Month: November 2025

THE HERALD | Wednesday 26th November 2025

The forthcoming Budget might have been seen as a chance for the UK Government to reset its relationship with business, gaining some much-needed credibility in the process. Having weathered fierce political and financial headwinds in the 16 months or so since taking office, the Chancellor and her colleagues still have no shortage of fiscal and wider economic challenges.

But in the wake of the heavily trailed and now seemingly reversed plan to break a key manifesto commitment by raising income tax, not to mention the political intrigue sparked by Number 10 briefing around the Prime Minister’s future, Budget Day now looms with a sense of foreboding for most, both inside and outside government.

The news that UK-wide unemployment has risen, albeit the picture in Scotland is more positive, simply underlines the challenges for Rachel Reeves, as does the fact that for far too many people, the cost-of-living crisis is as real as ever.

That should not be surprising given that, on most available measures, the average standard of living for many people has still to recover to the levels they enjoyed before the 2008 financial crash. That stark fact – that for a huge part of the UK population, there has been no uptick whatsoever in their real-term finances for the best part of two decades – should give everyone serious pause for thought about the policies pursued by successive governments.

However, those twin goals – of how to deliver a package of measures which businesses approve of and which are capable of kick-starting sustained economic growth, whilst also coming up with policies that ease the burdens of everyday living costs for ordinary people and start to give them hope of a brighter future – are the combined task facing the Chancellor.

Together, they encapsulate the fundamental economic challenge of the current moment. It is a challenge which may defy easy solutions but which, if addressed with enough imagination and flair, is capable of being successfully addressed.

That is why I was pleased to see recent pronouncements from UK ministers on the need for bottom-up economic growth of the kind which not only provides opportunities for business development but also delivers valuable employment opportunities for individuals; opportunities which are capable of lifting whole communities out of the economic and social malaise which continues to afflict too many parts of the country.

I was particularly heartened to hear UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband say that plans for a new generation of clean energy jobs were about creating an environment in which no one would be forced to leave their hometown to find a decent job.

That is the kind of approach which communities across Scotland and other parts of the UK which have suffered most from the impact of deindustrialization have been crying out for.

As a businessperson and investor who wants to see the best for the Scottish and UK economies, and who cares passionately about the need to regenerate growth and opportunity in our communities, I welcome such an approach.

But we need to see more action to help boost growth. And the focus on clean energy jobs should not mean deprioritizing our oil and gas sector.

The Federation of Small Businesses in Scotland recently reported that small business confidence has fallen significantly.

The FSB is calling on the Chancellor to take steps in the Budget to support entrepreneurship whilst easing tax and employment costs on smaller firms.  Principal among those is the hike on employers’ National Insurance contributions, a move which has been met with near universal opposition since its introduction, and which it is difficult to separate from the aforementioned rise in UK-wide joblessness. But the Chancellor should also resist the temptation to replace the measure with stealth taxes which would prove equally restrictive on business.

I echo the calls from the FSB. Smaller businesses make up 98 per cent of all enterprises in Scotland, employing 900,000 people and turning over £93 billion annually – but more than a quarter of those firms expect to shrink over the next year.

Of course, the UK Budget also has knock-on consequences for the Scottish Government as they prepare their own spending plans. They should also resist the temptation to place more constraints on business growth, instead reinvesting underspent money to help drive entrepreneurship.

There can be no long-term recovery for the UK economy to put the country on a path to economic growth without support for business which creates a climate in which entrepreneurialism, investment and risk-taking are rewarded.

But equally, there can be no path to sustainable growth without ensuring that its benefits are widely felt and not confined to boardrooms and shareholders, so that working people begin to see their real terms income and their standard of living starting to rise once again.

In the short term, the Chancellor must look again at measures which are hampering growth and which are, in some cases, actually costing jobs.

Balancing the books is never easy for any government, but this Budget is still an opportunity to chart a course which can deliver for people, business and communities for the long term.

Dr Marie Macklin CBE is a leading Scottish businesswoman and investor.  

Click for article link.

In testimonial to Ken McCracken CA | November 2025

In life there are special people who touch your soul, people whose presence brings heart, hope and light. On the 4th of November 2025, I lost a dear ally and friend, and the HALO team lost a brilliant financial mind and a true gentleman: Ken McCracken.

I first met Ken in 1992 when he was a young chartered accountant in Glasgow and also Mr Soul himself, the extraordinary saxophone player and manager of The Glasgow Soul Band, the iconic Counselled Out.

Oh, how I remember those nights filled with music, from Glasgow bars and clubs to the Renfrew Ferry, always sold out and always the highlight of the week. Life felt simpler then, and Ken and the band went on to achieve incredible success, performing at major gigs across Scotland and beyond.

