Meeting of the Parliament 05 November 2025 [Draft]
Land is power, and those who have the land have the power. Nowhere is that more acutely felt than in the Highlands and Islands—the region that I represent—which has some of the most concentrated land ownership in Europe.
Scotland has a population of 5.5 million, yet half our country is owned by just over 400 people—a truly tiny minority. They are aristocrats, absentee billionaires, international corporations and minor royalty from around the world. Some are so secretive that their neighbours do not even know who they are. The question at the heart of the debate is whether the bill will meaningfully address that inequality in land ownership.
At minimum, any land reform legislation that is worthy of support needs to challenge the imbalance of power that comes from monopoly land ownership; provide transparency over who owns Scotland; and enable more communities to have a say—and a stake—in the activities that take place around them.
I thank stakeholders who have engaged with those questions over the past year of scrutiny of the bill. In particular, Community Land Scotland and Revive coalition members have been tireless advocates for ambitious legislation. My thanks go also to those stakeholders who, even though we fundamentally disagree on the issues at hand, took the time to meet me and my Scottish Green colleagues. I also thank the Parliament’s clerks and the bill team for their engagement on Green amendments.
After many hours of deliberation across the past two weeks, it is clear that the bill has not progressed meaningfully from where it started. My central disappointment lies with part 1. The measures simply do not go far enough in addressing the issue at the very heart of land reform, which is that the majority of Scotland's land is owned and controlled by a tiny minority. As stage 3 began, I made it clear to the Scottish Government that, in order to vote for the bill, I would need to be confident that I could look constituents in the eye and tell them that we had made significant progress and that the legislation had genuinely improved things. I regret that I am not in that position this evening.
First, the legislation does not do nearly enough to ensure that public interest considerations are at the heart of the new measures. If Green amendments had been accepted, there would be legislation that places a limit on how much land an individual could own and requires them to demonstrate how they will use it for the public benefit.
Secondly, there is nothing in the bill to require that land management plans be implemented by land managers. That is a crucial set of provisions that could become a box-ticking exercise.
Thirdly, the measures do not tackle the concentration of land ownership—an issue that was consulted on by the Government, but never taken forward.
I appreciate that some Scottish Green amendments were accepted by the Government at stage 3. In particular, there will be stronger requirements on large landowners to set out how they will manage their land for nature recovery. In an era of climate and nature emergency, everyone must play their part. I am also glad that ministers will make it easier for new hutting communities to be established on public land.
However, this is not a time to pat ourselves on the back for making small changes at the edges. This is a moment for everyone to assess whether the bill addresses the fundamental purpose of land reform legislation. Without robust measures to challenge concentrated ownership, we are managing the symptoms while leaving the disease untreated. We are asking communities to continue their struggles without giving them the tools that they truly need.
The Scottish Greens cannot vote for this bill with enthusiasm. This legislation falls far short of what Scotland needs. This Government has once again refused to stand up to the landed elites and vested interests, and communities are paying the price.
We accept that the bill—