…the blog and website of Andy Wightman
Since 2010, I have been (like a couple of my self-employed writer/activist colleagues George Monbiot and Alastair McIntosh) making an annual declaration of interests, income and tax. Previous declarations can be found at the foot of the About page. Commentators, campaigners
Continue readingNewspapers including the Daily Telegraph reports excitedly that the Tulchan Estate in Morayshire is on the market for offers £25 million. A closer look at the facts, however, indicates that this is not so. The Press Release published by Savills makes
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 readingOn 19 February, the Chief Executive of Scottish Land and Estates (the body representing 1351 landowners owning 29% of Scotland) wrote the following in his weekly newsletter to SLE members. Mr McAdam’s grievance stemmed from the fact that the Scottish
Continue readingUPDATE 19 APRIL 2020 This blog, together with a previous one published on 29 September 2015 were the subject of defamation proceedings brought by Wildcat Haven Enterprises CIC against myself in a citation from the Court of Session served on
Continue readingSince 2010, I have been (like a couple of my self-employed writer/activist colleagues George Monbiot and Alastair McIntosh) making an annual declaration of interests, income and tax. Previous declarations can be found at the foot of the About page. Commentators,
Continue readingThis Wednesday the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee (RACCE) holds it first meeting to consider amendments to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill at Stage 2. Once the Committee has completed Stage, its amended Bill will go forward to
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
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