Away from the stage, Ken quietly built a remarkable professional life. When he was not performing to packed audiences, he was a trusted advisor and strategist to many businesses, including ours at The KLIN Group. He became a steady, insightful presence through some of the most defining moments of my career.

I remember, as if it were yesterday, buying KLIN from my dad in 2004 and stepping into my first major deal as the new owner. That deal changed my life forever: bringing WM Morrison Supermarket PLC to Scotland with their first store on our 30 acre brownfield site in Kilmarnock, before their purchase of Safeway. It was one of the most challenging deals I have ever done, with a national supermarket competitor fighting hard to keep it from concluding. (This significant moment was captured. See image in the gallery below – Ken pictured with the wider team celebrating the achievement). 

What few people know is that deals like that only succeed when you surround yourself with the very best team. And Ken was exactly that. The deal would never have been so successful without him, the quiet man behind the scenes whose accounting expertise, strategic insight and financial wisdom guided me and our team through that intense period and many more to follow.

Ken was not only a gifted financier, he was a man of heart, humility and deep community values. He never sought the spotlight, never demanded centre stage in his day job as senior partner and later owner of JRD Financial Services Partnership. Yet he was always, and will always remain, the gentle giant: in stature, spirit and soul.

Sending love and prayers to his wife, the incomparable Lady Kat, to his daughters and to all his family.

Marie and all at HALO

Daily Record | Sunday Mail | Sunday 23rd November 2025

Leading businesswoman Marie Macklin has criticised the lack of action from the UK Government after the announcement that the Mossmorran plant would partially close.

A leading businesswoman has accused Keir Starmer’s government of “washing their hands” of Scotland’s industrial base while supporting jobs in other parts of the UK. Property developer and investor Dr Marie Macklin launched the attack in the wake of news hundreds of workers face redundancy at the ExxonMobil Mossmorran chemical plant in Fife.

The Prime Minister has rejected calls to bailout Mossmorran with public money – in line with his administration’s refusal to intervene to save the Grangemouth oil refinery from closure earlier this year.

By contrast the UK Government stepped in to take control of British Steel’s plant in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, to prevent it from closing in April. Ministers also agreed to underwrite a £1.5billion loan guarantee to Jaguar Land Rover in September in the wake of a cyber attack which halted production.

Macklin joined ExxonMobil’s UK chief in blaming punitive carbon taxes for Mossmorran’s closure and implored Chancellor Rachel Reeves to announce support for the energy industry in Wednesday’s Budget.

Writing for the Sunday Mail the serial entrepreneur, who was CEO of Kilmarnock based KLIN Group before founding the HALO regeneration project, said: “The news over the last week that Mossmorran is due to close with the loss of around 200 jobs is a devastating blow.

Coming so soon after separate moves to wind down production at Grangemouth, it shows there is a deep crisis for what remains of Scotland’s industrial base.

But the UK Government has – just as they have done with Grangemouth – effectively washed their hands of the issue by refusing to intervene to save jobs. That is unforgivable, especially when ministers have intervened for industrial facilities facing similar difficulties in other parts of the UK.

Both the UK and Scottish Governments, years ago, could and should have done more to prevent this situation. But the future of sites like Mossmorran and Grangemouth should not be the subject of political squabbling.”

Macklin, who was awarded a CBE in 2014, is the founder and executive chair of The HALO Urban Regeneration in her home town of Kilmarnock. She was previously the CEO of The KLIN Group from 2004 until 2014 and sits on the board of the Scottish North American Business Council (SNABC).

She writes: “We need to maximise job creation from the new green economy, that must not mean abandoning existing sectors such as oil and gas.”

Marie Macklin has called for more support for Scotland’s industry “The Mossmorran situation shows the hugely damaging impact of the regulations and costs placed on industry, including the carbon tax which has cost the Fife plant £200million a year alone, and which should be scrapped in the forthcoming UK Budget.”

Mossmorran’s owner ExxonMobil has also blamed government policy on the plant’s closure. UK chairman Paul Greenwood said: “Our ethylene plant and its closure is an example of how bad [government] policy is going to hurt jobs and undermine economic growth in the UK.”

He also accused Labour of damaging British business with its ban on new North Sea drilling, carbon taxes and high energy prices.

It comes as Rachel Reeves yesterday promised to get a grip on the cost of living to help support families after years of Tory austerity in the budget. She said: “Working families will be at the front of my mind as I set out how we will cut NHS waiting lists, cut national debt and cut the cost of living. These are the priorities of the country and my priorities as your Chancellor.

“Cutting NHS waiting lists because we promised we would pick the NHS up from its knees, reverse the years of austerity inflicted on us by the Tories, and stop patients languishing for months before getting the treatment they need.

“Cutting national debt because there is nothing progressive about spending £1 in every £10 on debt interest, when that money should be going into our schools, our hospitals, our police and our communities. Cutting the cost of living, because I know it remains the number one pressure on households.

