By Ross Macleod, Head of Policy (Scotland)
With the manifestoes from the leading parties taking part in the Scottish Parliament election now available, we’ve summarised the key rural discussion points emerging from the documents.
Gamebird management
Given the airing it received during the Stage 3 debate on the Natural Environment Bill earlier this year, it was no surprise that the Scottish Greens would propose a licensing system to control gamebird releasing “to reduce the spread of avian flu to wild birds”. Whether this advances, and at what pace will therefore depend on whether the Greens form part of a governing coalition after 7 May. No other party has commented on licensing. In contrast, Reform say they will support rural communities by maintaining traditional country sports.
With the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act passed back in 2024, grouse management isn’t in the crosshairs for now, although muirburn is mentioned by the Scottish Conservatives, who argue that the SNP government’s licensing scheme will impose restrictions on the burning of heather to manage wildfires. They would pause muirburn licensing from becoming law. The Greens would support the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to expand frontline climate emergency response capabilities. The SNP observe they have published a wildfire strategy, whilst Labour will seek to raise awareness of wildfire prevention. So there is at least broad recognition across the Scottish political spectrum about the need for wildfire management.
Deer numbers
There is also consensus around the need to progress deer management through collaborative approaches. The Scottish Liberal Democrats say they will work with land managers and environmental organisations to tackle overgrazing by deer, support rural employment and boost the low-carbon wild venison market. Labour, too, would work in partnership to deliver sustainable deer management, continuing incentive pilots and supporting community initiatives to supply venison to local markets. The Scottish Conservatives will develop policy in consultation with land managers to achieve wildlife management goals. The Greens would implement strategic management of Scotland’s “out-of-control deer population” so that damage from overgrazing is minimised, backed by incentives to support land managers who reduce deer numbers. The SNP want to protect native woodlands through firm deer control incentives – and reading between the lines of their manifesto (the wording is not clear) they would implement a national deer management and venison strategy.
Farming reform
The SNP remain committed to supporting active farming and food production through direct payments. They will develop new approaches to advice for individual farm plans that support actions for nature, climate and sustainable food production. They intend to help the sector deliver for nature by ensuring targeted and increased support through the four-tier Agricultural Reform Programme framework.
The Reform Party intend to provide grant funding for farmed land improvement fertility, drainage and fencing. They will encourage creation and maintenance of hedging and tree lines, are keen to incentivise young people into farming, and will support abattoirs with apprenticeships. They would replace carbon audits with “practical, outcome-based measurement” and scrap the Scottish Land Commission, whilst keeping the tenant farmer commissioner.
The Scottish Conservatives want farming “properly funded with at least a £50 million uplift to the rural budget and guarantees of multi-year settlements”. They would fully reverse the changes to inheritance tax on agricultural land and cut red tape for farmers to free up their time. The introduction of a bill to tackle rural crime is proposed for the beginning of the next Parliament, and a review of the distribution and delivery of farm payments is outlined.
The Greens want to put nature-friendly farming at the heart of Scotland’s agriculture sector by creating a ‘Transition Insurance Fund’ to help a shift to sustainable, regenerative agriculture. This would replace most of current farming subsidies and adjust the payments system so that farmers who produce food in nature-friendly ways receive a greater share of subsidy support.
Labour will reward farmers for nature-friendly practices, incentivising nature restoration and recognising the environmental contributions through modernisation of agriculture support payments. They would ensure public money for farming supports food production, biodiversity and maintaining thriving rural communities. They would support smaller farmers and crofters by capping tier-1 direct payments to the largest businesses and redistributing to smaller enterprises.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are backing their UK party’s aim to increase investment in agriculture by £1 billion a year to support profitable, sustainable and nature-friendly farming, with increased funding for the Scottish Government, which would be ring-fenced and moved to three-year funding deals to give farmers confidence and certainty. They too would scrap the inheritance tax on agricultural land and support a Food Supply Chain Fairness Bill.
Forestry and woodlands
There is strong support across the board from the main parties for enhancing native woodland, linked to deer control. Reform say they will stop poorly managed forestry and rewilding schemes and develop a long-term plan for planting extensive native woodlands across Scotland. The Greens will reforest Scotland with 9,000 hectares of new native woodland. Labour intend to encourage diverse woodland planting, expanding native woodlands annually. The Liberal Democrats will also increase woodlands using at least 50% native species, supporting diverse and resilient habitats with special focus on protecting Scotland’s rainforest, connecting existing woodlands, and increasing planting in towns and cities. The SNP aim to expand Scotland’s native woodlands through funding 18,000 ha of woodland creation annually by 2029, with at least 40% of new native woodland by 2045.
Land reform and carbon taxation proposals
The SNP aim to bring forward a Rural Renewal Bill, which will contain provisions to “continue the land reform journey and consider a range of strategic proposals”. The bill will also include steps to make land ownership transparent, implement robust anti-avoidance measures, and support existing tenants, as well as initiatives for community right to buy and ownership.
The Greens propose to limit how much land can be owned by any individual or company to a maximum of 500 hectares, unless that ownership can show a significant contribution to the common good. They will improve transparency about who owns and receives public subsidies for managing Scotland’s land. They would also drive down emissions from Scotland’s land use by introducing a Carbon Emissions Land Tax to incentivise land management that maximises carbon sequestration and minimises the emissions. Scottish Conservatives would support the scrapping of carbon tax and carbon price support schemes that increase the cost of energy bills. Reform UK would repeal land reform.
GWCT’s take on the manifestoes
Gamebird releasing
We will, of course, be keeping a close watching brief on any post-election developments around licensing of gamebird releasing. We were encouraged that both before and following the Natural Environment Bill debate, the SNP government took note of the research we recently conducted in the Cairngorms National Park area – which showed that Scottish release densities are significantly lower than those in England – and the follow-up work we will pursue to fill evidence gaps on the scale and impact of releasing in Scotland. The findings will be used to refine specific sustainable gamebird releasing guidance for Scotland, ensuring it remains evidence-led, and environmentally proportionate to Scotland’s unique habitats and ecosystems. Our aim is that this will allow a future government to make informed decisions and avoid introducing disproportionate regulation.
Collaboration
There is a degree of consistency across the main parties about the need for collaborative approaches to solve land use and land management challenges. This is most obvious in relation to deer management and the recent ‘Common Ground’ initiatives, though we would argue that all politicians would do well to pay more attention to dealing with the booming numbers of lowland deer. It still seems convenient to view Scotland’s deer population through the prism of land reform and upland estates whilst the problems of co-ordinating management in more fragmented farming, woodland and per-urban environments grow ever more urgent.
Farmer clusters
We have long argued for support to encourage the formation and maintenance of farmer cluster collaborations and working conservationists. We are encouraged by mention of funding for multi-year initiatives as this is exactly what landscape-scale initiatives require to get them firmly established. We also feel there is scope to bring catchment and river basin planning together with farmer clusters to drive efficient public funding for water quality and soil health alongside productive agriculture and sound biodiversity stewardship. It’s not stretching a point to think this could encompass lowland deer management too.
Will the apparent enthusiasm for partnership working last beyond the words of the manifestoes and into the next parliament? Will there be greater recognition of the need for evidence-led, rather than ideological, approaches to land use and conservation? Much depends on the composition of the parties after the election and their willingness to forge working alliances. Ultimately, though, what gets delivered for the rural economy, our landscape and nature will depend on the experience, effort and good practice of land managers. We will remind our politicians about that.
Photo credit: Barbara Carr / Three Saltires at the Border / CC BY-SA 2.0