“The downgrading in forecast growth outlined by the Chancellor may well have been expected, but the fact that growth projections have been slashed by half shows the extent of the deep-seated challenges facing the UK economy.

It poses the fundamental question of where long-term growth is going to come from. And it means we can’t keep on with more of the same economic policies and expect to get different, better outcomes.

Instead, what is needed is a fundamental rebalancing of the economy, with a determined focus on reindustrialisation, and specifically on manufacturing. Without a solid manufacturing base, Scotland and the UK will not produce sustained economic growth and will struggle to match the performance of many of our international competitors.

That means serious and sustained investment in manufacturing is essential, in addition to efforts to protect and safeguard existing industry, such as the Grangemouth plant here in Scotland. Allowing such key pieces of national infrastructure to be lost flies completely in the face of stated goals for a just transition to the industries and jobs of the future.

Making the most of our huge assets – natural resources, infrastructure and skilled people – is the path to a sustainable future.

We also need dedicated efforts to encourage entrepreneurship, so that more people are persuaded to start their own businesses, creating the small and medium enterprises that are the engine of our economy.

While I agree that getting substantially more people back into the workforce and economically active is not only a good but a necessary thing, it is also essential that that is done in a way that supports both growth and society as a whole. Cuts to welfare should not mean reducing support for those who need it most.”