“High prices, which are painful for all, hit ordinary families most. Mirror readers will know that the economy isn’t working for working people, and for too many it feels stuck. That’s why in my Budget on Wednesday I will take action to grip the cost of living.”

The Chancellor is expected to announce a £48million boost for 350 new planners to help unlock a building boom. Reeves used a rare pre-Budget speech to put the country on notice for tax increases, but the government appears to have u-turned on this.

Anas Sarwar meanwhile has said Scotland cannot rely on migrants to fill social care jobs. His comments come after a social care body said the UK government’s immigration proposals would have a “profoundly negative impact” on Scotland’s care sector.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a string of changes to the immigration system.

She is proposing that workers on post-Brexit health and social care visas wait 15 years before permanent settlement – up from five years currently.

Sarwar said the UK’s “broken immigration system” needed to be fixed, and better wages were needed to attract Scottish workers to social care roles.

He was speaking after Scottish Labour’s policy conference in Edinburgh, where he announced plans for a new specialist mental health service and more support for community policing.

Sarwar told delegates he was determined to deliver “big, bold and meaningful change” if his party wins next May’s Holyrood election.

Above image of the feature. You can read the article via link: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/labour-washing-hands-scotlands-industrial-36291565

The House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry into industrial transition in Scotland | Ochiltree Community Hub | Ochiltree, Ayrshire | Monday 17th November 2025

(Marie pictured with Maureen Burke MP, Lillian Jones MP, Patricia Ferguson MP and Elaine Stewart MP) 

Commenting after giving evidence to a roundtable meeting of the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee’s inquiry into industrial transition in Scotland, at Ochiltree Community Hub in Ochiltree earlier this week, Dr Marie Macklin CBE said…

“I welcome the opportunity to have shared my views with members of the Scottish Affairs Committee as part of this important inquiry, which must lead to firm policy decisions to help the process of industrial transition.

“Above all it is vital that the lessons of the past are learned so that mistakes are not replicated. That means there should be no repeat of the policies which saw so many individuals and communities cast aside as part of the transition from traditional heavy industry more than a generation ago.

“I well remember the devastating impact of those changes on communities like my own in Ayrshire. Unfortunately, recent announcements concerning industrial facilities at Grangemouth and Mossmorran show that there is a danger of that happening again.

“The transition to a new economy cannot mean throwing workers on the scrapheap and leaving communities behind. That means we need joined up action from the UK and Scottish Governments, working in partnership with other agencies and the private sector.”

Commenting on the proposed closure of the Fife Ethelyne Plant at Exxon Mobil’s Mosmorran facility, with the loss of around 200 jobs and supply chains, Dr Marie Macklin CBE said: 

“The closure of Mosmorran heralds another devastating blow to Scotland’s industrial infrastructure, and should not simply be allowed to happen without firm action being taken to save jobs and productive capacity at the site. 

Coming so soon after moves to wind down production at Grangemouth, this latest news shows there is a deep crisis in what remains of Scotland’s industrial base. 

The fact that the UK Government has – just as they have done with Grangemouth – effectively washed their hands of the issue by refusing to intervene to save jobs, in the same way as they have done for industrial facilities facing similar difficulties in other parts of the UK, is simply unforgiveable. 

As I made clear when I appeared on BBC Scotland’s Debate Night last week, we urgently need to protect our existing industrial facilities to help grow the economy. That means both the UK and Scottish Government doing everything they can to jointly help deliver the best economic conditions possible to bring growth, jobs and prosperity. Bluntly, there is no time for political squabbling. 

We need a new industrial strategy from the Scottish Government, allied to a wider UK strategy, both of which should seek to address the roots of the crisis afflicting our industries. 

And while there is an absolute imperative to maximise job creation from the emerging clean anergy and green economy sector, that must not mean abandoning jobs in existing sectors such as oil and gas. 

The proposed closure and job losses at Mosmorran are another clear signal – if one were even needed – of the hugely damaging impact  of the regulations and costs placed on traditional heavy industry. 

As a child growing up in the former industrial coalfield and manufacturing Ayrshire community we cannot sit by and let history be repeated – It is clearly time to think again.”

…

UK’s current economic and policy environment combined with market conditions, high supply costs and plant efficiency do not create a competitive future for the site”. By Exxon Mobil – quote from media,  Wednesday 18th November 2025

On Thursday 14^th November, Marie delivered the keynote address at the Rotary Club of Kilmarnock’s annual Young Achievers Dinner, held at the Park Hotel, Kilmarnock.

The event celebrates young people from across the town who are making outstanding contributions and going above and beyond in their communities.

Invited by Rotary Club President John Herd, Marie’s speech centred on the themes of Regeneration, Renewal, and Resilience. She also reflected on the club’s proud history, noting that the Kilmarnock Rotary was formed in 1927 – the same year the town’s War Memorial was officially opened in honour of the fallen during Armistice Week.

