scotland’s inward investment performance as recorded by EY UK and Scotland (“External seal of approval for Scotland in insular Brexit Britain,” , The Herald, June 26).
However, on closer examination, it turns out that this is not the conclusion of the EY report itself. What EY says is: “Perceptions of the UK remain high on fundamentals such as its quality of life and legal system, bolstering its attractiveness as a headquarters location. It remains a large and vibrant consumer market. … These attributes – together with the openness of its economy, global historical links and the pivot to ‘Global Britain’ – help to explain why the UK continues to attract a more global cast of investors than most other FDI destinations.”
Scotland’s inward investment performance must be seen in this context, and it is a shame that Mr McConnell has repeatedly succumbed to the perhaps understandable temptation to have a pop at Brexit and Jacob Rees-Mogg, rather than offering your readers a full and balanced account. The whole story is more complex and hopefully more positive than EU-loving Scotland = Good and Brexit Britain = Bad.
Peter A. Russell, Glasgow
Planet Pedro! 