Weak government - weak jobs?

Is Scotland's booming financial services growth about to be derailed by a lack of the smack of firm government?

Fears are growing in Scotland 's finance sector that the minority government headed by SNP leader Alex Salmond will be unable to provide "clear leadership" which could stall the sector's hitherto rapid expansion.

The SNP is opposed to a number of schemes which the financial sector sees as vital to its continuing expansion. But despite being the largest party in the parliament, the SNP does not have an overall majority and has been unable to woo any of the other major parties to form a coalition, giving rise to fears of a stalemate.

The SNP has already revealed it intends to disband the national tourism body, VisitScotland, and amalgamate it with a wider enterprise agency in a move aimed at cutting costs. It is also opposed to an already agreed plan to build a 610m rail link from the Edinburgh city centre to the airport, which Scottish business groups insist is vital for Scotland's financial services industry.

One Edinburgh based headhunter, who declined to be named, says, "Certainly in terms of public sector bodies, everything is on pause right now. No one believes the SNP can get parliamentary support to implement its policies, so everyone is on hold. Add in the row over the rail link and other issues and the result is uncertainty, and that's bad for business and jobs."

In the run up to the election John Campbell, chairman of the financial services independent lobby group Scottish Financial Enterprise, said he was concerned that lack of clear leadership from the parliament could lead to dangerous uncertainty and even a period of stagnation.

Outgoing SFE chief executive Amanda Harvie told us this week, "It's vital that infrastructure projects that are of vital importance to Scotland and have already been agreed and which business has spent time consulting on are delivered.

"There's a danger that there will be a hiatus and we don't want that. Our financial services sector is the powerhouse of the Scottish economy and we need to ensure we take opportunities to continue and increase it."

A spokesman for Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce said, "Growth, GDP and productivity would all be inhibited if these projects were cancelled; not just in Edinburgh, but the whole of Scotland."