Commenting on the evening, Marie said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my evening as the Rotary celebrated the young achievers from across the area. I was inspired by their stories and their drive to make things happen. More than ever, we need to support and work with our young people, and I applaud the Rotary Club for being a beacon of hope in this area. Thank you for a wonderful evening, and I wish all the young achievers continued success.”

 Extract from Marie’s speech…

 “My dream was to build a new history for Kilmarnock and Ayrshire like our forefathers did on that old bottling plant site.

 It is now my dream to build a HALO effect across the world on a foundation of Opportunity at the fore front of the new 4th Industrial Revolution set within Green Sustainable Communities.

 Just like Johnnie Walker walked the world so can this girl and all boys and girls from Kilmarnock and Ayrshire.

 Kilmarnock and Scotland were built by the hands of men and women of Greatness.”

Full speech can be viewed here.

Wednesday 12^th November  2025 | Citizen Theatre, Glasgow

Making her debut on the show, in front of a lively audience in Glasgow’s redeveloped Citizen’s Theatre, Marie joined host Stephen Jardine along with the Scottish Conservatives’ Murdo Fraser MSP,  Scottish Labour’s Paul O’Kane MSP, SNP councillor Alex Kerr and entrepreneur and Great British Dewing Bee host Patrick Grant.

Commenting, Marie said:

“It was a pleasure to take part in Debate Night, especially in such a great venue and in front of a fantastic Glasgow audience.

“It was a valuable opportunity to discuss some of the key issues of the day, including the crisis facing the BBC, migration to Scotland and the need to kickstart economic growth to help create jobs and regenerate our communities.

“I was particularly pleased to be able to talk about how the issue of immigration and to address the way in which it has become so bound up with toxicity in the way it is discussed. As I made clear, Scotland has benefited hugely from successive waves of migration from all around the world over many generations.

“However, the political toxicity which the issue now generates is such that it needs to be tackled. That is why I was happy to use my appearance on Debate Night to highlight the work of Glasgow University’s John Smith Centre in taking forward a unique initiative aimed at showing young people how politics can be conducted in a constructive and respectful way.

“The Political Conversations initiative, which I am proud to have helped launch at my old school, Kilmarnock Academy earlier this year, is now being rolled out a cross other schools and can help lay the ground to improve political discourse among the next generation of voters and politicians.

“On the economy, it was great to see such passion from all members of the panel, despite differing political standpoints, when it comes to what we need to do to make Scotland an economic success story. I made clear that I want to see urgent action from both the UK and Scottish Governments, including steps by the latter to quickly reinvest £500 million in underspend in ways that can kick-start entrepreneurship.

“Overall, it was great to take part in Debate Night, under Stephen Jardine’s excellent compering, and I look forward to appearing on the programme again in future.”

View the programme on iPlayer now: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002m8pq/debate-night-series-7-12112025

You can view a showreel from the programme below…

Commenting on the formal start of the COP 30 UN climate summit in Brazil, and its implications for jobs and opportunity closer to home, Dr Marie Macklin CBE said: 

“The latest UN climate summit in Brazil comes at a point when the global path to Net Zero appears stalled, and at a time when many people are questioning the value of such gatherings.

“However, the fact that the COP summits appear to have slipped down the agenda in terms of their perceived importance to some governments should not be taken as evidence that the journey to a sustainable future is not a necessary one.

“Instead, it should be seen as a wake-up call to governments and decision makers everywhere that they need to do more to make the path to Net Zero a more attractive one for businesses, organisations and, above all, for ordinary people.

“We cannot expect communities, companies and individuals to embrace the changes needed unless we are able to show that sustainability can be achieved fairly.  That means promoting opportunity at every stage, so that the transition to Net Zero brings jobs, growth and other tangible benefits.

“In 2021, the COP 26 summit in Glasgow saw the creation of the GFANZ initiative, which brought together many of the world’s leading financial institutions in an alliance aimed at accelerating the decarbonisation agenda. But, four years on, many bodies have withdrawn from GFANZ as a result of overly restrictive requirements.

“That experience should serve as a lesson, as it demonstrates that trying to go too far, too quickly can be counterproductive.

“Instead, at a time when the goal of a fair transition seems as far away as ever to many, we need to ensure the benefits of the Net Zero journey are as widely shared as possible.

“COP 30 will only be a success if it sees a wholesale recommitment to that aim of securing fairness and opportunity.  And with estimates that the market for renewables and clean energy will grow from around £500 billion to around £1.74 trillion within the next decade, the scale of opportunity is vast.

“In the meantime, our own UK and Scottish Governments need to properly harness that potential, and show – through their climate and energy policy actions as well as words – that they can deliver the jobs, opportunity and hope that is so badly needed.”