Election 2026

Voters across Scotland head to the polls on May 7 for the Scottish Parliament election. At a pivotal time for the country, fiscal realities and weak economic growth demand a clear, bold and collaborative mission to restore confidence and ensure public services and communities can thrive. Below are our asks of the new government. Trade-offs may be required but we believe these will be necessary if Scotland is to prosper.

RESTORE ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE
Implement a stable plan for the economy that takes practical action to tackle key barriers, simplifies and keeps a lid on employment and business taxes, regulates only when needed and provides better support at all stages for growing businesses.

PRIORITISE SKILLS
Invest to expand training capacity in colleges, opportunities for work-based and lifelong learning and employability services that support people into long-term jobs, with a focus on tackling current and future skills shortages in key industries.

FOCUS ON COMPETITIVE INDUSTRIES
Work with industries on growth plans for established and emerging sectors in which Scotland has competitive advantages and strengthen capabilities and resilience in industries, technologies and resources that are critical for economic security.

DELIVER INFRASTRUCTURE
Speed up planning consents for modern homes, workplaces and key infrastructure such as energy, ports, transport, digital, water and recycling networks to unlock and join up investment, cut emissions and implement an infrastructure workforce plan.

EXPAND TRADE PARTNERSHIPS
Support established and emerging Scottish industries and more SMEs to export to key markets such as the EU, US and India by enhancing export support services, building strong international trade partnerships and delivering domestic policies that strengthen Scotland’s export industries.

MAINSTREAM INNOVATION
Commit to ten-year funding for research and development and support innovation in Scottish companies and clusters by providing targeted finance, investing in facilities and making public services the first customers for useful new products and services.

SAFEGUARD WORLD‑CLASS UNIVERSITIES
Act on the Future Framework review of university funding, which will identify a new approach that will safeguard world-class learning and innovation at Scotland’s universities and meet the needs of Scotland’s people and economy.

DELIVER CLEAN POWER
Fast-track investment strategies for Scotland’s ports, grid and supply chain development and accelerate grid connections and Scotland’s carbon capture and storage cluster to enable Scottish industries to reduce emissions at affordable prices.

ENSURE ENERGY SECURITY
Prioritise domestic oil and gas over imports by advocating for reform of North Sea taxes and licences to restart investment in projects and generate revenues to fund a pragmatic transition to clean energy enabled by the expertise of Scottish-based industry.

REFORM PUBLIC SERVICES
Commit to multi-year public spending budgets to help public, third and private sector organisations decide on future investments and services, with increased funding for new technologies and a specific budget for preventative services.

STRENGTHEN PLACE‑BASED PARTNERSHIPS
Strengthen city-region and regional economies by giving more powers and funding to local leaders and partners to join up public services and investments in places, including in the circular economy, low carbon heating and retrofitting of buildings.

FOCUS GOVERNMENT
Set high-priority missions, build teams and cross-sector partnerships that act quickly and create a culture that is open to new ideas and ways of working.