Edinburgh Candidates Grilled on Business Priorities

0:00Edinburgh's business leaders put Holyrood candidates through the ringer at a Chamber of Commerce hustings on Monday afternoon. Five rep showed up, Scottish Labor's Daniel Johnson, S&P's Ivan McKee, lived in Jain Alisten Pickard, conservatives Miles Briggs and Reform UK's, Nigel Douglas. They got grilled on taxes, housing, enterprise and AI data centers with Scotsman Editor Alistair Grant keeping things in check. Ivan McKee, the government's public finance minister, defended his party's tax simplification push straight from the manifesto. He called their net zero taxes, solid investments to cut transport costs, and help workers get to jobs easier. Daniel Johnson from Edinburgh Southern highlighted lessons from England's combined authorities, pushing for devolution laws to boost Scotland's city. Regions. Meanwhile, Jain Alisten Pickard called for a culture shift on apprenticeships and better work experience for secondary school kids to build. Confidence and smart career choices.

1:01The big debate hit AI data centers after the city council blocked two projects. Reform UK's Nigel Douglas, dubbing himself an AI guy, slammed the decision, warning Scotland risks getting left behind, without pushing tech forward. Green skipped despite the invite, and they've been reached for common. With elections looming, these business priorities could shape who's calling the shots next. We've been listening to Edinburgh News today, AI-powered local news.