Press release from REVIVE, the coalition for grouse moor reform (11 Oct 2025)
SCOTS DEMAND REAL LAND REFORM AS RESEARCH REVEALS OVERWHELMING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR CHANGE
Largest ever public consultation on land reform shows 78% want climate targets for large landowners, 67% back a land tax, 80% demand more community ownership, as MSPs face final opportunity to amend Bill
The Big Land Question, the most comprehensive exploration of Scottish attitudes to land ownership ever undertaken, reveals that Scotland’s public thinks the current system is failing, and the Scottish Government must act decisively to redistribute power over land.
The research, published today, was commissioned by the REVIVE Coalition and independently conducted by the Diffley Partnership over eight months. It surveyed over 2,000 Scottish residents alongside focus groups, stakeholder roundtables and online public consultations.
The Big Land Question research found that despite land reform being on the political agenda for more than 20 years, public awareness is low. Yet when informed about Scotland’s unusually concentrated pattern of land ownership, with just 421 people owning over half of Scotland’s private land, support for reform was overwhelming.
The survey tested specific reform measures and found striking levels of support:
- 78% supported requiring large landowners to meet climate and nature targets
- 67% supported a land tax for large landowners
- 80% said the Scottish Government should do more to encourage community ownership
- 59% agreed Scotland would benefit from more diverse land ownership
- 50% supported government action to break up large landholdings
- 63% felt more should be done to help people own and manage land
The findings come ahead of MSPs considering Stage 3 amendments to the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill before a final debate later this month. Parliamentarians have one last opportunity to align legislation with public expectations, or face calls to revisit land reform in the next parliament.
Mark Diffley, Director of the Diffley Partnership, said:
“What’s remarkable about these findings is that high support exists despite low awareness. This isn’t a case of the public being divided or uncertain – once people understand the scale of land ownership concentration, the view of the Scottish public is clear across every methodology we used, and the consistency and strength of findings is striking.
“Whether in quantitative surveys, focus groups, or open consultations, Scottish people are telling us the same thing, that the current concentration of land ownership in Scotland is unacceptable, and they want their government to take meaningful action. The challenge for policymakers isn’t to convince Scots that reform is needed – the public is already there – it’s to match their legislation to the ambition the public is ready to support.”
Max Wiszniewski, Campaign Manager for the REVIVE Coalition, said:
“We initiated The Big Land Question to provide robust, independent evidence of what Scottish people want from land reform.
“For too long, the debate around land reform has been dominated by vested interests who benefit from the status quo. This research has created a platform for the voice of the many, and what we’re hearing is unambiguous. Scottish people want fair rules, transparency about ownership, and genuine accountability for how land is managed. For example, grouse shooting contributes pitiful amounts to our economy for the damage it does – wildlife tourism, where wildlife is shot by cameras instead of guns, contributes much more.
“This research shows that policies which politicians claim are too radical, like land taxes, ethical wildlife control, and climate and nature targets for large landowners, alongside limits on ownership concentration, actually have strong public support. The current Bill has been widely criticised as lacking ambition. MSPs debating Stage 3 amendments later this month have the opportunity to change that.”
The Big Land Question used a mixed-methods approach including:
- A nationally representative survey of 2,041 Scottish adults (October 2024)
- An open consultation receiving 1,390 responses spanning the political spectrum
- An online panel of 155 members, with surveys and three focus groups held between February and June 2025
- A stakeholder roundtable in June 2025 with community groups, environmental NGOs, landowners and sectoral experts
The research was launched in November 2024 at the annual REVIVE conference in Perth. It was attended by 600 people and fronted by actor David Hayman, who presented the project’s online video survey.
Across all research methodologies within The Big Land Question research, three interconnected priorities emerged consistently: community empowerment and local control, fairness and equity in ownership, and environmental responsibility aligned with climate action.
Respondents expressed strong views that land should serve the public good and called for Scottish Government to take bolder actions towards real change, a direct challenge to the current Bill’s modest scope.
The qualitative methodologies within The Big Land Question, through focus groups, roundtables and open consultation responses, also revealed how Scots understand the problem and envision solutions.
Focus group participants raised concerns about large landowners unprompted, expressing strong views that these individuals must uphold social and environmental responsibilities. They identified the “invisible power” of large landowners as an underlying cause of government inaction, creating what they described as a “vicious circle” where those who benefit most from concentrated ownership have the greatest capacity to block reform.
Participants pointed to the complexity of legal and financial frameworks, the prohibitive cost of land, and the hidden influence of concentrated wealth as key barriers preventing change. The research revealed a sophisticated public understanding that land reform’s slow progress is structural, rooted in power dynamics that current policy fails to challenge.
This analysis was reinforced at the stakeholder roundtable in June 2025, where representatives from community groups, environmental NGOs, landowners and sectoral experts discussed reform priorities. Stakeholders identified strong alignment between their priorities and public support, particularly around transparency, taxation, and community control.
However, they also highlighted the gap between public support and public understanding. Despite overwhelming backing for reform among those informed about the issues, awareness remains low across the general population. Bridging this gap through storytelling, political leadership, and inclusive policymaking was identified as essential.
Scale of the Problem
Currently, just 421 landowners own 50% of Scotland’s privately-owned rural land, one of the most concentrated patterns of land ownership in the world. A 2019 review by SRUC, commissioned by the Scottish Land Commission, found this concentration was causing “significant and long-term damage to the communities affected.”
The suffocating impact of Scotland’s concentrated land ownership was also evident in research by Biggar Economics, published in 2023 and commissioned by Scottish Land and Estates. The report identified that 1125 rural estates take up approximately 4.1 million hectares, and found that while this equates to around 57% of Scotland’s rural land, they:
- Account for less than 2% of the value of the Scottish economy, a level assessed as “trivial” by the report authors
- Account for just 1 in 10 rural jobs
- Provide only around 3% of rural homes and build around 1% of new homes built in rural areas each year
A report on The Big Land Question is published today:
REVIVE will host a fringe meeting at the SNP Conference at 12.30 pm tomorrow (Sunday) at Conference Suite 3, TECA – The Event Complex Aberdeen, titled ‘What Scotland Wants: Real Land Reform’ to discuss the findings.
The research will also be presented to delegates at the annual REVIVE coalition conference, taking place in Perth on 8th November 2025 (programme & tickets available here).
ENDS
The Herald has published an exclusive feature on this news today, including reactions to the research findings from Mairi Gougeon (Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform & Islands) and veteran land reform campaigner Andy Wightman. The article sits behind a paywall.
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