Scotland must ‘look outwards’ to become cultural superpower – Sarwar

Scotland should “look outwards” to regain its status as a cultural superpower, Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said.

During a visit to the Barrowlands in Glasgow on Friday, Mr Sarwar said the Scottish Government should consider revamping business rates and supporting tourism.

He said ministers currently want to “sell Scotland to the Scots”.

He added: “We all know Scotland is an amazing place, we all know Scotland is absolutely brimming with talent, we all know Scotland can export that talent to other parts of the world.

“I’m more interested in selling the great parts of Scotland to other parts of the world.

“I want people to come to Scotland, visit Scotland… spend money in Scotland, come and watch shows in Scotland, I want the great talents of Scotland to go out to other parts of the world and demonstrate that Scottish talent – I want us to be that cultural superpower.”

He said part of making Scotland a more attractive destination comes from supporting the night-time industries, calling on the Scottish Government to make business rates “fairer” for smaller firms and drop the “shambolic” deposit return scheme that has come under fire this week.

He also called for support packages for town centres to encourage more people back into the high street.

Mr Sarwar has in recent weeks pushed his party as being “pro-business, pro-growth”, in a conscious pitch to voters worried about the economy.

When asked how that sits alongside the party’s historic support for workers’ rights, he said: “I’m passionately pro-worker, but I’m passionately pro-business.

“Labour will always be viewed as a social policy-led political party, political organisation, rightly.

“But the point I’m making is you can only achieve those social policy goals if it’s backed up with a strong, growing economy, so we can increase the tax base and use that growing economy in order to invest in our National Health Service, invest in our education system, invest and reinvigorate our wider public services.”

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: “Scotland is a world-leading tourist destination, and support for that is always welcome.

“But Anas Sarwar’s comments might carry more weight if he and Labour weren’t now backing Brexit, with all the huge damage that is doing to Scotland’s cultural sector.

“In terms of business rates in Scotland, our 2023-24 budget delivers the lowest non-domestic rates poundage in the UK for the fifth year in a row, saving ratepayers an estimated £308 million compared to an inflationary increase. It also provides a package of reliefs worth an estimated £744 million, including the UK’s most generous Small Business Bonus Scheme.”