Our land should serve as a shared inheritance, fostering opportunity

The National

19-05-2025

For too long, Scotland's land has been concentrated in the hands of a few, a legacy of feudal structures that have denied communities their rightful stake in the resources that sustain them. The bill's aim to diversify ownership and empower local people is a step toward justice, but it must go further to dismantle the entrenched inequalities that persist.
READ MORE: Call for public input on Scotland's land reform launches
Land is not merely a commodity; it is the foundation of our collective existence, entrusted to us to steward for the benefit of all, not to be hoarded for private gain.
I advocate for measures that prioritise community-led ownership models, ensuring that the fruits of the land – whether agricultural, environmental, or cultural – are shared equitably among those who live and work upon it.
The bill must also strengthen accountability. Large estates, often held by absentee landlords, have too often neglected the needs of local people, prioritising profit over prosperity. Robust mechanisms are needed to ensure landowners act as responsible custodians, investing in the social and ecological health of their communities. This includes supporting sustainable practices that preserve the land for future generations, reflecting a moral duty to care for what we have been given.
READ MORE: Michael Russell: What should Scotland's land reform actually deliver?
In the Outer Hebrides, we see the transformative potential of community ownership, where land is managed collectively to support housing, enterprise, and cultural heritage. The bill should expand such models nationwide, empowering communities to shape their own futures. This requires not only legislative support but also adequate funding and resources to level the playing field, particularly for rural and island communities facing unique challenges.
I urge the parliament to view this bill as a chance to build a Scotland where land serves as a shared inheritance, fostering unity and opportunity for all its people. Let us commit to a vision where every community has a voice in the land that defines it, and where the wealth of our natural heritage is harnessed for the collective good.
Councillor Gordon Murray
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
I WELCOME The National's coverage of the international research team's peer-reviewed critique of the Cass Review, recently published in BMC Medical Research Methodology (International study tears into Cass Review on trans healthcare in UK, May 14). This critique is far more than a difference of opinion, it is a meticulous dissection of the Cass Review's methodological flaws, with serious implications for healthcare policy across the UK.
A standout strength of the critique lies in its discussion of the Cass Review's call for randomised controlled trials on puberty blockers. The authors explain, with clarity and rigour, why such trials are not just ethically fraught but likely to be confounded by unmanageable variables. The kind of young person able or willing to remain in a control group without access to treatment may differ significantly from one who would seek care through other routes. The result is a study that measures not the safety or effectiveness of the treatment, but the effects of poor access and frustrated need. That is not good science, it's bad ethics – and worse policy.
READ MORE: Trans women protest topless outside Scottish Parliament
The wider methodological flaws identified in the critique, from misuse of appraisal tools to the unexplained exclusion of relevant studies, further undermine the authority with which the Cass Review has been used to justify sweeping policy decisions, including the withdrawal of puberty blockers from NHS care.
The UK and devolved governments now face a clear choice: double down on a politically expedient report riddled with scientific inconsistencies, or recommit to evidence-based policy grounded in methodological integrity and ethical responsibility. Scotland, in particular, has the opportunity to lead by example, rejecting the instrumentalisation of flawed reviews in favour of care informed by robust, inclusive research.
The time for scrutiny is now. This peer-reviewed critique demands it.
Ron Lumiere
via email
A DISTURBINGLY interesting few days. Donald Trump gets a 'gift' of a $400 million jet from an oil-rich country. Also at this time, oil-rich country Scotland has its last oil refinery shut down and is informed that the number of its homeless people is increasing. Meanwhile, although there is no Russian participation in the Eurovision Song Contest due to its invasion of Ukraine, Israel is allowed to take part while it is destroying Gaza.
So, so sad a world to live in.
Douglas Stanley
Ayr