Report

Essays about the future: Scotland

This report from UK think tank Carnegie UK considers what kind of a country we want Scotland to be two decades from now.

Moments of democratic choice provide an important opportunity to pause, look beyond immediate pressures, and reflect on the kind of future we want to build. Ahead of this year’s election, Carnegie UK invited senior representatives from Scotland’s most significant political parties to contribute to this essay series on the future of Scotland.

Our invitation was simple but deliberately ambitious: to look twenty years ahead and set out a long term, positive vision for the Scotland you hope to see. We asked each party to consider: what kind of country do you want Scotland to be two decades from now?

Their essays respond to that question in different ways – sometimes contrasting, sometimes converging – but always with an eye to Scotland’s shared future. We hope this collection contributes constructively to public debate and encourages all of us to think boldly and imaginatively about the decades to come.

At Carnegie UK, we would offer a few further words of challenge to the candidates and parties vying for success at this year’s poll: very few of the biggest problems Scotland faces will be resolved over a single parliamentary term. How will you work systematically to set Scotland on the right long-term track? How will you cooperate with others across and beyond the chamber in pursuit of improved outcomes for Scotland’s people? Can you balance the needs of today’s Scots with the interests of future generations?

Scotland needs elected parliamentarians that will commit to the deep, patient work that lasting social, economic, environmental and democratic progress require. As voters prepare to make their choice, we hope that these essays might help spark a broader conversation about the steady, collective effort needed to build a fairer, more flourishing Scotland for generations to come.