OPINION: Your election opportunity

It was interesting to see that Fiona McLeod of the SNP has taken the Strathkelvin & Bearsden seat from David Whitton of Labour. Mr Whitton, when I met him at the NFRN Scottish conference two months ago, was an MSP who was not expecting defeat. He was also a well-briefed politician – well briefed by the supermarkets – and he bought into their idea that they were good for jobs.

The facts are that an extra 2.7 million square feet of selling space created by Tesco and Sainsbury in the past year was matched by a reduction of 426 in the number of people they employed – facts uncovered by ACS research.

Perhaps there is an opportunity for local retailers in Ms McLeod’s constituency to contact her and provide her with the compelling story about the good job that local shops are doing for her local people and economy.

Similarly, there should be retailers in other parts of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and, to a lesser extent, England who have a message for local elected politicians. Remember to share what message you provide and the response you get with other local retailers. Try using Better Retailing so that when the politicians gather to compare notes they will find the message is consistent.