Exclusive
Leaders of the main political parties and a former First Minister have attended the parliamentary launch by SGF of the Scottish Local Shop Report.
30 MSPs were presented with their own copy of the report, which had already been welcomed during a debate in the chamber at Holyrood as a significant resource for MSPs in understanding the importance and impact of the independent convenience store sector in Scotland.
Labour Party leader Kezia Dugdale (pictured), Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and former First Minister Alex Salmond were present to discuss the findings of the report with key SGF retailers. Alex Salmond also agreed to arrange a meeting between SGF and the SNP parliamentary group at Westminster to discuss the impact of reserved issues on the convenience store sector in Scotland.
SGF Chief Executive Pete Cheema (pictured) commented: “We have been delighted by the way MSPs have welcomed the publication of this report, which we have produced in partnership with ACS. The launch event is part of a campaign of political engagement in the run up to the Scottish Parliament election in May. We are also calling on every candidate in the election to visit their local store and get behind the counter to get to grips with the real issues facing our industry.”
See next month’s SLR for exclusive reaction from many of the country’s top politicians.
