…the blog and website of Andy Wightman
Today marks an important moment in the struggle to reclaim rights for the people over common land. In May 2005, I discovered an extant commonty in the Parish of Carluke (pictured red above). Commonties are ancient areas of common land,
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In September 2020, the Scottish Parliament held a debate on ‘dirty camping’. Many MSPs spoke out against the poor behaviour their constituents had witnessed over the summer. This behaviour was caused not only by a lack of understanding about how
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Text of a 15 minute speech Good afternoon friends. I am delighted to be with you this morning at our autumn conference. As we prepare for a Scottish election next year and local elections the year after, green politics has
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Last Wednesday I spoke in a debate on ‘dirty camping’. Over the summer, we have seen some careless, reckless, and anti-social behaviour by people visiting scenic areas of Scotland. This is a matter of great concern to many people, especially
Continue readingFollowing my previous blog on the offshore interests of the Scott/Buccleuch family, the Panama Papers have emerged. I look forward to interrogating the 2.6 terabytes of data once it is made available for public examination in early May. Meanwhile, I
Continue readingby Andy Wightman and Carole Ross Buccleuch Estates Ltd. Mr Richard Scott (sometimes referred to as the Duke of Buccleuch) is frequently cited as the owner of the largest extent of private land in the United Kingdom. Yet, this has
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Lorne Street tenants protesting at City Chambers, Edinburgh November 2015 The American land and tax reformer, Henry George, observed in his book, Progress and Poverty, that “thirty thousand people have legal power to expel the whole population from five-sixths of
Continue readingSunlight or shadows – will the Government’s new public register of land ownership be effective in improving transparency? by Megan MacInnes, Land Adviser with Global Witness Yesterday the Scottish Government announced that their solution to the problem of not knowing who is
Continue readingTransparency in the Land Reform Bill: the only effective solution is disclosing the human being, the ‘beneficial owner’, behind companies owning land by Megan MacInnes, Land Advisor with Global Witness The Scottish Government has responded to the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and
Continue readingThe Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee (RACCE) of the Scottish Parliament published its Stage One Report on the general principles of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill on 4th December. The plenary Stage One debate will take place in the
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