That the Parliament notes with concern the recent report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which states that the UK economy shrank by 0.1% in October 2025; understands that the economy also shrank by 0.1% in the three months running up to October, with production output shrinking by 0.5%; expresses concern regarding the reported comments from the UK chief economist at Barclays bank on the BBC’s Today programme that these figures showed that the UK economy was “unambiguously weak”, and that data from the bank indicated that uncertainty ahead of the Autumn Budget had “held off purchases and big spending decisions”; believes that these reports demonstrate that the UK Government is severely mishandling the economy, and that weeks of briefing ahead of the Budget had a damaging effect, and further believes that UK Government control is not working for Scotland’s people or its economy, and that Scotland needs a fresh start with independence.
Supported by:
Karen Adam, Colin Beattie, Annabelle Ewing, Bill Kidd, Paul McLennan, Stuart McMillan