Thursday June 26th 2025
MP Kirsty McNeill talking at the Growth Summit.
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Member of Parliament for Midlothian, Kirsty McNeill, hosted Midlothian’s first Growth Summit, bringing together businesses and individuals from Midlothian to discuss challenges and opportunities thatare facing local businesses.
The event hosted at Newbattle Abbey College saw talks from industry experts and leaders, discussing various topics surrounding issues in the area and how business in Midlothian can grow. Twelve talks took place from individuals such as, Chief Executive of Scottish Tourism Alliance Marc Crothall MBE, Professor Mark Parsons from the Edinburgh Parallel Computer Centre, CEO of Midlothian and East Lothian Chamber of Commerce Karen Ritchie, host MP Kirsty McNeill and many more.
With economic growth being one the UK’s objectives, Kirsty McNeill hosted the first event of its kind in Midlothian to bring people together and encourage collaboration to deal with issues facing businesses, alongside put herself forward to be at the service of the businesses and shine a spotlight on the work being done in the area.
Speaking to Midlothian View, MP Kirsty McNeill explained, “There’s so much potential in places like midlothian but people need opportunities to make connections with each other and need opportunities to make plans together.”
“So bringing people together was partly so we could hear from speakers and be provoked and challenged and see an insight, but also crucially so people could learn from each other. I have learned so much and there is so much to take away and I’m really looking forward to working with everyone who came today.”
“I really want to put myself at the service of innovators who are actually really making things happen. There are so many of them in Midlothian but sometimes they dont know each other.”
Issues highlighted in the summit involved transport and infrastructure, alongside major discussions surrounding opportunities for young people in Midlothian, especially the skills and opportunities developed in the process from leaving school to higher education and workplace opportunities.
Kirsty McNeill highlighted, “Well all my conversations with business and all my conversations with the chambers, and a lot of what we heard today, is there is a bit of an infrastructure in the bottleneck and you can find that not just when they are running businesses, but obviously amongst most people who live in Midlothian that are saying the same.”
“That for the population that we have, we need to do better on getting transport and other forms of infrastructure right.”
“So people talk to you about that a lot, but they also talk to me about skills, like what is someone’s journey from being at school in Midlothian to working for one of these world leading companies that we are blessed with in Midlothian. I think I’ve got a lot of thinking about how do we get that work experience right and how do we make sure local people know what’s available to them.”
Kirsty McNeill talked about the steps the government are doing to address issues in areas such as Midlothian, highlighting that the recent UK Government spending review alongside a record settlement from the Scottish Government is focused on spending on growth in Scotland, alonsgide spending money on the Scottish communities to aid schools, hospitals, transport and infrastructure.
She explained, “Well, we saw in the recent spending review, that there’s a huge commitment from the UK government to continue spending on growth in Scotland. We have had a record settlement from the Scottish Government that means more money for Scottish communities to spend on schools, hospitals, infrastructure, transport, all the things that make Midlothian a great place to live.”
“So we have done a huge amount recently in the spending review but as I said at the beginning of today’s session, in the end, innovation is going to become a private sector and the government can help, we can create a platform for it. But, it’s the people that are in this room, that are creating amazing products and services for people to buy, who are going to be the religion of hope and my job is to serve them.”
One of the recent steps the government has done to support growth in Midlothian is a £750 million investment into the supercomputer located in Midlothian at the Edinburgh Parallel Computer Centre. Explained by Kirsty McNeill, the investment was made as it is a national asset and a UK world-class capability in Midlothian.
Being hosted by Kirsty McNeill, the Midlothian and East Lothian Chamber of Commerce also played a large role in the summit with CEO Karen Ritchie doing a talk and promoting connection and communication between businesses in Midlothian.
The summit was the first of its kind in Midlothian in an attempt to both connect businesses and work together to address issues faced, encouraging networking and discussion. With clear issues raised by attendees and issues discussed through the talks by industry leaders, Midlothian is encouraging connections between businesses to address issues and new opportunities that are becoming apparent in both Midlothian and Scotland.
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