I want to honour our local business heroes

Ben and Vicki Prowse from The Polwarth Tavern with MP Ian Murray

The award, which I’m running as the MP for the area, will recognise businesses that contribute to the vibrancy, wellbeing and community life of the south of Edinburgh. Before entering politics, I ran my own events and hospitality businesses including a bar, a sports bistro and a hotel. I know the effort, grit and determination it requires, often for little recognition or reward. It’s only right that we celebrate what local businesses are doing to make Edinburgh South such a dynamic and vibrant place to live and work.

As I go around the constituency, I’m always struck by how hard local businesses are working – not only for their own success, but also for their communities. Just last week, I welcomed the team from the Polwarth Tavern to Parliament for the PubAid Community Pub Hero Awards. I nominated them to recognise their outstanding campaign a few years ago to install a community defibrillator, which provides a lifesaving resource for Polwarth to this day. Amazingly, they won the Community Support (Scotland) award. This is one of dozens of examples of local businesses working to secure tangible improvements for their area.

My Business Hero Award will recognise firms that make a positive difference to their local community in several ways. This includes, but is not limited to, contributing to fundraising efforts for local causes, providing an indispensable service, going above and beyond in supporting their customers, working with other groups and businesses for local benefit and providing a space for people to come together. You can nominate a business by contacting my office directly, with nominations due to close next week. Importantly, businesses are only eligible if they are located in the Edinburgh South constituency.

As well as recognising the contributions of local business, we must also address the challenges they are facing. Many have had a tough few years navigating lockdowns and the pandemic. There are also other challenges, including, at the moment, retail crime and antisocial behaviour. At the end of last year, I attended a meeting convened by the Morningside Traders Association on the issues of shoplifting and intimidating and aggressive behaviour towards staff. Moreover, this week, I wrote to the divisional commander of the local police force about the recent spate of break-ins affecting businesses in Bruntsfield.

Years of underfunding by the SNP Scottish Government have left police budgets overstretched. Unfortunately, the recent Scottish Budget did little to address this problem despite the record breaking additional £4.9 billion from the UK budget in October. Hearing from business owners, it can often feel as though retail staff are under siege from shoplifters, and it’s only getting worse. The reality is that the SNP have done too little to protect our businesses from crime. According to the Scottish Government’s own figures, crimes against society increased by 2 per cent in 2024 compared with the previous year. Scottish Labour plans to restore visible community policing so that the public – and businesses and their staff – know the police have got their back and perpetrators will be punished. Local businesses are critically important to our communities and economy. We need to address these challenges – and, in addition, recognise their successes and contributions.

To nominate a business, please email me on [email protected] with the name of the business and briefly outline the reason for your nomination. Nominations close on Thursday, March 20. Please note that the business must be located within the Edinburgh South constituency.

Ian Murray is MP for Edinburgh South and Secretary of State for Scotland