The Fed meets with Scottish election candidate Jeremy Balfour

Senior Fed members in Scotland met with Jeremy Balfour, the former MSP for Lothian Region and a candidate for Edinburgh & Lothians East in the forthcoming May Scottish election, at Levenhall Village Store, Musselburgh, in East Lothian, on Thursday April 9.

The meeting, which focused on the challenges facing small shops and the Fed’s manifesto for the election, which was released in January, took place at the business of Fed national trustee Ferhan Ashiq with the Fed’s new Scottish president Uthay Soundararajan, who is a retailer in Edinburgh, also in attendance.

Mr Ashiq met with Mr Balfour just hours after speaking live on BBC Radio Scotland about the scourge of retail crime and its impact on small shops. Mr Ashiq highlighted the concern of Fed members for action to be taken on theft – including a more robust response from Police Scotland and targeted grants for small shops so that they can take measures to protect their shops from theft.

Mr Balfour has served in the Scottish Parliament for the past decade, first as a Conservative before deciding to leave the party last year and serve as an Independent. He is well known for his support for small businesses in the Holyrood Parliament.

Mr Ashiq also spoke about the challenges caused by rising taxation and called for extra protection from rising government and commercial costs, such as business rates and the spectre of rising energy bills following the war in Iran.

Mr Balfour said: “It was great to speak with Ferhan and Uthay about the challenges faced by small shops across Scotland. If elected again, I look forward to working with the Fed to ensure the valuable role small businesses like these play in the Scottish economy and in the social fabric of Scotland is properly valued.”

Mr Ashiq said: “It was an extremely positive meeting and want to thank Jeremy for coming along and showing his support. We look forward to working with Jeremy and all parties in the devolved Scottish Parliament, after the May election.”