GLASGOW BUSINESS MAY/JUNE 2014
CEO/CONTACTS
Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive
chiefexecutive@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
Referendum - now the end game begins
So we are now into the final stretch of the marathon that has been the Scottish constitutional referendum campaign. The remainder of the time will be fought under the gaze of the Electoral Commission and spending limits now apply. At Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
we set up a Constitutional Committee to guide us in tackling an issue that is bound to affect the whole of our membership in one way or another. Following the Committee’s instructions, we asked each of the two campaign teams at Yes Scotland and at Better Together to answer a set of questions that were relevant to the future of business and of the city of Glasgow. We asked each of the five parties at Holyrood to answer the same questions. The responses – along with a set of summary papers –
are published in full on the Chamber website. We also supported a survey of the Chamber membership carried out by Scottish Chambers of Commerce asking members how they rated the quality of the campaign, what they consider the important issues to be and how they assessed the opportunities and risk associated with the possible outcomes of the vote. We then held two events – one with the Rt Hon Alastair Darling MP as Chair of the Better Together campaign and one with Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP for Yes
Scotland – to give members the opportunity to hear each case and pose
their questions.
Inevitably, over such a long campaign, some issues – such as currency or European Union
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Glasgow Chamber steps up the independence referendum debate 6
membership – have crystallized into hardened views with forecasts, assertions and fine points being lobbed across the divide in a blur of media debate. Other issues have had surprisingly limited attention, notably including the implications for Glasgow as Scotland’s largest city. We have also started a series of blogs examining the issues affecting Chamber members. I am acutely conscious that we have a wide variety of views on the consequences of the vote and in these blogs I will be taking a topic, reviewing the evidence available from both sides and from independent sources and summing up what we know and what we don’t. It’s also in the back of my mind that 56 per cent of members responding to the Scottish Chambers’ survey felt the campaign to the date of that survey in April had been poor or dismal. Only 20 per cent felt it had been good to very good. I wouldn’t begin to suggest that these blogs will change that view, but at the very least we aim to make sure that we have weighed up and summarised all the evidence we can find to the best of our ability. Please feel free to contact the Chamber by
whichever channel you prefer – through the website, social media, an email, a letter, a phone call or face to face at a Chamber event. Tell us what you are thinking. Businesses don’t vote; this we know. People vote. But you will have views about what this vote means – or could mean – for your business. Please let us know.
HEAD OF EVENTS Alan Busby ~ 0141 204 8323
alan.busby@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
CHIEF EXECUTIVE Stuart Patrick~ 0141 204 8317
stuart.patrick@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE Richard Muir ~ 0141 204 8326
richard.muir@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
PROJECTS DIRECTOR Alison McRae ~ 0141 204 8339
alison.mcrae@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
HEAD OF TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Elaine Rodger ~ 0141 204 8332
elaine.rodger@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
BUSINESS SERVICE MANAGER Cathie McKay ~ 0141 204 8317
cathie.mckay@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
FINANCE MANAGER Audrey Hamilton ~ 0141 204 8334
audrey.hamilton@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS Anne Marie Hughes ~ 0141 204 8325
annemarie.hughes@glasgowchamberof
commerce.com
HEAD OF PARTNERSHIP & MEMBERSHIP OPERATIONS Susan McKay ~ 0141 204 8347
susan.mckay@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL CERTIFICATION Catherine Bryson ~ 0141 204 8390
cathy.bryson@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
PROJECTS AND EMPLOYABILITY MANAGER Leona Seaton ~ 0141 204 8338
leona.seaton@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
PROJECTS EXECUTIVE Selina Hales ~ 0141 204 8358
selina.hales@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS EXECUTIVE Shona MacPherson ~ 0141 204 8364
shona.macpherson@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
PROJECTS ASSISTANT Blair Stevenson ~ 0141 204 8339
blair.stevenson@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
EVENTS AND COMMUNICATIONS EXECUTIVE Colum Fraser ~ 0141 204 8319
colum.fraser@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT Danielle Grant ~ 0141 204 8349
danielle.grant@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
FINANCE ASSISTANT Liz Mason ~ 0141 204 8329
liz.mason@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
CERTIFICATION EXECUTIVE Yasmin Akram ~ 0141 204 8330
yasmin.akram@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
CERTIFICATION EXECUTIVE Lorraine Galbraith ~ 0141 204 8365
lorraine.galbraith@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
CERTIFICATION EXECUTIVE Katie Anderson ~ 0141 204 8381
katie.anderson@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
RECEPTIONISTS Dawn Chalmers and Sandra Barrie ~ 0141 204 2121
dawn.chalmers@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com sandra.barrie@
glasgowchamberofcommerce.com reception@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
30 George Square, Glasgow G2 1EQ Tel: 0141 204 2121 Fax: 0141 221 2336
chamber@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
Glasgow Business is published for Glasgow Chamber of Commerce by Connect Publications:
www.connectcommunications.co.uk
ADVERTISING SALES Graham Cairns ~ 0141 204 2042
info@contactpublicity.co.uk
PRODUCTION Gary Atkinson ~ 0141 560 3024
gary@connectcommunications.co.uk
The views within Glasgow Business do not necessarily reflect those of Glasgow Chamber. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of material in this publication, the publishers and Glasgow Chamber of Commerce cannot accept responsibility for the claims made by contributors in advertising or editorial.
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