20-21_David Robertson.qxp_Grid 03/07/2024 15:04 Page 1
OVER THE
COUNTER
BY DAVID ROBERTSON OF JP POZZI, ELGIN AND BUCKIE.
The Economy And Me…
Thursday 4 July was a day of fireworks for several reasons. The sky was lit brightly as it was American Independence Day, the General Election and of course The Retas awards. Rewind a few weeks though and I am crystalising this column after taking part in an election hustings with the six candidates representing Moray East. Now I don’t want to get into politics or the whys and wherefores. In fact, I have come to the conclusion that the parties really don’t like small business very much or at the very least, don’t understand us. Canvassing politicians trotted out loads of examples of why Non-Domestic Rating (NDR) Reform is just around the corner, why the huge increases in the Living Wage gives everyone more money in their pocket to spend and why the changes to NI will make a real difference. They of course mention the
economy and its importance to the health of the UK, but what does all that mean? Will a change in Government mean that the UK economy will have the reset they are always speaking about? Or does the recent drop in inflation to 2% mean that things are in a better place already? I am not sure about you, but when they refer to the economy what do they really mean? 20 PROGRESSIVE GREETINGS WORLDWIDE
Above: The election has cleared the air, but David Robertson still feels that politicians need to get a better understanding of life outside Westminster/Hollyrood. Below: David Robertson had cause to celebrate as JP Pozzi was crowned Scotland’s Newstrade Retailer of the Year recently. Bottom: Gary Stevenson breaks down the fundamentals of economics.
The definition is of course how the country is performing in terms of the production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money. Simple stuff. We contribute to the economy every single day as we spend, go to work and lead our day to day lives. Again, simple stuff, but it has to have a bit more to it than that. If you look at the economist handbook, the four things that contribute to the economy are GDP, inflation, unemployment and inequality. GDP in the last quarter came back after two consecutive quarters of negatives and while it has been challenging, signs are
that things are getting better. Inflation has dropped back to around 2% and is predicted to stay there which should trigger a drop in interest rates post-election. Unemployment is relatively low at 4.4%. The wider issue here is there are 9.4 million people classed as ‘economically inactive’, meaning they are not actually looking or wanting to work. Inequality is the distance between the wealthy and the rest of us and again the general feeling is the masses are getting poorer while the rich continue to pile up wealth. If you are reading this the likelihood is you are either a publisher, retailer, agent or trade supplier and you will all have your own take on the state of the economy depending on the balance sheet of your own business/life. I also don’t imagine that many of you would fall into the ‘super wealthy’ category but if there are and you need an employee to carry your bags, let me know! Looking back at the last 10 or so years, between bank crashes, internet challenges, Covid and a million other problems, running a small to medium size business of any kind is not for the faint-hearted. Yet SMEs make up 99% of UK businesses, employing millions of people, so your and their collective success has a massive impact on the economy. SMEs had a combined turnover of £2.3 trillion and that was in