Business for Scotland
| Formation | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Focus | Scottish prosperity |
|
Key people
|
Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp, Richard Arkless, Tony Banks, Graeme McCormick, Ian McDougall, Gillian O'Neill, Rob Aberdein, Jil Murphy, Donald Maclean, Kenny Anderson, Michelle Rodger, Michelle Thomson, David Cairns, Sandy Adam |
| Mission | 'To champion progress towards the creation of a Scottish society and business community that provides greater opportunities for shared prosperity' |
| Website | businessforscotland |
Business for Scotland is a business network and business and economic policy think tank which seeks to give a voice to businesspeople who support Scottish independence.
Business for Scotland was founded by six Scottish business owners and directors, and generated over 250 members by word-of-mouth prior to the launch of its website. The organisation's membership had risen to 350 by the time of its official launch in May 2013, where it was publicly backed by Falklands War veteran and Scottish entrepreneur, Tony Banks. Business for Scotland membership at the time of the referendum was approximately 3,000.
Tony Banks (Balhousie Care Group), Graeme McCormick (Conveyancing Direct), Ian McDougall (McDougall Johnstone/ The Glasgow Distillery), Gillian O'Neill (29 Studios), Rob Aberdein (Aberdein Considine), Jil Murphy (Thin Red Line/ Head of BfS Edinburgh), Donald Maclean (Business Cost Consultants), Kenny Anderson (Anderson Construction), Michelle Rodger (Tartan Cat/ Head of BfS Glasgow), David Cairns (PrismTech/ Head of BfS Perth), Sandy Adam (Springfield Properties), Brian Souter (Souter Investments). Jim Mather, who was a member of the Scottish Parliament for the Scottish National Party (SNP) between 2003 and 2011, and served as Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism under the 2007-11 SNP government, was a director at the organisation.
Business for Scotland Ltd registered with the Electoral Commission as a "permitted participant" on the Yes side in the Scottish independence referendum, 2014. It spent £143,027 campaigning at the independence referendum making it the largest spender of the all the registered participant groups. After the referendum it was revealed that Business for Scotland received a £100,000 donation from Stagecoach founder Brain Souter.
The Founder and Chief Executive of the organisation, and registered responsible person with the electoral commission was Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp. The organisation was chaired during the referendum by Tony Banks. The former SNP MP Michelle Thomson held the renumerated position of Managing Director for 6 months before being moved from operational duties to media and presentation duties. It was alleged in 2015 that under instruction from Peter Murrell, chief executive of the Scottish National Party (and husband of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon), Thomson had been stripped of her role as a paid consultant at Business for Scotland some months before the referendum. Business for Scotland also had Thomson increase her press and debating duties and allowed her to maintain the title Managing Director for spokesperson duties.
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